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Promoting, supporting and strengthening children's earliest relationships.

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Promoting, supporting and strengthening children’s earliest relationships
prenatal to age six




Latest News: CT-AIMH Offers Education and Expertise in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health

Coming Soon in 2023!

Coming Soon in 2023!

CT-AIMH will be offering more Infant Mental Health (IMH) training to professionals in 2023. We hope you will join us! Click Read More to learn more about the trainings that will be offered in 2023.

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Three Ways to Donate to CT-AIMH!

Three Ways to Donate to CT-AIMH!

CT-AIMH cares for CT’s Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) professionals and the IECMH professionals from many different professions support infants, young children and their families in CT. CT-AIMH is a statewide non-profit organization that relies on grants, fees, and donations for support. Your support will go directly to helping with training, education, and reflective supervision for these important IECMH professionals in CT. Click to learn more about 3 ways you can donate to CT-AIMH this holiday season.

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Important Changes to the Endorsement Requirements

Important Changes to the Endorsement Requirements

The Alliance for the Advancement for Infant Mental Health assembled a task force to examine the reflective supervision/consultation requirements for Endorsement and in doing so the task force identified other Endorsement requirements that posed barriers and inequities for users. They recommended that the following requirements be changed, which were unanimously accepted. Read more to see all of the changes and the dates in which they will go into effect.

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Celebrate Babies Week!

Celebrate Babies Week!

Celebrate Babies Week with CT-AIMH. Join a virtual education event on 10/21, view a Proclamation from Govenor Lamont, and participate in a survey for a chance to win a prize!

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CT-AIMH Membership database

CT-AIMH Membership database

CT-AIMH is excited to announce our new Membership database. You can now sign-up, and renew your membership through MyCT-AIMH. This system helps you keep track of your own membership. Annual membership runs from January-December of each year. If you sign up for...

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When We Stand in Solidarity, We are All Connected. I see you. I hear you. I feel you.

When We Stand in Solidarity, We are All Connected. I see you. I hear you. I feel you.

We stand in solidarity in times of war. We are sharing some relevant resources and a reminder that there is an open invitation to join the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.

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What is Infant Mental Health?

Infant Mental Health concerns the relationships that infants and young children develop with their primary attachment figure, which may be a parent or other primary caregiver.  Infant Mental Health, sometimes referred to as Infant Brain Health, has been defined as the developing capacity of the child from birth through age five to: experience, regulate, and express emotions; form close, secure interpersonal relationships; and explore his/her environment and learn–all within the context of family, community, and cultural expectations (Zero to Three Infant Mental Health Task Force Steering Committee, 2001).

Promoting, supporting and strengthening these early relationships in a culturally sensitive context is the work of professionals from many disciplines including health, human services, and education.  When these earliest relationships are positive, responsive and predictable the stage is set for all future learning, growth, and development.

We have a shared stake to make sure babies develop sturdy brain architecture because this foundation supports a lifetime of learning and productive participation in society. A reliable caregiver who is responsive to a baby’s needs is the base for secure attachment, which allows an infant to explore and learn.

Toxic stress from broken caregiver-infant relationships can push a baby’s stress hormones into overdrive. When constantly present, these hormones disrupt brain and physical development. And babies can’t learn if their brains and bodies are working against them. The antidote to toxic stress? Affection and protection by a nurturing caregiver.

Secure attachment is a fundamental building block of social function. Children need relationships with sensitive caregivers to self-regulate, get along with others, solve problems, and be productive — the basis for civic and economic prosperity.

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Who We Are

The Connecticut Association for Infant Mental Health (CT-AIMH) is a professional statewide non-profit organization that offers education and expertise in infant and early childhood mental health. We promote and hold a set of Competency Guidelines®, that when they are met, lead to an Endorsement in Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice Promoting Infant or Early Childhood Mental Health®.

Mission

CT-AIMH works to promote, support and strengthen nurturing, quality relationships for infants, young children and their caregivers, within the context of family, community and culture through education, advocacy, and professional development.

It is CT-AIMH’s hope that all infants and young children in Connecticut will experience nurturing, responsive care through strong relationships that ensure optimal social and emotional growth and development.

Mission Related Priorities

1. Increase the competency and capacity of the workforce serving infants and young children and their families.

2. Engage increasingly and visibly in public policy and advocacy.

3. Raise public awareness of the importance of promoting the mental health and wellness of the most vulnerable young children in Connecticut.

CT-AIMH brochure download PDF

Our Affiliations

Alliance for Advancement of Infant Mental Health

World Association for Infant Mental Health

Zero to Three

For Our Babies

The materials supporting the Connecticut Association for infant Mental Health (CT-AIMH) Competency Guidelines® are copyrighted by the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health (MI-AIMH). The CT-AIMH is able to make these materials available to our membership and collaborators through a licensing agreement with the MI-AIMH.

 

Copyright law does allow individuals to print out or make ONE copy of copyrighted material for personal, non-commercial purposes only. None of the copyrighted Endorsement® documents included here may be reproduced, displayed, distributed or otherwise used in any format, including electronically, without the express written consent of MI-AIMH. Legal action will be taken against those who violate the copyright.

Contact Us

Connecticut Association for Infant Mental Health, Inc.
c/o Yale Child Study Center
Attn: Linda Isakson
230 South Frontage Road
New Haven, CT 06520
Phone: 203-737-6422
[email protected]

Copyright © 2018 CT-AIMH

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