INVESTING IN HUMAN POTENTION FROM THE BEGINNING OF LIFE
by Wendy Anne McCarty, PhD and Marti Glenn, PhD

Dr. McCarty has worked for over twenty-five years with individuals and families through various avenues as obstetrical nurse, childbirth educator, marriage and family therapist, prenatal and birth therapist, and consultant.  She was the co-founder, first president and a Primary Therapist of BEBA, a Non-Profit Research Clinic to provide therapy to babies and families to resolve early trauma and support optimal growth and bonding.

Dr. Glenn is founding President of Santa Barbara Graduate Institute. She has been a pioneering psychotherapist and educator for over 25 years. Her current research interest is in the neuroscience of psychotherapy, especially as it relates to young families and she is currently engaged in infant brain development studies with Dr. Allan Schore.  She has facilitated trainings and seminars all over the United States and in Europe.

• “A silent crisis is brewing all across America relating to our infants and children.”
  
  Symptoms are appearing in child health report cards and numerous research studies. We see an alarming rise in prematurity, low-birth weights, surgical births, autism, ADHD, childhood aggression and depression, asthma, overweight and obese children, attachment disorders, learning disabilities, and use of psychiatric drugs to manage children’s conditions, as well as a rise in the number children in foster care, adolescent homicide, child abuse and teen pregnancy.
  
  If we do not heed these symptoms, the crisis in infant and childhood development will lead to a whole host of poor outcomes and social ills that continue to progress as these children grow into adulthood. Something different needs to be done at a systemic level to stem the tide of growing societal ills...As individuals, organizations and communities, we need to take action to reverse this growing trend toward poor outcomes and limiting lifelong consequences for our children. 

• Current research demonstrates that the most effective and efficient place to invest our funds, services, and comprehensive efforts at every level, is to focus on supporting all human beings and their families during their primary period of human development: from preconception through the first year of postnatal life. It is during this time that the core foundations of physical and mental health, emotional intelligence, and the ability to develop one’s capacities and talents are established.
  
  The primary period is the most critical period in human developent.  Brain structures, capacity for resiliency and productivity are all built upon this primary foundation.
  our babies and their families with education and services from conception forward, we most effectively prevent the costly cascading effects of less than optimal beginnings, both in terms of loss of human potential and human capital. 

• IMAGINE A WORLD...
  Where every baby is welcomed, loved, nurtured, and seen for the amazing, conscious and aware being they are from the beginning of life. As these babies grow, so does their capacity to love, to empathize with others, to be in relationship and to live in joy.  As our first generation matures, we would see the ripple effect grow to encompass greater learning capacity, emotional intelligence and creativity, the emergence of new leaders, and healthier families and communities. Our potential is unlimited. It is time for us to come together to infuse our culture and communities with the vision, resources, and commitment to support each new member from the very beginning of their life. It is time for them to know they are vital to our community and worthy of this commitment.
  

For the full version of Investing in Human Potential from the Beginning of Life, CLICK HERE .