Uncategorized Archives - Barry and Janae Weinhold

We Proudly Announce the Launch of our THREE Beautifully Redesigned Websites

October 15, 2018 Barry & Janae Weinhold Leave a Comment

Up, Up and Away!

Carl Donovan and Aric Rohner, our long-time Asheville, NC tech team at Opus Marketplace, have given our sites fresh new looks, and did a super job of reorganizing them to better meet your needs.

They’ve streamlined the menus, simplified the navigation, built a more responsive layout for all three sites, and made the information about our projects, programs, resources, products and services much more accessible.

We invite you to visit and explore each of these three sites, and discover the full spectrum of materials we’ve created that from our many years of developmental research in our “LOVE-atory.”

coprofdevcenter.org

This is the website for The Colorado Professional Development Center. It provides resources for healthcare professionals who are interested in information and training related to identifying, treating and healing developmental trauma.

weinholds.org

This website contains information and resources for non-professionals who are interested in healing developmental trauma. Constructed around a “journey” theme, it breaks the healing process down into individual, couple and family journeys.

cicrcl.org

This is the website for our nonprofit tax-exempt institute. Here we describe the scope of our almost 35 years of developmental research, describe our 28 years of cross-cultural research and humanitarian work in Ukraine, and sell our many books.

freakedoutnomore.info

Our fourth website brings together a lot of information to help you understand the cause of freak-out episodes, particularly triggers that are related to unhealed developmental trauma. It contains a lot of resources to help you FREAK OUT NO MORE!

Sign Up to Stay in Touch!

We will be using these four sites to share updated and relevant information about developmental psychology and developmental trauma.

Each site has it’s own newsletter sign-up link so that you receive targeted information from us.

If you have any questions or feedback you would like to share with us, please fill out the Contact Us form on each site.

We look forward to your feedback about our new sites and staying connected!

Warm regards,

Barry & Janae

LOVEvolution: LOVE = Evolution

September 21, 2018 Edralene Esguerra Leave a Comment

Our Theory of LOVEvolution

Our theory of LOVEvolution is based on the principles of vibrational frequency. It recognizes that all energy can be measured and assigned a frequency that ranges between total apathy (not hate) and unconditional love. Energy coming from anger, shame, judgment and fear, for example, all rank very low on this scale, while the frequency of unconditional love is very high. Understanding and using the principle of vibrational frequencies can help you make choices about how you use your energy in your relationship with yourself and with others. These choices determine whether you grow or die, evolve or devolve.

Understanding LOVEvolution helps you make meaning of the experiences and events in your life. Once you understand how your relational interactions with others help or hinder your evolution and the evolution of others, you can consciously choose the frequency level of your interactions. The principles of LOVEvolutionhelp you experience the order in your world, that they are not random. They only seem that way only because of your limited perception. Once you are able to consciously use the principles of LOVEvolution, it becomes possible to experience life as unified. It feels more organized because it is constructed using biological patterns that have specific formulas, values and beliefs. In other words, LOVEvolution provides a framework and language for understanding the evolution of not only yourself, but everyone and everything around you.

The concept of LOVEvolution describes and explains how life evolves because of the presence and power of unconditional love in both the seen and unseen worlds. Our theory of LOVEvolution says that love is the force that drives evolution. Evolution happens when any biological structure becomes so filled with LOVE that it will divide and create more cells to hold it.

The concept of LOVEvolution is based on the principle that unconditional love is a subtle or invisible energy that connects the world of spirit and the world of matter. The power of unconditional love is so strong that it helps weave together our heart-felt desires and dreams with the basic elements of the universe so that our dreams and desires manifest themselves in our lives. In other words, unconditional love serves as a kind of glue between the unmanifest world of spirit and the manifest world of matter.

How LOVEvolution Happens

LOVEvolution happens when the love between two people expands so much that they want to create something together that is outside of themselves to contain their overflowing love for each other. This might be a child or some creative project such as a beautiful home, a garden, a book, a painting or an experience such as a pilgrimage.

Energetic exchanges between humans and between humans and other living kingdoms (animals, plants, minerals, Earth) that involve unconditional love create circles of love. These circles, also known as partnering relationships, reinforce the relationship and make it stronger.

Partnering relationships containing long-term exchanges of the high-vibrational frequency of unconditional love help raise the frequency of both parties to a higher level. They also raise the vibrational frequency of those who come in contact with them directly or indirectly through exchanges of energy, such as reading their books, viewing videos, or listening to podcasts that transmit unconditional love energy.

Conversely, adversarial relational exchanges containing lower frequencies such as anger, judgment and fear, cause devolution in everyone involved in the interactions.

For a more complete explanation of LOVEvolution, check out Janae’s book, LOVEvolution: A Heart-Centered Approach for Healing Developmental Trauma.

The Real Men Book Series – eBooks

October 28, 2014 Stella Leave a Comment

What Is The Real Men Book Series?

The Real Men book series consists of four eBooks and Print On Demand paperback books designed to help men develop their feminine side. Men are largely unaware of their feminine side that has been denigrated by many in our modern world. Real Men is a series of books that addresses what men need to do to become fully mature and effective.

Advertising on television tries to define “real men” as those who drive expensive cars, select the right razor, or use the best after shave lotion. I am defining “real men” as those who have developed and integrated both the masculine side and their feminine side of their personality. For men in our culture, developing their feminine side is like eating dog food. It is distasteful and forbidden. What men do with their feminine side when this happens is project it onto the women in their lives and let them carry it. This leaves men operating as one-half a person.

I am writing a series of four books about the feminine side of men that they have ignored. Since men make most of the money and hold most of the power positions in our modern world, it is important to see the damage that men have incurred as a result of operating as only half a person. I know many men, if they really let themselves feel it, have lots of guilt and shame about the mistakes they have made that may have hurt others.

That is what I intend to do in these books, is to show men what they can gain by developing and integrating their feminine side. I know what I have gained by doing this work and I believe other men will also. We desperately need both men and women who have fully developed their masculine and feminine sides. Actually, what we see most often are examples of men and women acting out of the immature versions of both their masculine and feminine characteristics. The effects of the limited capabilities of men and women are often tragic. The four books in this series are tentatively titled as follows:

The Male Mother: The Missing Skill Set For Fathers

The Male Mother archetype represents a life giver who nurtures humanity while the Warrior archetype clears the space for renewal and change. The Male Mother, in contrast to the Warrior, uses peaceful negotiations to resolve conflicts with others.

The Male Mother forgives his enemies and does not judge his adversaries. The Male Mother’s prototype is the nurturing mother, but he performs this role in a distinctly different way. There are shadows here as well: the rejecting or devouring male mother, or the martyr.

The Servant Leader: What the World Needs Now

The Servant Leader is the humble servant of the people and the most important person responsible for the safety and wellbeing of society. History and art have shown that every society must have a wise and humble leader who is entrusted with guiding his people to success and safety.

The Servant Leader’s responsibilities are many, but so are the benefits and virtues. And if the Servant Leader fails in his duties, traditionally he is ousted from office. His immature or shadow sides are arrogance and ego fulfillment.

The Wise Elder: The Missing Skill Set For Male Elders

He represents Logos, which, according to Jung, also is a feminine principle. He is the archetype behind a multitude of professions like doctors, lawyers, teachers and clergy. He mentors younger men using the wisdom he has gained through his experiences. By using his intuition he is able to see the unseen.

He is the mediator and communicator of secret knowledge, the healer, counselor, teacher, and spiritual guide. The Wise Elder always has the possibility of abusing his power by denying his shadow aspects. He becomes instead the frightening negative force, the witch or warlock.

The Open-Hearted Lover: The Missing Skill Set For Male Lovers

This archetype, embodying the feminine principle Eros, manifests in the energy and fertility of nature. By combining Eros and Logos, the resulting creative energy is the consequence of the synergy of Jung’s anima/animus union. Male lovers are at ease with their own deepest feelings and their most central values and visions.

Only through supporting the union of our feminine and the masculine sides can our culture prosper and grow. The Open-Hearted Lover embraces the “we,” not the “me” in relationships and society. The shadow of the Lover is impotent, sterile and without compassion. He also can destroy spiritual connections between people with just one cynical remark.

The Male Mother Book

One of the first challenges many men face is being able to be an effective father for their children. I have yet to meet a father who feels like he was well equipped for the job. Showing up is a big part of the job. Most father don’t really show up for their children and carry guilt and shame about it. Unless they clear that guilt or shame they run the risk of their children having a relationship with their guilt and not with them.

This book presents a more complete picture of a mature adult father in our culture. It is rare that fathers get this kind of information. Many men do not even know what a mature father looks like, because our culture paints men as macho, dominant, non-feeling critters. It also supports men who run away from, and denigrate the feminine aspects of their personality, such as being in touch with their feelings and seeking committed, equal relationships.

However, my research suggests there is a rapidly emerging trend among younger men in our culture that supports men who are interested in developing and integrating their feminine side. I am excited to be able to present a roadmap of the emerging feminine side of your development for you to follow.

Many men silently carry quilt and shame about what they did or did not do raising their children. This book shows fathers how to overcome their perceived failings as a father and shows them the skiils they need to correct any earlier mistakes they may have made as a father. Fathers need the learn some of the following Male Mother skills:

Display genuine empathy toward their children when they are experiencing deep emotions.
Speak and act in ways that nurture their children.
Show compassion toward their children even when they oppose their father’s ideas or requests.
Look their children in the eyes and connect with them as separate human beings.
Forgive their children’s failings without judgment.
Give them emotional support, mirroring and unconditional love.
Negotiate to get their needs met without diminishing the needs of their children.
Create a lifestyle that models life-giving values, beliefs and behaviors toward humans, plants, animals and all creatures that are vulnerable and dependent.
Access to the “wisdom of the heart” or intuition to guide his decisions.

The Four Initiations a Father Must Facilitate For His Children

I am proposing is that if you as a father were equipped with the male mother skills presented in this book, you could facilitate four important “initiations” for your children to give them the secure foundation they need to become responsible, mature adults.

The four initiations are

Cutting the Cord: Creating the Divine Family Triangle
Facilitating the Completion of the Psychological Birth of Your Children.
Helping Your Children Achieve Mastery of Everyday Tasks.
Helping Your Children Learn Negotiation Skills to Get Their Needs Met and How to Cooperate with Others.

This book shows you the essential skills and understandings you need to be effective as a father to your children. Even if your children are older, it is never too late to provide this support for them. Once you know what to do, you can find ways to fill in the developmental gaps in your children. One thing is for sure; they always will be your children no matter how old they are. It is never too late to relate to your children or grandchildren as a Male Mother.

The Male Mother book is also available as a Print On Demand (POD) paperback book through Amazon/ClearSpace. All of the other books in this series will be available as e-Books and as POD book.

The Con Job Book Series

May 7, 2013 Consciousness Leave a Comment

About the Con Job Book Series:

This series of three mind-stretching books are written for people who give life—people who are innocent, naíve, trusting, gullible and naturally loving. These are the people who make perfect targets or marks for con artists.

Janae writes these books out of her personal experiences with con artists, sociopaths and predators. Surrounded by predators as a child, Janae had many up-close-and-personal experiences with both men and women who preyed on children and saw “conning” as a natural part of life. As a result, she has a well-developed bullsh*t detector that she drew on in researching this book series.

Janae’s personal experiences turned her into a ruthless Warrior for Truth and Seeker of the Shadow. For almost 15 years she has been on a search to know the difference between what is real and what is illusion. These books are an extension of Breaking Free of the Matrix ebook series, sold in the bookstore here at weinholds.org.

Book One in the series gives an overview of the subject and presents a lens for viewing “deviant” people.
Book Two looks at all the places where con artists, sociopaths & predators hide and tells how to spot them.
Book Three looks at what makes people become con artists, why you might attract con artists in your life, and how to protect yourself from them.

In this video, Janae talks about why she wrote these books and about her decision to “get smart” rather than be a victim. Janae’s books can help you make this same shift in thinking so that you can break free of the tangled web of family secrets and cultural lies with which you grew up.

Con Job Series Book One: Breaking Free of Con Artistis, Sociopaths & Predators

Click Here to Purchase This Book

This book gives an overview of “life-taking” people who operate as con artists, sociopaths and predators. It presents a simple framework for understanding these complicated people. It uses the Avatar movie as a framework for understanding the differences between Life-Giving and Life-Taking.

This “101 introductory” book helps you recognize Life-Takers in a way that isn’t filled with judgments and “bad-making.” It also helps you understand why your niceness and “life-giving” may be perceived as a weakness and make you an ideal “mark.”

Breaking Free of Con Artists, Sociopaths & Predators will help you if you:

Are softhearted, caring and sometimes gullible
Love kids & animals
Avoid and despise violence
Attract people who steal your heart or use you
Often try to fix broken or wounded people
Would rather “get smart” rather than be a victim
Want a con artist-free life
Wish to be free of illusions and being sucked into con jobs
Want to use the dilemmas to help you become more self-aware

A book that should be read and reread...

Dear Barry and Janae,

I am very impressed with Janae’s new book. This book will help me in the work I do with humanity. So many unsuspecting persons are being preyed on by people who are experts at the con job. This is the bible that is needed to help and guide persons understand the traumatic effect that the behavior of con people could have on their lives. It is a book that should be read and reread. This is a powerful asset that provides the tools to equip persons with the necessary resilience to remove the facade of the con job and helps expose the manipulative, deceptive and controlling behaviors of con people. Excellent team work as usual!

Congratulations Janae! Congratulations Barry!

Alexander Daniel Counselor/ consultant/ trainer, Barbados, Caribbean

A Fun Read While Very Serious...

Loved it, thought it was really great!
Janae makes it quick and simple to understand such a complex dynamic.
Her use of the Avatar movie as an example helps to give a vivid mental picture.
Wow, I feel like I got soooo much in such a short time.
Was given new insight into my relationships and vulnerabilities.
Plus, is a fun read while being very serious.
I enjoyed it and can’t wait to read the second book in the series.

Red Robin

Con Job Series Book Two: How To Spot Con Artists, Sociopaths & Predators

Click Here to Purchase This Book

Book Two takes an in-depth look at institutional, relational and environmental con artists It also looks at a special group of predators known as the Global Elite, and examines their influence on the history and development of the U.S.

Here’s a checklist that you can use to help you spot con artists, sociopaths & predators.

Book Two will help you get you up to speed on con artists by looking at where they hide, how they operate and the mindf*ck tools that they use to con us. This book, almost 200 pages, delves deeply into the hidden history of the U.S. and looks at critical points where con artists have influenced the direction of country’s evolution. It also answers the who/what/where/when questions below.

What are my blind spots?
What makes me an easy mark for con artists?
How can I get better at spotting them before you sign on the dotted line?
What kinds of things should I look for when trying to identify a con artist?
Where should I be on the lookout for con artists?
What makes a person become a con artist?
Is it possible to prevent people from becoming con artists?
What happens when con artists take over?

Courageous Contribution...

“A strong and courageous contribution, and extremely timely.”

JLL

Con Job Series Book Three: How to Protect Yourself From Con Artists, Sociopaths & Predators.

Click Here to Purchase This Book

This third in the “educate yourself” Con Job ebook series looks in-depth at con artists, sociopaths and predators. It focuses on “the solution:” how to protect yourself from con artists, psychopaths and predators.

Chapter One describes how con artists are created and looks at the impact of early trauma on their development. It also examines role of the social and cultural environment in creating people who become con artists, sociopaths and predators.

Chapter Two helps you look at how you grew up, and to recognize dysfunctional family patterns and experiences that might make you an easy target for con artists. Chapter Three looks at how the structure of American society not only protects con artists, but also holds them up as examples of “success” in fulfilling the “American Dream.”

Chapter Four describes how to shift from victim consciousness to “getting smart.” It looks specifically at Drama Triangle dynamics: recognizing a rescue, encountering your shadow, getting off the Drama Triangle, and taking charge of your life. Chapter Five describes specific things that you can do to protect yourself from relational, institutional and societal predators. It also describes how to protect children from predators, a growing concern today for parents.

In Chapter Six Janae shares eleven stories (there are more!) about her own encounters with con artists, sociopaths and predators. This chapter ends with a summary of what she has learned from her experiences and a framework that she hopes will inspire you.

A complementary video that I recommend on this topic:

Other ways Janae Weinhold can Help You:

Twisted Beliefs eBook Series

March 30, 2013 Consciousness Leave a Comment

This four-book series shows how twisted beliefs can screw up your life even if you are smart. You may suffer from premature hardening of the categories and believe things that aren’t really true. You may hold twisted, rigid beliefs that cause you to make self-defeating decisions. These four books take you on an inner journey starting with learning about how your beliefs can get twisted. Then you learn how your twisted beliefs may attract con artists, sociopaths and predators into your life and what you need to do to protect yourself from them. Next you learn how to change your twisted beliefs, even those that could kill you. Finally, you learn how to trust your “inner knowing” instead of your beliefs and then learn to use that knowledge to guide your life decisions.

Book # 1: Premature Hardening of the Categories

Click here to get the book!

Do you know someone who seems to be smart who seems but also has self-defeating or maybe even self-destructive behavior? I would describe these people as suffering from premature hardening of the categories. In other words, they hold on to rigid and twisted beliefs that keep them stuck in their development. This book helps you, the reader, learn what these twisted beliefs look like, where they came from, what hidden effects they can have on your life and how you can change this situation.

This books helps you understand the causes of premature hardening of the categories of your beliefs and why it’s hard to change them. It also describes the author’s journey to identify the sources of his self-defeating behaviors and then how he changed them. This book focuses on understanding the hidden causes and effects of your twisted beliefs.

This book is now available at Amazon for $2.99.

The Draconian Agenda of Human Predators

Human predators have twisted beliefs that cause them to lie, cheat, manipulate and exploit the people they target. They are the “takers” rather than “givers” of life. Sometimes known as psychopaths or sociopaths or plain old narcissists, they don’t have empathy or a conscience. They could be one of your neighbors or someone in high places where they can advance their agenda by acting on their twisted beliefs.

These life-takers don’t even try to hide their agenda any more. Through the corporate controlled American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), they are rapidly advancing their life-taking agenda. They’ve created templates for topic-specific legislation that they provide to state legislators that can be tweaked and adapted. North Carolina has become a test-state for ALEC’s agenda. If it is successful here, it will set precedents that can be used in other states where they control the state legislature and governor’s office. The YouTube video shows Western North Carolina’s reaction to this agenda: Mountain Moral Monday.

Reviews of Twisted Beliefs: How They Cause Premature Hardening of the Categories…

In the 25 years that I’ve known Barry Weinhold, he has been excavating out in the fields human behavior and relationships and carefully examining the psychological artifacts he’s dug up. This first book in a series of four is a gift that Barry draws up from his deep well of curiosity, life experience, inner work and research. Barry’s sweeping searchlight illuminates the widespread institutional predation in our 21st century world.

He astutely connects behaviors and outcomes with beliefs. Barry has zeroed in on this ever-so-common human behavior and offers a way out! And the way out is in — into the dark box of mistaken beliefs buried somewhere in the psyche. The frosting on this tour de force cake can be found in the many tools that he offers the reader to use to examine his or her life, behaviors and beliefs — literally to see oneself in the mirror. Paul W. Burke Writer, editor, facilitator, pilgrim Colorado Springs, CO.

“This book offers a plethora of useful tools for a fully functioning self…”

In this intriguing book Barry opens our eyes to the often ignored truth that while we may not be able to do much to change others, that is really not what we ought to be about in the first place. His emphasis on dealing honestly with our past and our own dysfunction is a much needed message in this age of anger, finger pointing and closed mindedness. He offers not only diagnosis but a plethora of useful tools for developing a healthy consciousness and what he calls a fully functioning self.

While my life experiences have been significantly different from those Barry so honestly shares, and my experience in the Christian faith has been much more positive than was his, this book has challenged me to think more deeply and honestly about all manner of things, including my faith, and to live more openly as I seek to be all I was created to be. John McCullough, Methodist Minister Daleville, Alabama

Book #2: The Twisted Beliefs Of Human Predators

Click here to get the book!

This book is the second of a four book series on the causes and the effects ot “twisted beliefs.” In order to protect yourself from being targeted by human predators, you need to learn more about how how to spot their twisted beliefs behind their thoughts and and behaviors. If we believe they think and act just like we do, we will become an easy target of their predation. Because of their twisted beliefs, they are very different people from who they pretend to be. This book looks under every rock and behind every Big Lie to show you how their twisted beliefs have caused these people to think and act in very different ways than we are used to. Have you ever been lied to and manipulated into doing things that did not support your needs and instead ended up supporting the needs of others who took advantage of your trusting nature? If you answered “Never,” you are in denial. We all have been tricked and manipulated by the Big Lies and the cleaver manipulations of human predators, unless you have been living in a cave somewhere all your life. They are everywhere and they are constantly searching for their next victim. This book will provide you with the essential ways to identify these people and then how you can protect yourself against their nefarious plans.

This book is now available at Amazon for $2.99.

Book #3: How To Identify And Change Your Twisted Beliefs

Click here to get the book!

Do you remember how you felt when you found out that your belief in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy was not true? I felt conflicted because I liked all the gifts that came with the lie. This is like Woody Allen’s story about his uncle who thought he was a chicken. He said the family didn’t correct him because they needed the eggs. Santa Claus is typically portrayed as a person who supposedly watched you to see if you were good or bad and would reward you accordingly on Christmas morning. The implied threat was if you’d end up with a lump of coal if you didn’t behave. How deceitful is it to use Santa Clause to control your kid’s behavior? Sadly, I ended up telling my kids the same lies for the same reasons. Go figure! I was told other lies that had far more damaging effects on my life. For example, I learned in church that I was born a sinner and would always be one. They were pretty convincing, so I believed what they told me. I also learned from my parents what a “bad boy” when I did something that displeased them.

The Impact of Twisted Beliefs on Your Life

How do lies, shaming and judgment affect you? Most people can give you a long list of what they believe is wrong with them, but are hard-pressed to think of any good qualities. Most of us are told we’re not “good enough” in some important way, and told enough times that we believed this must be true. This process begins very early in life. Research shows that parents say the word “no” to their child over 20,000 times before he/she reaches the age of two. And most of this is delivered with judging, shaming facial expressions. Most people don’t realize how damaging it is to base their life on twisted beliefs. If this happened to you, what can you do to change your negative beliefs about yourself?

How This Book Can Help You

How to Identify and Change Your Twisted Beliefs provides answers to these and other important questions. It includes many self-awareness and self-correction exercises to help you identify and change lie-based beliefs that you learned while growing up. For example, one self-inventory identifies thirty-six common twisted beliefs that you may have learned while growing up in your family, church or schools. The first part of the book helps you identify any twisted beliefs you might have. It also identifies the probable negative effects that holding these twisted beliefs can have on your life. The second half of the book shows you how you can change your twisted beliefs. Twisted beliefs about yourself can cause stress that leads to degenerative diseases. For example, I describe how I held twisted beliefs that caused cancer to grow in my body. I also share how I was able to reverse it by changing my twisted beliefs. I write about how I identified and changed other twisted beliefs, and what I learned in that process. This is a very personal book that Barry felt compelled to write and share with others who are interested in personal growth and change.

This book is now available at Amazon for $2.99.

Book #4: Beyond Beliefs: The Journey of The Gnostic Warrior

Click here to get the book!

What lies beyond your beliefs is your personal freedom! You can live your life free from the undo influences of twisted collective beliefs manufactured by spin-masters of the mainstream media. They work hard to get you to believe their lies and distortions because it makes it easier for them to confuse and control you. This book, Beyond Beliefs: The Journey of the Gnostic Warrior, will help change any misperceptions (chains) you may have about these twisted beliefs. By reading this book you will discover the personal freedom that lies beyond your beliefs: your inner knowing of the truth and how to use it to chart the course of your life’s journey.

By reading this book you will learn the following:

What tools do I need to reconnect with my inner wisdom?
How can I better understand the current collective breakdown/breakthrough process?
How can I navigate through this chaotic process successfully using my inner wisdom?
What are some examples of successful breakthrough projects I can look to for inspiration?
What is a Gnostic Warrior and how is he/she different from a Traditional Warrior?
What skills do I need to become an effective Gnostic Warrior?
What are my “essential travel tips” for “The Journey of the Gnostic Warrior?”

I end this book with a case study about a young political activist. I coached him as he participated in the protests in Ukraine against the corrupt government in late 2013 and early 2014. These brave gnostic warriors brought down the government and are in the process of forming a new, hopefully more democratic government.

Positive Mental Health

January 14, 2013 Consciousness Leave a Comment

Positive mental health in children involves “prevention thinking” and the use of “care practices” based on new research and theory in developmental psychology. Forward thinking childcare providers, early childhood educators and infant mental health specialists now all recognize that children require the same kind of foundational and relational experiences during the first five years of life. Children with positive mental health are also strong and capable learners—these two things go hand-in-hand.

Positive mental health emphasizes social and emotional development as the foundation upon which all social and academic learning takes place. It also emphasizes the role of primary caregivers in establishing children’s patterns of behavior, relationships and learning.

The Importance of Early Caregivers & Caregiving

Interactions between early caregivers, parental or professional, set the developmental trajectory of each child. They contribute to their development in either growth-promoting or growth-inhibiting ways.

Positive mental health and early learning develop simultaneously within the context of nurturing early relationships. The heart of positive mental health is about the social emotional connections that children need to fully develop. Children who experience heartful, empathic interactions with adult caregivers grow into heartful empathic adults. Only then are they are able to become self-reflective, think critically, and function effectively in today’s changing world.

Cognitive Learning Theory and Mental Health Theory Merge

Children’s mental health specialists and early childhood educators now find themselves drawing from the same pool of research, theory and practices. Both recognize psychological development as the foundation upon which all social and cognitive learning takes place.

The gap between developmental psychology and educational psychology has closed, and professionals in these two fields find themselves expressing virtually the same ideas and thoughts, but in different languages. Even the language barrier is beginning to dissolve, as professionals find themselves finding a common language based on quantum biology and physics.

Professionals now accept that infant learning and mental health overlap, influence and build on one another. They also recognize how primary caregivers play a critical role in the development of nurturing early relationships, and in the early learning that takes place in children age birth to five years.