Ellen Samitt joined the Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health (CAECMH) in 2021 and serves as the Assistant Director for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Clinical Consultation. Ellen’s work is informed by more than 12 years of experience in Head Start as a Mental Health & Disabilities Specialist, where she supported young children, families, educators, and early childhood programs across diverse communities. She is grounded in a belief that supporting young children begins with supporting the adults who care for and about them.
At the Center, Ellen co-leads the SEFI Support team in providing Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation to early childhood programs. Her consultation work focuses on strengthening the capacity of caregivers and educators to be more regulated, reflective, responsive, resourced, and readied, while fostering the relational, emotional, and social development of young children. She is particularly interested in the ways relationships, reflective practice, and adult well-being create the conditions for children and the adults who care for them to thrive. She also provides relationship-based, play-based clinical services to children and families through the Center for Clinical Services, with a focus on strengthening caregiver–child relationships and supporting healthy development through play.
Ellen serves on the New Jersey Pyramid Model Partnership State Leadership Team and is a member of the Pyramid Model Master Cadre. Her professional interests include relationship-based and play-based practice, reflective consultation, adult well-being and capacity-building, and the integration of emotional and social development across early childhood systems.