The Diversity-Informed Tenets for Work with Infants, Children, and Families: Integrating Cultural Self-Awareness into Clinical Practice

Abstract

The Diversity-Informed Tenets for Work with Infants, Children, and Families were developed to increase infant mental health providers' awareness of health disparities and intentionality in combatting inequities to better meet the needs of diverse family systems. The Tenets have informed reflective processing and have increased the awareness of the importance of valuing family identity and culture while providing infant mental health services. This article will describe the history and necessity of the Tenets, review the teachings of each Tenet, and provide a clinical application of the Tenets through both the discussion of a clinical vignette and the lens of parental reflection.

Keywords: Cultural humility; Diversity-informed tenets; Infant mental health; Mental health disparities; Mental health equity.