IMHC (Infant Mental Health Competency) training builds on your exsisting knowledge and understanding of parental bonding, infant attachment and parent infant relationships.

Early parent-infant relationship relationships, and the extraordinary development of the brain – with its vulnerability to trauma and neglect – are key to our relationships with others throughout life, and our ongoing emotional wellbeing.

Our training will give you confidence in giving a voice to the baby/child and the impact of their experiences.

The course helps you to support parents and carers who often have their own difficult life histories which, in turn, impact on their capacity to care for their children.

This understanding, and the skills developed further during the course, help you to achieve:

• more thorough assessment of emotional needs

• reduced risk and better safeguarding

• more effective therapeutic intervention

• more effective communication with the professional network.

To be able to hold the infant mental health and wellbeing in mind when you are working with families so that you can deliver high quality care.​

You wil be able to identify stressors and risks to the care giving relationship that might impact on the parent infant relationship and in time on the optimum development of the infant.​

You will understand how to apply attachment theory in practise. Recognise how attachment styles can enhance interpersonal relationships, including impacting interactions between caregiver and infant.​

You will be able to assess additional needs that families may have and support the caregiving relationship through introduction to relevant available resources, including working within relevant legal and professional frameworks.​

You will be able to reflect on your personal experience of working with families, to facilitate better communication, understanding and appreciation.​

You will feel empowered to work within your own boundaries and to seek support, including supervision when needed.

In person or online training delivered in 2 parts over one or two day.

Part 1 Mandatory training – Infant Mental Health knowledge and skills

Part 2 Personal and Professional development – Attachment theory in practice

Pre course self-assessment – self guided, time to complete estimated 40 minutes.

Post course self-assessment – self guided, time to complete estimated 40 minutes.

The human brain has over 100 billion neurons, each connecting to around 10,000 other neurons. These connections are affected by our social and emotional experience from infancy. So how can we help to nurture healthy brains?

Our IMHC Training Courses incorporate current research in the field of child development, including: neuroscience, attachment, emotional regulation, parental attunement and mentalization / reflective capacity.

The courses build on concepts and skills embedded within psychodynamic therapeutic work, mentalization-based therapy and interventions such as the Solihull Approach (Douglas, H. & Ginty, M. 2001), Watch, Wait and Wonder (Muir, E. 1992), the Tavistock Clinic approach: Watch Me Play! (2020), Mind-mindedness (Meins, E. 2012) and Words and Pictures (Hiles, M., Essex, S., Fox, A. and Luger, C. (2008).