Steps to Apply for Virginia’s
Infant Mental Health Endorsement®
Applications for the Infant Mental Health Endorsement® may be submitted at any time.
The cutoff deadline to be accepted into VAIMH's newest cohort is November 15th. Applicants will be notified of an acceptance decision by November 30th.
Pending grant funding, scholarship support may be available to support group Reflective Supervision and Consultation (RSC) the following January.
For a step-by-step outline of the EASy Application, please click here or see the PDF below.
*Note: We will be rolling out the Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement® (ECMH-E®) in August 2023.
1) Review the IECMH Endorsement® Requirements Overview for an outline of requirements for each of the 5 levels of IECMH Endorsement in order to determine which category most closely aligns with your education and scope of practice.
2) Review the Endorsement for Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice Promoting Infant Mental Health Competency Guidelines® for a detailed outline of requirements for your possible category of Endorsement.
3) Review costs associated with VAIMH's Initial Endorsement and Annual Endorsement Renewal. https://www.vaimh.org/endorsement-fees
4) Obtain your supervisor's approval to pursue your IECMH Endorsement. Discuss whether your organization has funding to help support financial requirements related to obtaining Endorsement, particularly Reflective Supervision, if applicable.
5) Update your resume so it is ready to upload with your application (required only if you wish to use coursework to meet any competency requirements).
*6) Join the Virginia Association for Infant Mental Health (VAIMH). Pursuing and/or maintaining Endorsement requires that you are a member of your state's Association for Infant Mental Health. To join VAIMH, please click here. (The membership year runs January 1 - December 31.)
VAIMH Membership Fee: $60.00 (annually)
*7) Submit your application in the online Endorsement Application System (EASy):
Endorsement Application Fee: $50.00
Once submitted, your application will undergo an Application Review. During this time, you will not be able to access your application to make changes.
Applicants will be notified of an acceptance decision by November 30th. (See Application Status Flowchart.)
8) Upon achieving Endorsement, you will receive an official Endorsement® certificate and can indicate your Endorsement using the IMH-E® mark to let employers, parents, health and legal practitioners, and insurance providers know that you have expertise related to the social and emotional development of infants and young children and their families. Your name and credential will then be added to the Virginia Infant Mental Health Endorsement Registry housed on the VAIMH website.
Annual Renewal of your Endorsement is required
Endorsement® is an ongoing process dedicated to annual professional development as it relates to IECMH principles. Please see the Endorsement Renewal page for more information. https://www.vaimh.org/endorsement-renewal