Project NESST® offers support and therapy for substance-exposed newborns and their families.

We work with parents, caregivers, and infants to address the impact of substance use and trauma on parents’ mental health, the early parent-child relationship, and infant development. Services are available free of charge to families of all faiths and races throughout Greater Boston who are caring for infants who were exposed to opiates, cocaine, prescription medications, or other substances that may have contributed to challenges in the infant’s postpartum course or in the parent-infant relationship. Clinicians are also available to provide technical assistance and training to interested community partners on relationship-based treatment and care for these newborns and their families.

Services are flexible, individualized to meet each family’s needs, and may include:

• Meetings to support physical and emotional health during pregnancy and to help plan for baby’s arrival
• Support during the baby’s hospital stay and the transition from hospital to home
• Infant-parent therapy sessions in the home, office, or community
• Support and case management services from a Maternal Recovery Specialist who can offer connections to community resources, including recovery services
• Consultation to address the baby’s unique development, sleep, and feeding needs, including calming and soothing strategies such as infant massage

Download the Project NESST Release of Information form, which clients should sign in order to be referred.

Download further information about our services.

For more information or to make a referral, call the CERS Intake line at 781-693-1200 or email CERSintake@jfcsboston.org.