Applicants pursuing the following credentials must pass an exam prior to earning Endorsement:
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Infant Mental Health Specialist (IMHS)
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Infant Mental Health Mentor-Clinical (IMHM-C)
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Infant Mental Health Mentor-Policy (IMHM-P)
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Infant Mental Health Mentor-Research/Faculty (IMHM-R/F)
Part 1: 90-Minute Multiple Choice
Consists of 60 multiple choice questions focused on IMH knowledge specific to work with infants, young children, and their families. Questions relate to direct service, reflective supervision/consultation, policy, and research.
Your study of the following topics, learned in a university program, through intensive infant mental health in-service trainings and workshops and self-study is the third component. Opportunities to reflect on what is learned with colleagues and senior clinicians helps to better ensure integration of theory into practice.
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Pregnancy, childbirth, and the newborn period.
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Attachment theory and early relationship development.
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Caregiving practices and behaviors.
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Family, parenting, and childcare issues.
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Infant and toddler development in all domains (e.g., social, emotional, cognitive, language, and physical).
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Temperament and individual differences in infancy and early childhood.
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Indicators of risk, identified disturbance or disorder, as well as capacity, in infancy, early childhood, and early parenthood.
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Infant mental health practice.
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Best practice of infant mental health assessment, diagnoses, and treatment approaches.
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Cultural competence.
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Familiarity with standardized screening and assessment tools.
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Familiarity with service delivery systems that cater to infants, toddlers, and their families.
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Reflective supervisory practice (Infant Mental Health Mentor IV-Clinical).
Part 2: 90-Minute Vignettes
Part 2 is intended to measure the Applicant’s capacity to apply their knowledge of IECMH principles into practice and demonstrate a reflective, relationship-based approach through written responses to vignettes.
Things to Consider
Infant Mental Health Specialist (IMHS):
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your work experiences with infants/toddlers and their families, where you are working from a relationship-based perspective practicing infant mental health.
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your experience of reflective supervision (individual or group).
Infant Mental Health Mentor-Clinical (IMHM-C):
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One clinical vignette/scenario must be answered from the perspective of a supervisor.
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One of two clinical vignettes/scenarios must be answered from the perspective of the infant mental health specialist/practitioner. Consider:
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your work experiences with infants/toddlers and their families, where you are working from a relationship-based perspective practicing infant mental health.
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your experience of reflective supervision (individual or group).
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your experience as a supervisor/consultant who has provided, or is providing, reflective supervision to practitioners working with infants, toddlers, young children, and parents/caregivers.
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Infant Mental Health Mentor-Policy (IMHM-P):
You will rely on your extensive leadership experience with the infant-family field ensuring the promotion and practice of infant mental health. Consider:
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Funding
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Systems development
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All that is required to promote change across systems
Infant Mental Health Mentor-Research/Faculty (IMHM-R/F):
You will rely on your extensive research and teaching experience in the infant-family field related to the study of pregnancy, infancy, early childhood, and early parenthood; attachment security and relationship needs; risk and resiliency in the early years; caregiving practices; early assessment and intervention strategies, and the mental health needs of infants and toddlers, to name a few.