Presenter
AM Breakout Session - Anti-Racist, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Foundations: Building Blocks for Inclusive Early Childhood Mental Health
PM Breakout Session - Pyramid Model as Primary Prevention in Child Care Settings
Vero
nica is originally from Denver, CO where she began her professional career providing early childhood services. After completing undergraduate study in psychology at The University of Northern Colorado, Veronica provided residential treatment services to children as a Staff Social Caseworker at the Denver Family Crisis Center. This work supported Veronica’s initial understanding of the importance of early intervention services and trauma-informed care with children and families. Veronica then became employed with The Early Childhood and Family Center of Aurora Community Mental Health Center (ECFC), which provides mental health treatment to children ages 0-6 years and their families.
During her 12 years of employment with the organization, she served as a therapeutic preschool teacher, early childhood mental health consultant, and home-based interventionist. Veronica also facilitated parenting groups and social skills groups for children. Veronica obtained her master’s degree in early childhood special education from The University of Colorado at Denver, and she obtained her doctorate degree in clinical psychology from The Florida School of Professional Psychology at National Louis University. Veronica sought further training in early childhood mental health services for her internship experience, and she was matched with The Children’s Center Utah (TCCU) where she was able to further develop skills in assessment and treatment of young children.
Veronica continued with TCCU for her post-doctoral residency, and she is now a licensed psychologist with the organization. Her work as a psychologist continued with providing treatment services to the early childhood population and has extended to providing clinical and reflective supervision to those serving the infant and early childhood population in various sectors. As a clinician of color, Veronica’s interest in understanding the needs of diverse ethnic and racial communities has grown, and she is building an understanding of providing equitable services to all.