Learn About
Infant Mental Health Endorsement®
Infant Mental Health Endorsement® is intended to recognize experiences that lead to competency in the infant-family field. It does not replace licensure or certification, but instead is meant as evidence of a specialization in this field. Endorsement® identifies you as a competent professional in a system that reflects commitment to best practice and quality care for all infants, toddlers, and families. This process uses a nationally recognized set of competencies that helps define best practice and guides professional growth.
Who Can Participate?
Infant Mental Health Endorsement® is cross-sector and multidisciplinary, including professionals from child and/or human development, education, nursing, pediatrics, psychiatry, psychology, social work, and others who serve children ages 0-3. It indicates an individual’s efforts to specialize in the promotion and practice of infant or early childhood mental health within his/her own chosen discipline.
How will I benefit from Infant Mental Health Endorsement?
Infant Mental Health Endorsement® offers career paths that focus on principles, best practice skills, and reflective work experiences that lead to increased confidence and credibility. This credential is recognized by prospective employers, agencies and peers. It links your professional development to competency standards that support best practice and identifies you as a competent professional in a system that is committed to best practice and quality care for all infants, toddlers, and families. Your Infant Mental Health Endorsement also gives you access to reflective supervision, with a trained reflective supervision provider. Please click here to view more information about Reflective Supervision Consultation.
More Reflective Supervision Information
Need a Reflective Supervisor? We Can Help: Click Here to Let us Know What you Need.
Which Infant Mental Health Endorsement® category is right for me?
It may be helpful to think of the categories as tied to an individual’s scope of practice. In most cases, IFA is a good fit for professionals in promotion, IFS for professionals in prevention, IMHS for professionals in intervention/treatment, and IMHM for leaders in the infant-family field. Detailed information about the requirements for specialized education, work, in-service training, and reflective supervision/consultation experiences are different in each category. We encourage you to meet with our IMH Endorsement® Coordinator to help determine the best category for you.
Please click the below button to view helpful documents and videos with more information about Endorsement.
Five Steps to Endorsement
Step One: Contact KAIMH at [email protected] to let us know of your interest in KAIMH Infant Mental Health Endorsement® and to get help in determining the best category for you.
Step Two: Complete your KAIMH membership.
Step Three: Start your online application in EASy (Enrollment Application System).
Step Four: Learn about the competency areas and gather your training information to complete your application.
Step Five: Submit your KAIMH Infant Mental Health Endorsement® application.