VAIMH's Mission & Values
It is easier to build strong children
than to repair broken men.
- Frederick Douglass
Mission
VAIMH strives to promote social emotional health and wellness in infants and young children through building awareness, promoting professional capacity, fostering partnerships, and supporting policies which are in the best interest of infants, young children, and their families.
Vision
Infant mental health supports and strengthens nurturing relationships between infants, young children, and their family/caregiver(s) to build healthy social emotional development.
Values
Importance of Relationships
Understands the importance of relationship, the primary instrument for growth and change.
Uses knowledge and skills to provide services that promote, support, restore, and sustain nurturing relationships for all infants/young children and families.
Works to establish strong, collaborative relationships with community professionals to enhance services to all infants/young children and families.
Understands the importance of past relationship experiences to the development of current relationships.
Respect for Ethnicity, Culture, Individuality, and Diversity
Understands and respects the uniqueness of each individual with respect for ethnicity, culture, individuality, and diversity in all aspects of infant/young child and family practice.
Integrity
Practices in ways that are ethical, trustworthy, honest, responsible, and reliable.
Confidentiality
Abides by the ethical standards of the agency or place of work and is guided by the legal and practice standards in human services.
Knowledge and Skill Building
Works continuously to acquire new knowledge and skills to enhance best-practice within the infant/young child and family field.
Reflective Practice
Seeks out and uses Reflective Supervision/Consultation (RS/C) to reflect on professional development and personal growth related to work with, or on behalf of, infants, toddlers, young children, and their families.
Beliefs
Optimal growth and development occur within nurturing relationships;
The birth and care of a new baby offer a family the possibility of new relationships, growth, and change;
What happens in the early years affects the course of development across the life span;
Early developing attachment relationships may be distorted or disturbed by parental histories of unresolved losses and traumatic life events; and,
The therapeutic presence of an I/ECMH Specialist may reduce the risk of relationship failure and offer the hopefulness of warm and nurturing parental responses.