Associations for Infant Mental Health in the USA

06/24/2026

A Tuesday morning reminder. We'll be announcing the dates soon.

Over the last year, AIMHI-USA has offered an Early Childhood Leaders Academy and monthly Ask Me Anything sessions.

Leaders consistently shared something important: the value of talking with one another—of having space where peer connection is just as meaningful as content, and where real insight often emerges through conversation.

This summer, we’re introducing two new reflective, support-style spaces designed in response to that need.

~One space will be for AIMH Executive Directors/CEOs.
~The other will be for AIMH Board Leaders.

These are not traditional trainings or webinars. They are facilitated peer spaces focused on reflection, connection, and grounded support across leadership roles that can often feel isolating in different ways.

Executive Directors and CEOs carry the daily realities of organizational leadership—strategy, staffing, funding, partnerships, and the ongoing balance of mission and sustainability.

Board leaders carry governance, stewardship, and the responsibility of guiding vision and accountability. Both roles are essential, and both benefit from having a space to think out loud with others who understand the complexity of the work.

These spaces are for you if you are:
-An AIMH Executive Director or CEO seeking peer connection beyond your own organization
-A board chair or board member wanting deeper reflection on governance and leadership
-Someone who values thoughtful dialogue over quick answers
-A leader who wants space to reflect, not just respond

The intention is simple: to strengthen leadership by creating consistent spaces for honesty, reflection, and shared learning across the AIMH network.

More details are coming soon, including structure, frequency, and how to join

06/23/2026

Strong systems begin with strong relationships.

Across the country, Associations for Infant Mental Health are bringing together professionals, families, advocates, researchers, and policymakers around a shared commitment to infants, young children, and the adults who care for them.

At AIMHI-USA, we are proud to support the relationships that strengthen our field and expand our collective impact.

Who is someone helping strengthen relationships, families, or systems in this field? Tag them below.

Learn more about AIMHI-USA and the work we are building together: www.aimhiusa.org

06/17/2026

🤔June Ask Me Anything! Let's Talk AI

Artificial Intelligence is showing up in nearly every aspect of nonprofit leadership and practice.

Some see opportunity.

Others have concerns.

Most of us are somewhere in between.

As professionals dedicated to supporting infants, young children, and families, we know that relationships matter. As new technologies emerge, it's important that we explore them with curiosity, thoughtfulness, and a shared commitment to the people we serve.

Join AIMHI-USA for an open and honest conversation about how AI is influencing our work, our organizations, and our field.

Together, we'll explore what we're noticing, what we're learning, and what questions remain as we navigate this rapidly evolving landscape.

What opportunities do you see?

What concerns do you have?

What questions are you still holding?

Bring your ideas, experiences, and curiosity as we learn from one another.

Learn more at AIMHiUSA.org

06/12/2026

The early years matter. Congratulations to ZERO TO THREE on the 10th Strolling Thunder and for continuing to bring attention to the needs of babies, young children, and families.

06/10/2026

An important reminder from Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health that we are not walking in this work alone.

The thing about nonprofit work is that it can feel like two steps forward, one step back — especially in today's climate.

There are days when the challenges feel heavy: potential Medicaid changes, funding uncertainty, workforce strain, policy decisions that impact babies and families, and the ongoing responsibility to raise our voices while also keeping the day-to-day work moving.

Then sometimes, you look up from your desk and see something like this.

A reminder that this work is so much bigger than any one challenge.

And there are bright spots everywhere: families being listened to in new ways, parent leaders shaping decisions, organizations focused on ensuring families feel like the expert on their child with tools and resources, more sectors understanding that infant and early childhood mental health belongs in every system, and more partners working together across early care and education, home visiting, child welfare, behavioral health, health care, higher education, and policy.

At MI-AIMH, we are lucky to be connected to more than 200 organizations across Michigan working to promote infant and early childhood mental health. Through our international, peer-reviewed Infant Mental Health Journal: Infancy and Early Childhood, we engage with authors, researchers, and practitioners from around the world. And through IECMH Endorsement®, we are part of a larger network of infant mental health associations across the U.S. and in two other countries — each carrying this work in ways that reflect their own communities, systems, strengths, challenges, and relationships. In moments like this, that network matters even more. These are the times to share what is working, offer support across states and countries, learn from one another, and remember that none of us has to figure it out alone.

This view is a reminder, even when the work is hard, we are not doing it alone. And that makes it so much easier to keep plugging forward!

06/09/2026

The First Years Shape a Lifetime.

The earliest years of life lay the foundation for lifelong mental health, relationships, learning, and well-being.

Across the United States, professionals are working every day to support infants, young children, and the families who nurture them. AIMHiUSA was created to strengthen those efforts through connection, collaboration, and shared purpose.

As a national network supporting the infant and early childhood mental health workforce, AIMHiUSA brings together leaders, organizations, and advocates committed to advancing best practices, fostering innovation, and creating systems that help children and families thrive.

Together, we are building a stronger, more connected future for infants, young children, families, and the professionals who support them.

Connecting. Collaborating. Advocating.

Learn more at AIMHiUSA.org

06/03/2026

Thank you, Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health for highlighting this meaningful scholarship. We are grateful for the work being done across our field to support infants, young children, and their families.

As we continue highlighting the meaningful scholarship shared at the 2026 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health Conference, we want to extend our appreciation to Dr. Tova Walsh and Helenia Quince for sharing their paper:
“Unveiling complexities: Examining the role of traumatic loss in shaping the interplay between Black maternal mental health and maternal bonding.” This paper explores how prior traumatic loss may shape the relationship between depressive symptoms and bonding during a subsequent pregnancy among Black mothers. The work invites us to think more carefully about grief, trauma, depression, and bonding as deeply layered parts of pregnancy, parenting, and caregiving.

Some important reflections from this work:
✨ Black mothers experience significant disparities in perinatal mental health care and outcomes.
✨ Trauma and loss can shape maternal-infant relationships in nuanced and deeply complex ways.
✨ The study challenges assumptions that maternal depression weakens bonding, highlighting the resilience, attachment, and caregiving strengths present within Black motherhood.
✨ The findings underscore the need for culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and relationship-centered approaches in IECMH practice and research.

What makes this article especially impactful is its invitation to move beyond deficit-based narratives and instead asks the field to recognize the layered realities, strengths, and lived experiences of Black mothers and families.

We are deeply grateful to the researchers for sharing this important work with our conference community last month and for contributing to the ongoing advancement of equitable and culturally grounded Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health research and practice.

We encourage IECMH professionals, clinicians, researchers, and students to read the article and explore the important scholarship being published in IMHJ: Infancy and Early Childhood here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10970355

Find Dr. Walsh and Helenia’s paper for FREE here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/imhj.22156

05/29/2026

Over the last year, AIMHI-USA has offered an Early Childhood Leaders Academy and monthly Ask Me Anything sessions.

Leaders consistently shared something important: the value of talking with one another—of having space where peer connection is just as meaningful as content, and where real insight often emerges through conversation.

This summer, we’re introducing two new reflective, support-style spaces designed in response to that need.

~One space will be for AIMH Executive Directors/CEOs.
~The other will be for AIMH Board Leaders.

These are not traditional trainings or webinars. They are facilitated peer spaces focused on reflection, connection, and grounded support across leadership roles that can often feel isolating in different ways.

Executive Directors and CEOs carry the daily realities of organizational leadership—strategy, staffing, funding, partnerships, and the ongoing balance of mission and sustainability.

Board leaders carry governance, stewardship, and the responsibility of guiding vision and accountability. Both roles are essential, and both benefit from having a space to think out loud with others who understand the complexity of the work.

These spaces are for you if you are:
-An AIMH Executive Director or CEO seeking peer connection beyond your own organization
-A board chair or board member wanting deeper reflection on governance and leadership
-Someone who values thoughtful dialogue over quick answers
-A leader who wants space to reflect, not just respond

The intention is simple: to strengthen leadership by creating consistent spaces for honesty, reflection, and shared learning across the AIMH network.

More details are coming soon, including structure, frequency, and how to join

05/28/2026

It's today! We're starting at 3:00 eastern---- see you there.

Join us for this month’s AIMHI-USA Ask Me Anything session!

This month, we’re excited to welcome Stephanie Morton, Executive Director of Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Montana (the home of Montana's new Association for Infant Mental Health), as she shares insights and lessons learned from collaborating on grants across organizations and systems.

Collaboration is at the heart of strong infant and early childhood mental health systems, and this conversation will offer practical ideas, honest reflection, and space for shared learning together.

📅 4th Thursday of the Month
🕒 3:00–4:30 PM Eastern
2:00–3:30 PM Central
1:00–2:30 PM Mountain
12:00–1:30 PM Pacific
11:00 AM–12:30 PM Alaska
9:00–10:30 AM Hawaii-Aleutian

Bring your questions, experiences, and curiosity. Everyone is welcome!

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84963325291?pwd=anXF1kaTiAFTAoiS9jcPvFKiMvpQJp.1

05/21/2026

Join us for this month’s AIMHI-USA Ask Me Anything session!

This month, we’re excited to welcome Stephanie Morton, Executive Director of Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Montana (the home of Montana's new Association for Infant Mental Health), as she shares insights and lessons learned from collaborating on grants across organizations and systems.

Collaboration is at the heart of strong infant and early childhood mental health systems, and this conversation will offer practical ideas, honest reflection, and space for shared learning together.

📅 4th Thursday of the Month
🕒 3:00–4:30 PM Eastern
2:00–3:30 PM Central
1:00–2:30 PM Mountain
12:00–1:30 PM Pacific
11:00 AM–12:30 PM Alaska
9:00–10:30 AM Hawaii-Aleutian

Bring your questions, experiences, and curiosity. Everyone is welcome!

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84963325291?pwd=anXF1kaTiAFTAoiS9jcPvFKiMvpQJp.1