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Welcome

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Welcome to the Association for Infant Mental Health AIMH (UK), an autonomous body affiliated to the World Association for Infant Mental Health (WAIMH).

Infant mental health is one of the most exciting and rapidly developing areas in the whole field of mental health. Research has shown that support for parents during their baby's first year can significantly increase the proportion of babies who form secure relationships with their parents, and this has lasting benefits for their subsequent development. A good beginning for young families is a protective factor in coping with life's inevitable stresses. Early intervention when there are difficulties can often prevent the development of mental health problems in later years.

Please visit the non-members area on the Navigation Panel to view the benefits that are available by becoming a Member. If you choose to secure a place on a Clinical Workshop, or at an AIMH (UK) Annual Conference you have the opportunity to take a full years membership which comes within the fee.

AIMH (UK) are now offering Children's Centres a special discounted membership rate.

Download information here

Forthcoming AIMH (UK) Clinical Workshops, The Tavistock Centre, London NW3. Members £45.00, non-members £70.00 (includes one year's free membership to AIMH (UK))

'Complex Safeguarding Cases : A Psychodynamic Approach to Understanding why True Collaboration between Professionals is so Hard' - led by Dr Amanda Jones, Saturday 4 December 2010

'Understanding Early Communication : From Birth to Three Months' - led by Dr Joanna Hawthorne, Saturday 15 January 2011

'The Importance of Touch' - led by Suzanne Adamson with Cherry Bond, IAIM Trainers, Saturday 5 March 2011

To register your interest please email the Administrator info@aimh.org.uk

Recent articles

  Why Early Intervention needs to be a Priority
Nursery World 27 May 2010. Even before the General Election, politicians from different parties were uniting in calls for investment in early intervention that could reduce society's ills and costs over the long term. Laura Marcus looks at the possibilities for making it happen.
Download this article from the Publications page.
  The Psychobiology of Neglect
Michael D. De Bellis, Duke Univeristy. CHILD MALTREATMENT, Vol 10, No 2, May 2005 150-172 DOI: 10.1177/1077559505275116 2005 Sage Publications. www.brainwave.org.nz
Download this Article from the Publications page
  The Early Years - How Experience Shapes the Brain
International Association of Youth and Family Judges and Magistrates. July 2009 Edition. Article written by Dr Simon Rowley MB ChB FRACP (Paediatrics), Consultant Paediatrician, Auckland City Hospital. Trustee Brainwave Trust. www.brainwave.org.nz
Download this Article from the Publications page
  iasa (International Association for the Study of Attachment) Conference, Plenary Addresses
iasa Conference 29-31 August 2010, St Johns' College Cambridge, see Events page for Conference details and links
Download Plenary Addresses here
  Promoting a Secure Attachment : A primary prevention practice model
Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry July 2010 15: 363-378, doi; 101177/1359104510367584
P O Svanberg. P O Svanberg Associates, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
Lisa Mennet. Center on Infant Health and Development, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
Susan Spieker. Centre on Infant Mental Health and Development, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
Click on title to access Abstract
  Maternal postnatal depression and children's growth and behaviour during the early years of life: exploring the interaction between physical and mental health
Maternal postnatal depression and children's growth and behaviour during the early years of life: exploring the interaction between physical and mental health. Bilal Avan, Linda M Richter, Paul G Ramchandani, Shane A Norris, Alan Stein.
Arch Dis Child published 26 July 2010, 10.1136/adc.2009.164848. Click on title to access information
  Perinatal Mental Distress and Infant Morbidity in Ethiopia: a cohort study
Perinatal mental distress and infant morbidity in Ethiopia: a cohort study: Joanna Ross, Charlotte Hanlon, Girmay Medhin, Atalay Alem, Fikru Tesfaye, Bogale Worku, Michael Dewey, Vikram Patel, Martin Prince Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed. published 28 July 2010, 10.1136/adc.2010.183327. Click on title to access information.
  State Case Studies of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Systems: Strategies for Change July 2010
This Report examines the efforts made in Colarado, Indiana, Massachusetts and Rhode Island to develop mental health systems of early identification and intervention for children from birth to age 5. Conclusions underscore the value of articulating a national vision of comprehensive infant and early childhood development and mental health systems of care, in which child and family well-being are promoted and needs are identified and treated as soon as possible. Support for this research provided by The Commonwealth Fund. Download this Report from the Publications page
  The Origins of 12-month attachment: a microanalysis of 4-month mother-infant interaction
A microanalysis of 4-month mother-infant face-to-face communication revealed a fine-grained specification of communication processes that predicted 12-month insecure attachment outcomes, particularly resistant and disorganized classifications......
NYS Psychiatric Institute, National Library of Medicine, New York Jan 2010. Download Article here
  Why Early Intervention Needs to be a Priority
Nursery World 27 May 2010. Even before the General Election, politicians from different parties were uniting for calls in investment in early intervention that could reduce society's ills and costs over the long term. Laura Marcus looks at the costs of making it happen. Download Article here
  The Best Start : Supporting happy, healthy childhoods

Recent report from the Australian Institute of Family Studies shows that children's early experiences are moulded by their family environments, by their relationships with parents, siblings, other family members or friends (and how they spend time with them) and by the characteristics of their home environment and neighborhood. Download this Report from the Publications page
  Prevention of Mental Illness : Why not Start at the Beginning?
Early Childhood Development Bulletin, Volume 9, No 1 - March 2010, CEECD, Centres of Excellence for Children's Well-being, written by Richard Tremblay, Director CEECD. Research now shows that mental health issues often have their roots in early childhood.......Download this Bulletin from the Publications Page.
  Infant Mental Health Journal, Supplement to Volume 32, Issue 3
'Infancy in Times of Transition' - Programme Abstracts, World Association for Infant Mental Health (WAIMH) 12th World Congress, June 30 to July 3rd 2010, Leipzig, Germany. 303 pages.
Download this Report from the Publications Page.
  Towards a Mentally Flourishing Scotland
Published by the Scottish Government, April 2009. Crown Copyright 2009. Mentally Healthy Infants, Children and Young People form one of the six strategic priorities in this Report
Download this Report from the Publications Page
  HealthProm: Evidence of the effectiveness of programmes to support parents and at-risk children
A report of a meeting under the auspices of the All Party Parliamentary Group on street children, 13 May 2009. HealthProm aims to promote child development to reduce institutionalisation of babies and small children in CIS countries, presently in Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Download Article here
  Early Experiences can Alter Gene Expression and Affect Long-Term Development
May 2010 - National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, Harvard University. New scientific research shows that environmental influences can actually affect whether and how genes are expressed. This growing scientific evidence supports the need for society to re-examine the way it thinks about the circumstances and experiences to which young children are exposed.
Download this Report from the Publications Page
  The WAVE Report - Violence and What to do About it
The WAVE Report 2005 - Violence and What to do About it. Written by George Hosking and Ita Walsh. Violence and what to do about it offers specific solutions designed to foster parental attunement to the needs of children, and the development of empathy in children towards the feelings of others. www.wavetrust.org
Download this Report from the Publications Page
  An Infant Mental Health Service: The Importance of the Early Years and Evidence Based Practice. Robin Balbernie
This document gives detailed evidence for the importance of infant-parent psychotherapy, and related relationship-based interventions, as a therapeutic and preventative service for at-risk babies and their parents. Each section can stand alone; but helping small people seems to call for big explanations. Paper written by Robin Balbernie Child Psychotherapist and Committee member AIMH (UK)
Download this Paper from the Publications Page
  Leaving Baby to Cry could Damage Brain Development

This article appeared in The Guardian on Wednesday 21 April 2010. It was published on guardian.co.uk at 8.05 BST on Thursday 22 April 2010. 'Neurobiologists say high levels of stress hormone cortisol are 'toxic' to the developing brain', according to parenting guru, Penelope Leach. Access article from link below

www.guardian.co.uk
  The cross-party challenge : early intervention for children and families
The cross-party challenge : early intervention for children and families. Graham Allen MP, Iain Duncan Smith MP. March 2010
Download the Report from the Publications page

Politicians from all parties support a cross-party campaign for better early intervention services. You too can lobby your MP to make early intervention a priority. Promoting Infant Mental Health is everybody's responsibility.
 
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