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The FAN for Professionals: A Framework for Building and Strengthening Relationships

When
16 Sep 2026
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Location
Zoom webinar

Registration

Member registration – $25.00
Non-member registration – $35.00

CEUs: Gateway, Early Intervention and Clinical CEUs will be given

We hope you will join us for this opportunity to learn about the FAN (Facilitating Attuned Interactions) and how it can strengthen engagement and relationships with families, clients, and colleagues across early childhood, counseling, therapeutic, and human service settings.

Over the past two decades, through the work of Erikson Institute/Fussy Baby Network, the FAN has positively influenced the engagement practices of professionals in thousands of settings across the United States and around the world. This introductory overview will explore how attunement, together with five core FAN practices, supports meaningful relationship-building and enhances everyday interactions.

Our presenter: Siemone Smith, PhD, LCPC, MFT, Erikson Institute

Dr. Smith is a visionary healer, trainer, and scholar with over 15 years of experience in the Infant Mental Health field. Deeply rooted in trauma-informed, culturally responsive care, her work centers on helping families heal through relationships. She began her career serving families in Chicago’s Englewood community, providing Child-Parent Psychotherapy and trauma-focused services to families involved with the child welfare system.

Dr. Smith earned her PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy at Adler University, where her research examined the internalization of whiteness among Black mothers and the impact of the “white gaze” on parenting practices. She is a Family Therapist, Adjunct Professor in Erikson Institute’s Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Certificate Program, and serves as a FAN (Facilitating Attuned Interactions) Lead Trainer at Erikson, where she trains and mentors other trainers across disciplines.

She is also the founder of Generation Mend, a private practice and framework dedicated to breaking intergenerational cycles and restoring relational health through attunement, equity, and cultural affirmation. Dr. Smith believes healing is not just clinical—it is ancestral, creative, and collective. As she often says, sometimes presence is the intervention.

Cost: $25.00 for ILAIMH members and $35.00 for non-members

ILAIMH is a 501(C)(3) non-profit and is an affiliate of the World Association for Infant Mental Health.