TRAINING-PROGRAM IN PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTION FOR HIGH-RISK INFANTS AND THEIR FAMILIES

A multidisciplinary training program for psychosocial intervention in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was developed. The purpose of the program was to train mental health and health care professionals i n a psychosocial preventive intervention model for high-risk infants a nd their families throughout the infants' hospital course in the NICU. The program was divided into modules that include assessment and inte rvention with the infant, parents, family, and larger caregiving envir onment. Over a 3-year period 40 trainees from 9 disciplines were train ed. A randomized clinical trial was conducted which showed the positiv e effects of the intervention. A clinical service including inpatient and outpatient follow-up has been established in the NICU based on the psychosocial model developed from the training program.