Children’s Mental Health

Children’s Mental Health Certificate Program

Program Description

The Children’s Mental Health certificate was developed in collaboration with area agencies and organizations serving children and families in New Mexico, alumni working with children, adolescents and families, and other professionals in the field. On a national level it is also understood that there is a demand across the country for people who are passionate about and skilled in nurturing the well-being of children, adolescents and families. In New Mexico there is a particular need for clinicians who have focused training in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues which affect and impact children and teens.
Students and community members pursuing a certificate through the New Earth Institute must complete all classes required for the Certificate within six (6) years of taking the first class. The certificate classes in this program are mostly offered in person with an occasional one offered on line.

One Required Course: 

• Attachment: The Heart of Well-Being in Children  

Elective Courses: (subject to change)

Attachment, The Heart of Well-Being

Five Elective Courses Including but Not Limited to:

◆ Ethical Issues in Working with Children and Families
◆ Integrative, Holistic Development of Children’s Mental Health for Children from Diverse Cultures
◆ Prevalent Behavioral Disorders in Children and Adolescents
◆ Gender and Sexual Identity Development
◆ Restoring Hope: Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention and Intervention for Youth
◆ Beyond the Birds and the Bees: Strengthening Healthy Gender and Sexual Development in Children and Teens
◆ Addiction and the Developing Brain: Prevention and Treatment for Adolescents
◆ Foundations of Jungian Sandplay Therapy
◆ Neuropsychology of Sandplay Therapy and Trauma

Additional courses may be listed in quarterly schedules.

Click Here to See Upcoming Classes in this Certificate.
Click Here to visit the Frequently Asked Questions page.

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs): 

Upon completion students will be able to:

PLO 1:
Identify and describe essential elements that support and nurture children’s mental health, including primary attachment relationships, elective attuned parenting and teaching, developing self-esteem, creative expression, and age-appropriate self-determination.

PLO 2:
Analyze and evaluate children’s developmental needs and choose best-practice approaches and interventions to serve their social, emotional, relational, and mental health needs.

PLO 3:
Formulate treatment plans and interventions that address a wide range of children’s issues, with attention to ethical and culturally sustaining practices for both groups and individual children.

Where you might use these skills:

• Behavioral health agencies serving children and families
• Hospitals, residential treatment and detention facilities
• Schools, preschools, and daycare sites
• After-school and recreational programs

Interim  Program Director

Kate Latimer received her B.A.in Social Science from Humboldt State University in 1998, blending her love of Psychology, Sociology and Native American Studies. After several years working in the non-profit and public education sectors, as well as spending two years teaching at a K-12 international school in Morocco, Kate moved to Santa Fe, NM to complete a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from Southwestern College, graduating in 2007. 

Kate began her counseling career at Solace Crisis Treatment Center (then the Santa Fe Rape Crisis and Trauma Treatment Center) where she developed expertise treating Post-Traumatic Stress and other stress related disorders resulting from sexual trauma, domestic violence, childhood abuse, military combat, and violent crime. Kate also worked closely with the NM National Guard on post-deployment reintegration, earning a certificate of “Outstanding Support” for her contribution to the Yellow Ribbon Program in 2010. Over the years, Kate has collaborated with various New Mexico law enforcement and first responder agencies to provide training on stress management and PTSD prevention. 

Transitioning into higher education as a college counselor and adjunct faculty member at Santa Fe Community College in 2013, Kate integrates her training in evidence-based crisis stabilization and trauma treatment approaches with somatic awareness, spiritual practices, and creative modalities designed to facilitate inner awareness and alignment. She encourages her clients to connect to their higher power, let go of limiting beliefs, practice gratitude and forgiveness, choose love over fear, and seek meaning and purpose in every experience.    

Kate believes it is a sacred act to witness the transformative process unfolding with her clients and her students. She brings curiosity, compassion, and humor to the process of transformational dialog as a teacher and a counselor. She believes that personal responsibility and individual healing are paramount, but also recognizes the need for social change in our communities to support overall well-being. At a time when gender equality seems to be at the forefront of the current human evolutionary process, Kate fees a strong call to assist in the balancing of masculine and feminine energies in the collective. To this end, Kate participates in social justice and diversity movements such as V-day/One Billion Rising, Santa Fe Pride, and the Women’s March to raise the collective consciousness concerning gender violence and inequality. With her involvement in these social organizations and political movements, Kate seeks opportunities to honor the awakening of the sacred feminine by supporting interpersonal connectivity empowerment through dance, dialog, and peaceful civil disobedience.

In addition to her counseling work, Kate teaches Nia and other mind-body fitness classes in Santa Fe. She has studied and taught yoga for over 20 years, and is a black belt Nia™ and Nia FreeDance™ teacher, which provide additional tools and skills Kate uses to guide and inform her counseling work and avoid compassion fatigue. She holds that physical fitness and movement meditation are foundational to emotional, mental and spiritual health.

Southwestern College & New Earth Institute is approved by the New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board (#CEU2025065) and the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC ACEP No. 7520) as a Continuing Education Provider. If you are not licensed as a mental health professional in New Mexico, please check with your state’s licensing board to see if they will accept approved CEs from these two accrediting bodies.