The Journey Institute
Our Founder & Executive Director
Dr. Harleen Hutchinson, IMH-E® is a psychologist and social worker, an endorsed Infant Mental Health Clinical Mentor, Executive Director of the Journey institute, Inc., and a Zero To Three Faculty. She has tirelessly advocated for advancement in workforce development in promoting early relational health to mitigate the impact of toxic stress when children are exposed to adverse childhood experiences. Her life's work is centered on ensuring that young children have access to high quality early pediatric behavioral health programs and services that are developmentally and culturally appropriate. She is currently an Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Work at Barry University.
Dr. Hutchinson is the President of the Florida Association for Infant Mental Health (FAIMH) and was the 2020 recipient of the FAIMH “Answering the Call” award. In her role as President of the Florida Association for Infant Mental Health (FAIMH), she works collaboratively with early childhood systems of care organizations in enhancing workforce development of professionals to ensure a state-wide culture change in the early childhood system of care, by ensuring that all professionals who work with young children are fully equipped with the skills to support Florida’s youngest children.
As a Board Member of the National Alliance for Infant Mental Health, she continues to use her position to advocate for a workforce shift within the early childhood system of care. She is the recipient of the 2024 William Schafer Award for Excellence in Reflective Supervision Leadership and Inspiration. This is a prestigious award given to someone who has significantly enhanced professionals’ abilities as reflective supervisors and consultants. Eager for a more influential platform, Dr. Hutchinson joined the team at the World Association for Infant Mental Health, as an Associate Editor, where she works collaboratively with international leaders to ensure that publication contents reflect the diversity of professional voices who work with or on behalf of babies across the globe. She serves as a clinical supervisor with the Florida Atlantic University, where she ensures that every intern who enters her agency is equipped with the skills to work within the early childhood system of care, and is endorsed to fully enter the workforce, ready to change the trajectory for Florida's children. Her expertise extends to leading training sessions on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, locally and nationally, and speaking engagements at conferences. Her current priorities include initiatives in paternal mental health, professional development, reflective consultation/training, pediatric bereavement, maternal mental health, postpartum depression, and pediatric trauma. Her favorite quote is "Planting Seeds, one relationship at a time." She believes that every child has the opportunity to have nurturing and connected relationships.