Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic Names Dr. Connie Lillas To Chief Faculty Post

Clinic Also Announces Adoption of the Neurorelational Framework, co-authored by Drs. Lillas and Turnbull

LOS ANGELES, March 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic has announced the appointment of leading early intervention specialist and nationally-recognized author Connie Lillas, Ph.D., MFT, RN as Chief Faculty for its highly-regarded Early Intervention and Training Institute.  

Simultaneously, the Clinic announced adoption of the Neurorelational Framework – developed by Dr Lillas together with Janiece Turnbull, Ph.D. – to inform curriculum and training development for the Institute.

"The NRF has received national acclaim as comprehensive, holistic and particularly insightful for the 0 to 5 age range," said Elizabeth W. Pfromm, Clinic President and CEO.  "We are proud and delighted to have Connie join us as Chief Faculty and to incorporate the NRF into curriculum development for our training programs."  

The NRF creates a cohesive and coherent approach to bridge often fragmented service delivery systems such as the medical, educational, child welfare, child & family mental health, and early intervention systems.  It will serve as a foundation for developing curriculum within the Clinic's Early Intervention and Training Institute, which offers training on effective interventions and practices to adults who work with or care for high-needs infants and young children.  As Chief Faculty, Dr. Lillas will provide training directly via Institute workshops and will also train the Clinic's "0-5" clinical supervisors in NRF, creating capacity to train other Clinic service providers on how to effectively incorporate the NRF into practice.

According to Nancy Ezra, Ph.D., Director of Early Intervention & Community Wellness Services & Training for the Clinic, "The Clinic's Institute – or EITI – provides customized trainings to gatekeepers who can positively impact the developmental course of children at risk for future involvement in mental health services.  Connie's expertise will greatly enhance our trainings, which are designed to increase competencies of providers who treat, educate, or otherwise intervene with high-needs, vulnerable children and their families."  Such providers include mental health therapists, childcare workers, Head Start and Early Education Center staff, Department of Child and Family Services case workers, public health nurses, case managers, and in-home visitors.  

About Connie Lillas:  Dr. Connie Lillas is a National Graduate Zero to Three Leadership Fellow and an infant mental health and early intervention specialist with a background in maternal-child nursing, family systems, and developmental psychoanalysis. Dr. Lillas is the Director of the Interdisciplinary Training Institute, whose curriculum regarding high-risk pre-birth to five-year-olds in the foster care system is employed to train service providers across disciplines in Los Angeles County, through collaborative training efforts from the Department of Child and Protective Services, the Department of Mental Health, and Regional Centers.

About Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic:  The mission of the Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic is to provide quality mental health services by ensuring easy access and promoting early intervention.  This is achieved by providing family-centered and culturally sensitive mental health services and allied services to at-risk children and those who are already experiencing mental health-related problems. Established in 1924, the Clinic today serves over 3500 children and their families annually, at three locations and over twenty public schools.  For more information, please visit our website at www.lacgc.org

SOURCE Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic