Kadija Johnston is the Director of the Infant-Parent Program at the University of California, San Francisco. She has worked in the field of early childhood mental health since 1985, initially coordinating a therapeutic nursery school, and then as an infant-parent psychotherapist, a clinical home visitor and mental health consultant to childcare programs. Johnston developed the program’s Early Childhood Mental Health (ECMH) Consultation component in 1988. The trauma and equity informed, relationally focused approach now serves as a model for other organizations, locally, regionally, and nationally.
Since 1990, Johnston has been training and disseminating the ECMH consultation model and providing program development consultation to states, organizations, and individuals initiating ECMH consultation efforts.
Johnston writes and presents nationally on mental health and childcare issues. Her recent articles on these topics have appeared in the ZERO TO THREE and Infant Mental Health Journals. Johnston, with Charles Brinamen, co-authored a book on mental health consultation for which they were awarded the Irving B. Harris Book Award for contributions to early childhood scholarship.
Johnston obtained a BA in psychology and a MSW in social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley.