World Association for Infant Mental Health - WAIMH

05/12/2025

Final weeks to nominate for the Awards!

Do you know someone whose work has made a significant impact in the infant mental health community? WAIMH Awards recognize outstanding contributions to the field across research, clinical practice, advocacy, and leadership.

Don’t miss the chance to honor a colleague, mentor, or changemaker. Nominations close on December 31st.

Award categories:
• WAIMH Award
• Sonya Bemporad Award
• René Spitz Award
• Serge Lebovici Award
• WAIMH New Investigator Award

Read more and send us your nominations: https://waimh.org/awards

01/12/2025

All flights to have been delayed to December 15 due to increased passenger demand!

You asked, and we listened! The abstract submission deadline for has been extended by two weeks, giving everyone the extra time they need to get onboard for this global conference.

Our Congress is committed to showcasing the full spectrum of experiences, cultures, and approaches that define our field. We want to hear from researchers, practitioners, policy makers, advocates, and students from around the world.

This is a ONE-TIME ONLY EXTENSION! The final day to submit your abstract is December 15. Don’t miss your flight or the chance to join our international community next October in Toronto, Canada.

Submit today: https://shorturl.at/ijbwc

28/11/2025

Wakwakurnaku Kumangka Pudnanthi ('Children’s Gathering Place') is a culturally grounded family support group developed by Nunkuwarrin Yunti of South Australia. This First Nations-led initiative supports families and their minya ones (little ones) in the first 1000 days through culturally safe, co-created practices. The group integrates traditional child-rearing practices, language, and ceremony with evidence-based approaches like Marte Meo and Circle of Security. The paper highlights how decolonising service delivery begins by honouring families’ voices. Read the full paper by Geneva Foster et al. (Australia)

Terms from our First Nations languages and/or Australian Aboriginal-English have been intentionally used as a decolonising practice in representing the Cultural language that we use in honouring the diversity of First Nations Cultures in our work. Nunkuwarrin Yunti of South Australia is an Aborigina...

21/11/2025

Marram-Ngala Ganbu (‘We are one’) is a First Nations led, trauma-informed approach to Children’s Court hearings for child protection matters in Victoria, Australia. This culturally grounded model reframes adversarial legal processes into more inclusive, family-led conversations, centering Aboriginal kinship, healing, and the wellbeing of infants. With symbolic elements like the possum skin cloak and coolamon, and sustained support for families, the program has led to more Aboriginal children staying with family, and greater culturally sensitive therapeutic jurisprudence throughout the Children’s Court. The paper highlights the need to move beyond reform within colonial systems toward First Nations led transformation. Read the full paper by Ashley Morris and Nicole Milburn (Australia).

The authors acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waters throughout Victoria, and pay our respects to Elders Past and Present. ‘For First Peoples in Victoria there is an unbroken connection between their experiences with colonial child removal practices and their experiences with the...

20/11/2025

November 20 marks Universal Children's Day. As we honour the rights and wellbeing of children around the world, we invite you to take part in a global conversation surrounding infant and early mental health at the 19th WAIMH World Congress in Toronto.

With the theme "Harmony in Diversity - Nurturing the Youngest Minds Around the World," this Congress is a celebration of the diverse voices and experiences that define our field.

Submit your abstract today and share your insights alongside a global community of researchers, practitioners, advocates, and policy makers.

Hurry, abstract submissions close on December 1: https://shorturl.at/0RPla

18/11/2025

The 19th WAIMH World Congress is more than just a conference — it's a global gathering of researchers, practitioners, advocates, and policy makers dedicated to infant and early mental health, infusing the science with lived experience.

Hear from Dr. Chaya Kulkarni, Director of IEMHP, Congress Host and Chair of the Local Organizing Committee, on why you should make plans to attend next October in Toronto.

Submit your abstract by December 1, and help shape the 2026 program: https://shorturl.at/0RPla

17/11/2025

The 19th WAIMH World Congress is more than just a conference, it's a celebration of global collaboration in infant and early mental health.

When we nurture the youngest minds, we unlock endless possibilities. Some will become scientists, artists, athletes, teachers, parents, or community leaders. Each path matters — and every child deserves the best start to reach their full potential.

As leaders in infant and early mental health, we have a responsibility to ensure every infant receives the right start and support to reach their full potential.

Abstract submissions for are now open. Submit your paper by December 1 and share your insights with a global community of academics, practitioners, advocates, and policymakers.

Submit today: https://shorturl.at/0RPla

13/11/2025

Memories from the Edinburgh Congress:
“Babies: Their Contributions – Our Responsibilities”

The Congress theme built on Colwyn Trevarthen’s seminal recognition of how infants actively build relationships from birth, through eye contact, smiles, and rhythmic interaction, reshaping our understanding of their capacities and our shared responsibilities as caregivers, professionals, and policymakers worldwide.

Were you at the Edinburgh congress? What do you remember most?

11/11/2025

Meet James Edward Swain, one of 's Plenary Speakers.

Dr. Swain is a clinician-scientist - the inpatient medical director of child psychiatry and a biological psychiatry researcher. As a clinician, he is interested in preventing and treating acute mental illness among children with special attention to parenting and early childhood. As a researcher, he studies the brain-basis of parent-infant bond formation and child outcome as a function of mental health problems and solutions for issues such as depression, anxiety, the chronic effects of stress and poverty and finally psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological treatments.

Join Dr. Swain and many other global experts on infant and early mental health at in Toronto, Canada.

Submit your abstract by December 1 and help shape this important conversation: https://shorturl.at/0RPla

07/11/2025

Colleagues in the United States (Evandra Catherine et al.) present a framework for decolonizing professional development in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC). The paper outlines five essential elements: shifting beliefs, exploring positionality, reflecting on equity, practicing difficult conversations, and embodying anti-bias practice. The authors emphasize the importance of relationship-focused learning environments and parallel processes that support consultants in disrupting systemic bias and promoting equity for marginalized children and their families.

Introduction Decolonizing infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) professional development (PD) requires rethinking how we conceptualize, train, and support consultants in the field. A decolonized approach recognizes that mainstream models of IECMHC PD often fail to fully acco...