IMH Endorsement® Requirements Overview
Through a license agreement with the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health (MI-AIMH), the Virginia Association for Infant Mental Health (VAIMH) has the legal authorization to use the MI-AIMH Competency Guidelines® and Endorsement for Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice Promoting Infant Mental Health in Virginia.
The Endorsement includes four categories:
- Infant Family Associate (IFA)
- Infant Family Specialist (IFS)
- Infant Mental Health Specialist (IMHS)
- Infant Mental Health Mentor (IMHM) – 3 distinctions:
- Clinical (IMHM-C)
- Policy (IMHM-P)
- Research/Faculty (IMHM-R/F)
Infant Family Associate (IFA):
- Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or Associates degree; or
- A minimum of at least 2 years’ paid work experience with infants/toddlers (birth-36 months); or
- Someone with an Associates, Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctorate degree with little (<2 years) or no work experience with children birth-36 months.
Infant Family Specialist (IFS):
- Minimum of a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree with a minimum of 2 years’ post-graduate paid professional work experience providing culturally sensitive, relationship-focused, infant mental health services.
- Typically for someone whose work experience comes from programs that provide education support, and/or consultation to early care and education providers, or whose intent is primarily to educate parents.
Infant Mental Health Specialist (IMHS):
- Minimum of a Master’s or post-graduate degree with a minimum of 2 years’ post-graduate supervised paid work experience providing culturally sensitive, relationship-focused, infant mental health services.
- Typically for someone with licensure as a Mental Health Clinician and/or whose role includes intervention or treatment of the child’s primary caregiver relationship.
Infant Mental Health Mentor (IMHM):
- Minimum of a Master’s or post-graduate degree with a minimum of 3 years’ specialized work experience in at least one of three categories:
- Clinical: Post-graduate experience as a practice leader in infant mental health (e.g., infant mental health supervisor, trainer, or consultant).
- Policy: Post-graduate experience as a leader in policy and/or program administration related to the infant/family field.
- Research/Faculty: Post-graduate experience as a leader in university-level teaching and/or published research related to the infant/family field.