Message for Hong Kong Association for Infant Mental Health to celebrate 10th Anniversary

First, I want to congratulate the Hong Kong Association for Infant Mental Health (HKAIMH) on their 10th Anniversary.  It was so important that this forward-thinking group of clinicians working with young children and their families in 2014 envisioned the benefits that would result from formally establishing infant mental health work and services in Hong Kong and forming the HKAIMH. Both local professionals in Hong Kong and international colleagues with expertise in Infant Mental Health contributed to the establishment and growth of the organization by providing training in Hong Kong and, for some of the clinicians, additional training in other parts of the world.  Personally, it was a wonderful opportunity for me to provide training in Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) one of the evidence-based dyadic treatments for young children under the age of 6 years and their families.  Interestingly for me, during the training, I also had the opportunity to learn much about cultural issues and the importance of recognizing and honoring cultural differences and traditions in implementing CPP. I learned early in my work with young children that “play is the language of children”.  However, the importance of play for children can be interpreted and understood differently depending on family traditions.  I also learned both from my HKAIMH colleagues and my own family in Hong Kong about the importance of “filial piety” which is so valued in this culture.  Doing CPP training for my Hong Kong colleagues not only provided the special opportunity for me to expand their therapeutic skills in providing services for young children and their families/caregivers, but also to learn about key cultural components as part of the process which contributed to making the training more even more valuable.  Together with CPP, we were able to deal with current difficulties and to prevent more serious problems from developing in the future. I very much enjoyed my time spent with colleagues in HKAIMH and wish them all the best for the future important efforts and therapeutic interventions for young children and families.

Joy D. Osofsky, Ph.D.

Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Public Health

LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

Adjunct Professor

Xavier University of Lousiana