Melanie Morones
I care deeply about the field of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health. I have pursued training and mentorship that has helped me to lean into the work, and grow the work through the development and support of ECMH teams and services. I want to continue to support efforts to ease access to services and create the knowledge and wisdom to seek services at early stages of development. I want to be a part of the work that continues to identify, elevate and meet the needs of caregivers in their task of raising the children who will craft our futures. I like to be a part of systems level work in effort to disrupt broken systems and create pathways that celebrate diversity, fight for equity, and honor every infant, child, family and individual who comes into our care or who we are in relationship with. I believe that relationships not only matter, but heal, contain, and fuel lasting impact. I am excited to be a part of a team of like minded thought partners and grateful to have been considered.
BIO
Melanie Morones, MFT/ATR/ECMHS, (she/they) began her career in infant and early childhood mental health in south central Los Angeles providing intensive mental health services to children and their families, as well as participating as a facilitator in the Early Intervention Training Institute. There she was selected to be in the first cohort to complete and join the rosters of the CPP (Child Parent Psychotherapy) family. Melanie enjoys facilitating trainings and conversations in effort to support reflective practice, program development and ensure youth and families receive appropriate trauma-informed care. She holds an adjunct faculty position at Loyola Marymount University, providing group and individual Clinical Art Therapy supervision to emerging providers within the graduate program. Melanie is the Early Childhood Mental Health Clinical Program Director at the YMCA San Diego where she has the honor of supporting their IECMH Consultation work. She is also a co-founder and TriChair of the annual Birth of Brilliance Conference. In its 5th year, the conference continues to challenge racism and other inequities that impact children and families and support movement toward true systems change. Raised in the smallest of rural towns near the border of New Mexico and Arizona, she is well versed in the effects of racial disparities and implicit bias. Her roots, combined with intentionally sought diverse professional experiences have cultivated a frame of compassionate curiosity & cultural reverence that is the foundation of both her clinical work and approach to life.
