Endorsement Credentials
All categories of Endorsement are able to submit each time. Applicants will hear back by the end of the following month (January 31st submission will hear back by February 28), and exam takers will be able to sit as soon as 3 months from submission (Jan Submission, can sit end of April)
This is valid as of January 1, 2024.
Endorsement for Culturally-Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice Promoting Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health®
Overview
Endorsement® is meant to honor professionals who apply infant & early childhood mental health (IECMH) principles to their practice. It is granted through documentation and verification of the required specialized education, work, in-service training, and reflective supervision/consultation (RS/C experiences. Endorsement® is not a license but an overlay that complements one’s professional license and/or other credentials.
For more information, please send an email to:
If you have questions about Endorsement® or would like to get started with Endorsement®, please make an appointment with our Endorsement® Coordinator here:
AIMH HI offers Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement®:
Click on the image below for a brief overview of requirements for different types of Endorsement®:
Check out these videos from the Advancement of Infant Mental Health
What is Endorsement? (Full Video)
The Alliance for Advancement of Infant Mental Health explains endorsement in depth.
What is Endorsement? (Brief Video)
The Alliance for Advancement of Infant Mental Health explains endorsement in a brief
Endorsement is Good for Babies
Ashley McCormick, LMSW, IECMH-E®
Faith Eidson, LMSW, IECMH-E®
Babies’ early experiences and relationships shape how the brain is built and form the foundation for all future development. In order to support optimal early relational development, support for professional development initiatives in the infant, young child and family workforce is a crucial strategy. Providing services to vulnerable babies, young children and their families, particularly those facing chronic adversity, is challenging and requires a unique set of skills. In order to meet these demands, the workforce must have access to high quality in-service training, educational opportunities and reflective experiences that support their work. Acquiring and maintaining this level of professional development requires individual commitment and systems engagement. Recognition for the commitment of infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) informed professionals can be demonstrated by earning the Infant or Early Childhood Mental Health (IMH-E/ECMH-E) Endorsement credential. Growing evidence indicates that endorsed professionals are better prepared to support the foundational early development of babies and young children, in the context of their caregiving relationships.
Endorsement involves a standardized process to determine that a professional has accumulated specialized experiences in the infant and early childhood field and has signed a Code of Ethics. All applicants receive a copy of the Code of Ethics. An applicant’s experiences are documented by the submission of an application that details competency-based training, specialized work experiences, and for most, reflective supervision/consultation (RSC) experiences. The application also includes official transcripts and three reference ratings. Endorsees as Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist and Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Mentor have passed an exam that includes measures of theoretical knowledge, direct service skills, and their capacity to apply these principles into practice. This exam is scored by a team of two reviewers who are blind to the identity of the examinee.
To maintain Endorsement also requires ongoing training and, in the cases of Infant/Early Childhood Family Specialist, Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist and Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Mentor-Clinical, ongoing RSC. Endorsees are also required to re-commit to upholding the Code of Ethics annually. Beginning in January of 2022, this commitment includes signing an attestation that the endorsee has not been sanctioned by a licensing board.
Endorsement is not a professional license or a certificate. AIMH HI Endorsement cannot guarantee the quality of service of any endorsed professional. AIMH HI Endorsement does not include a process by which complaints or concerns regarding ethics can be filed. If AIMH HI becomes aware of possible ethics violations by an endorsed professional, complainants are encouraged to, when applicable, contact the individual’s professional licensing board. The AIMH HI Endorsement does not offer monitoring for ethics violations, however if AIMH HI learns that an endorsed professional has been sanctioned by a licensing board, the individual’s name is moved to the Inactive Endorsement Registry. Those professionals will follow the policy for reactivation to the Active Endorsement Registry once the licensing board’s sanctions have been lifted.