Comprehensive Program Supports Families & Young Children During the Most Critical Years of Brain Development

VENICE, CA – In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month this May, Venice Family Clinic is proud to spotlight its Infant Mental Health program, which provides critical support and early intervention for families with babies and young children facing or at risk of developmental and emotional challenges.

The nonprofit community health center, which serves 45,000 people in need across Los Angeles County, offers family-based services that focus on the earliest years of a child’s life from before birth to age three — when brain development, emotional regulation and secure attachment are rapidly taking shape. During this time, a baby’s brain doubles in size in the first year and reaches 90% of its adult size by age five — shaped by genetics, caregiving and environment.

“Infancy is a uniquely important time for brain development,” said Michelle Marlowe, LCSW, Infant Mental Health Supervisor at Venice Family Clinic. “Safe, loving and consistent caregiving relationships enable infants to thrive, while challenges like trauma, social isolation, postpartum depression or anxiety can interfere with caregiver bonds and compromise long-term outcomes. By intervening early and working closely with both caregivers and infants, we help lay the foundation for healthy relationships and long-term emotional well-being.”

The Clinic’s comprehensive, evidence-based approach to infant mental health involves supporting the entire family through caregiver-and-child therapy and services, recognizing that infant development occurs within the context of the quality of caregiving relationships. Infant mental health services, which are available to all Clinic patients and offered in both English and Spanish, are integrated into the Clinic’s pediatric and early childhood care. Support is available to families via direct in-home visits to help ensure support is seamless, stigma-free and culturally responsive.

Expecting and new families receiving care at Venice Family Clinic are connected to a suite of services including comprehensive prenatal care, lactation consulting, developmental screenings, pediatric checkups, nutrition counseling, bilingual behavioral health care and case management. The Clinic also offers monthly pediatric and prenatal drop-ins where caregivers and expecting parents can speak directly with medical professionals, and an on-call approach to behavioral health ensures mental health support is available during or just after medical visits. Families may also be eligible to apply for additional early childhood programs, such as Early Head Start which offers a comprehensive child development program for families with children from birth to age 3 and pregnant mothers, based on specific qualification criteria.

The Infant Mental Health program is part of the Clinic’s broader Community Connection initiative, which offers a full continuum of care for new families — starting in pregnancy and continuing through the postpartum journey. The initiative seamlessly coordinates medical, mental health and early childhood services to improve health outcomes for young children and their caregivers. The team also works closely with the Clinic’s Early Head Start program to provide child development services, including access to health care and community resources.

In addition to Infant Mental Health services, Venice Family Clinic offers a wide range of behavioral health support for families, including:

• Family Care Teams that meet monthly to support high-risk families
• Doulas and lactation consultants for prenatal, postpartum and feeding support
• Playgroups, parenting classes and group medical visits
• Adult education, job training and domestic violence services
• SUMMIT, a trauma-informed substance use program featuring therapy, case management and medication
• “Attachment Vitamins,” a support group helping caregivers bond with and better understand their children