Angel in the Nursery

Marilus Castellanos, LCSW

By: Julian Ho

Continued

Ms. Castellanos points out that classrooms and childcare centers are another important place where grown-up/child relationships are formed since children are spending significant time with grownups who are not related to them. She stresses the importance of bringing a sense of joyfulness into the work so that children and their grownups can develop beautiful, nurturing, and joyful relationships.

With regards to her strategies for incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into her practice, Ms. Castellanos believes there are more commonalities among families than there are differences. “When we focus on the difference, we tend not to think about what we have in common,” Ms. Castellanos explains. "The differences can oftentimes be complex and be impacted by the systems that our families may be involved in, such as family court and child protective services. It's important that our staff is able to be self-reflective when having difficulties engaging a family." She encourages this reflection in her supervisees. “I try to have them think about a time in their own life when they might have had a similar struggle or been ‘stuck’ in something…to try to get them to see from their own lens, through a parallel process,” she says. Ms. Castellanos emphasizes the importance of “taking inventory” of one’s own childhood experiences and own parent-child relationships because they shape the way we see the world. Ms. Castellanos emphasizes the importance of being mindful of one’s own biases and the importance of utilizing supervision, group supervision, or therapy. 

In terms of staying up-to-date with the latest research and her own professional development, Ms. Castellanos shared, “I really just try to connect myself with people that know more than I do [laughs]. I’m in a unique position because I have 10 clinicians who are either just coming out of graduate school or have been in the field for less than 5 years and there’s a lot that they’re bringing [into the work] that keeps me up-to-date.” Ms. Castellanos also cites other professional resources such as Zero To Three, NYC Early Childhood Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC), and conferences such as NYU’s recent event focused on supporting neurodiversity in classroom settings (“Supporting Neurodiversity: Sensory Integration Meets Emotional Regulation”).

With regards to advice she would provide to an early childhood professional starting their career, Ms. Castellanos acknowledges, “This work can pull at your heartstrings and can sometimes be painful. When you hear a story about a family who is involved in the foster care system and all the inequities that can exist in the system, ...we may not be able to see the big, big changes, but your work can impact that one family and that’s important. Hopefully you’re changing the trajectory for that one family, that parent, that child.”

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