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Models that look only at the effects of social interaction patterns in father-child or mother-child dyads are inadequate for understanding the impact of interaction patterns on the whole family system. The family systems’ view provides a coherent foundation and framework for such efforts. Family therapy theories all agree that the dynamic organization and interactive relations between family members, including co-parenting skills of the parents, even trans-generationally, may critically influence the individual’s well-being.

The aim of the Advanced MIM training to broaden the traditional focus of the MIM observations – the parent-child dyad –to look at the family system including co-parenting.  Clinical video examples of Family MIM’s along with qualitative and quantitative (Family MIM) assessment will be given.

Saara Salo, PhD, has worked with infants and young children over 15 years at the University of Helsinki, Outpatient Psychiatric Unit for Small Children and their Families. She also works with pregnant couples and families at her private clinic over 10 years (www.pilkeklinikka.com). Saara has published articles in refereed psychological journals and written chapters in text-books about the significance of early emotional parent-child interaction and parental reflective functioning in especially high-risk samples (substance –abusing parents, depressed parents). She has supervised and trained professionals in social and mental health for parent-child interactional assessment, intervention and therapy (e.g., Theraplay) both in Finland and abroad (Denmark, Norway, UK). She as co-developed a preventive intervention model called the Nurture and Play which is derivative of Theraplay-therapy and mentalizing techniques with special emphasis in working already starting prenatally. She has co-written a handbook of the MIM (Marschak Interaction Method; Salo & Booth, 2019) as well as developed a rating system for the MIM procedure (D-EIS). Saara trains the MIM method, and Nurture and Play in Finland and internationally. She has extensive interest and knowledge on early parent.-child emotional relations, how to assess it, and improve it using various therapeutic modalities especially in high-risk populations, such as traumatized families.