Alana Russotti, LCSW, IECMH-E®, Early Childhood Mental Health Clinical Mentor, Infant Mental Health Specialist, Director of Reflective Practices
Being drawn to support children and their families impacted by trauma, loss, and adversity, I began working with SPCC in 2009 in the Supervised Visitation Program. While my primary passion was, and remains, helping children heal from trauma, I found I could also have a broader impact by working upstream and supporting other professionals who engage in this rewarding and challenging work. To that end, I began providing supervision to staff through work as a Senior in the Supervised Visitation Program from 2011-2013. In 2014, I helped develop the Therapeutic Visitation Program and acted as the Clinical Supervisor of that program for five years.
Currently, I am in the role of Director of Reflective Practices and have the honor of promoting an infrastructure that supports the way SPCC staff and supervisors are nurtured. I truly believe that reflection is a muscle we must work on that strengthens self-awareness, perspective-taking, empathy, confronting biases, anti-racist practices, and children and family-centered services.
Concepts that most saliently intersect with my work at SPCC are the foundations of relationship-based practice and a belief in the power of parallel process (i.e., how others are with us, is how we are supported to be with others). Families in pain—whether due to trauma, maltreatment, disruptions in attachment, poverty, or racism—require and deserve quality support from caring, and cared for, professionals. As a member of SPCC’s Leadership Team, I strive to support SPCC staff through integrating the values of consistency, emotional availability, reflection, curiosity, wonder, authenticity, cultural humility, professional development and above all, excellent service to families throughout our programming.
My formal education includes a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree from Fordham University in Clinical Social Work; I am endorsed through the New York State Alliance of Infant Mental Health (NYSAIMH) as an Infant Mental Health Specialist and Early Childhood Mental Health Clinical Mentor. Through SPCC’s Mary Ellen Institute, I also have the privilege of serving as an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) and Reflective Supervision/Consultation (RS/C) trainer and consultant for professionals serving infants, young children, and their families in our community. I am also a proud member of NYSAIMH’s endorsement committee and co-own a psychotherapy private practice in our Rochester community.