Monday October 18th
FAIMH's mission is to support & strengthen the infant mental health workforce in Florida....but what makes an infant mental health community?
Infant Mental Health professionals are professionals who use reflective practice to "hold the baby in mind" in all we do. We promote relationship-based practices and service, and understand the importance of every day experiences, serve-and-return interactions and responsive caregiving practices to best support the healthy brain development of infants and young children. We support and serve the parents and family together with the infant or child, since babies grow in the context of family, community and culture, using the Diversity Informed Tenets for Work with Infants, Children and Families. IMH work may be universal promotion, targeted prevention, or the treatment and healing of the effects of trauma experienced by babies and young children.
We serve in a diverse array of fields, including early care & education, early intervention, child welfare, mental health, social work, psychology, psychiatry, pediatric healthcare and the allied health professions.
Our FAIMH community includes students studying in these fields, early care and education providers caring for our community's children, early intervention and developmental specialists, mental health providers, case managers and care coordinators, IECMH consultants, healthcare professionals, allied health professionals (physical, occupational & speech/feeding therapists), program specialists, managers and administrators of programs that serve children & families, as well as legislators and systems-level policymakers whose decisions impact the lives of young children and their families. FAIMH members represent a multitude of roles and organizations which all serve infants, young children and their families in various capacities across Florida.
Who is considered an Infant Mental Health (IMH) Professional?
- Early learning (child care) providers
- Home visitors, care coordinators, case managers and other direct service staff
- Infant mental health practitioners (licensed mental health providers)
- Developmental psychologists and psychiatrists
- Coordinating agency staff and leaders (Healthy Start Coalitions, Early Learning Coalitions, Children's Services Councils)
- Early intervention providers, program staff and leaders (Early Steps)
- Prenatal and women’s health care providers
- Pediatricians and nurses (in Mother-Baby units, NICU & PICUs)
- Community health practitioners
- Program administrators of programs that serve children 0-5 and their families
- System leaders whose decisions impact Florida's youngest children and families
We are dedicated to nurturing the wellbeing of Florida's infants, children and families by supporting and strengthening the infant mental health workforce--that's YOU!
Whether you provide direct service to infants, young children and/or their families, or are an administrator or leader that creates programs and policies that impact Florida's most vulnerable families, if you support relationship-based, responsive care and services, and you use reflective practice to hold the baby in mind in all aspects of your work, then you ARE part of our infant mental health workforce!
Let us come together as one diverse community, connected by our shared purpose and goal of creating a Florida where every child is emotionally healthy, equipped to learn, and nurtured to develop their full potential.
Don't forget to RSVP for our Celebrate Babies IMH Conversation!
Weds. October 20th via Zoom at 12pm Eastern/ 11am Central