Endorsement

What is Infant Mental Health Endorsement®?

Endorsement for Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice Promoting Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health® (Endorsement) is an internationally recognized credential used to demonstrate specialization in the infant-early childhood mental health (IECMH) field. Endorsement supports and recognizes the development of professionals who work with or on behalf of pregnant people, infants, young children (0 up to 6), and their families. The Endorsement credential plays a pivotal role in advancing the crucial field of infant and early childhood mental health. It serves as a benchmark, ensuring that professionals possess the requisite knowledge, skills, and experiences to foster the healthy socio-emotional development and well-being of society's youngest members.

Through the Endorsement credential, professionals are equipped to integrate infant and early childhood mental health principles, such as a relationship-based approach, into their practice. This integration has a profound impact on the early relational health of infants and young children, setting a foundation for lifelong well-being.

The Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement® (IECMH-E®) framework stands out as one of the foremost and most comprehensive initiatives, both nationally and internationally. It identifies best practice competencies across disciplines and practice settings, offering diverse career pathways for professional development in the fields of infant, early childhood, and family care.

View this brief webinar for an introduction to Endorsement

For additional questions please reach out to Endorsement@moaimh-ec.org

Endorsement is Good for Babies

Endorsement plays a crucial role in equipping professionals who support our most vulnerable populations with the culturally responsive and reflective skills needed to foster early relational health. This ensures a brighter future for babies and their families—and it’s all grounded in solid research!

Want to dive deeper? Click the link below to download the full report prepared by the dedicated staff of the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health.

Endorsement is good for babies

Who can apply?

The Endorsement® credential is intended for everyone who applies IECMH principles in their work across the full continuum of promotion, prevention/early intervention, clinical intervention/treatment, and macro scopes of practice. This includes any professional who has experience working with or on behalf of pregnant people, infants, young children, parents, and/or other caregivers.

Why pursue Endorsement?

For Yourself: Endorsement enhances your professional credibility and your confidence in working with pregnant people, infants, young children and their families.
For Children and Families: Endorsement supports the provision of high quality, culturally informed, reflective, and relationship based services to pregnant people, infants, toddlers and their families across a variety of disciplines, systems, and early childhood workforce sectors.
For Communities: Endorsement provides assurance to families, agencies, employers and the public at large that the endorsed professional meets high standards of care.
For Employers: Endorsement signifies that professionals have attained a specified level of functioning and understanding about the promotion of IMH and relationship-based approaches.
For the Field: Endorsement supports professional development and career planning within an organized framework and creates a supported, competent, high quality workforce that is better equipped to create positive outcomes for the pregnant people, infants, toddlers and families they serve.

What can I do now to support my Endorsement?

We’re thrilled to announce that our Endorsement Application System is open, featuring a cohort model for applications. This model allows you to work through the application process with a group of professionals, providing a structured support system. The Endorsement Coordinators will support you through every step toward application completion and submission. Additionally, you’ll benefit from the collective support and insights of your peers within the cohort.

We will open cohorts on a quarterly basis, so you can plan accordingly. While our Endorsement system is opening, you can start preparing by identifying the Endorsement category that best fits your professional goals. Review the Competency Guidelines to identify areas where additional training may be needed. If you aren’t currently participating in Reflective Supervision/Consultation, now is an excellent time to start accumulating those hours.

Identify your scope of work and align that with the category of Endorsement that fits best.
Review the Competencies for Infant Mental Health Endorsement and beginning compiling your previous educational and training experiences that may fit within these guidelines. Need Training Hours? Take a look at the Alliance Training Hub
Register or renew your MOAIMH-EC membership. To be Endorsed in any state, applicants must hold a current membership in any AIMH.

What is my Category of Endorsement?

Endorsement credentialing is split across two licenses Infant Mental Health Endorsement® (IMH-E®) for professionals working with (or on behalf of) children from birth to age 3 and Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement® (ECMH-E®) for professionals working with (or on behalf of) children from 3 to age 6. Applicants are welcome to apply to both Infant and Early Childhood Endorsement.

Utilize these graphics to determine which category is the best match for your scope of work, skills, expertise and experience.