Build a Stronger Foundation for the Children and Families You Serve
6-week Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) blended learning training for professionals working with children birth–5 who want to understand children's well-being through the lens of their relationships and experiences.
IEMCH Foundations Certificate
October 27–December 15
6 self-paced modules • 4 live Zoom sessions • CEUs • IECMH Endorsement hours
Register for IECMH FoundationsInfants don't have mental health, do they?
~ Maybe you've known a young child struggling to adjust to a new caregiver, childcare program, or life change
~ A family facing ongoing stress and uncertainty
~ A parent trying to understand what their baby or young child needs
~ Or a child who doesn't seem to be thriving in the ways everyone hopes
These experiences remind us of an important truth:
Young children develop within relationships.
The earliest relationships shape a child's social, emotional, and mental well-being, laying the foundation for learning, resilience, and lifelong health. When children experience stress, loss, separation, or other challenges, supportive relationships can make all the difference.
Healthy Relationships Matter.
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) helps us understand children's development and well-being through the lens of their relationships and experiences.
As a professional serving young children and families, perhaps you've found yourself:
~ Seeking a deeper understanding of the needs of the young children and families you see everyday
~ Discouraged when traditional solutions don't seem to fit the needs of the families you serve
~ Feeling isolated in the important work of supporting children and caregivers
~ Wanting to offer more to children, caregivers, and communities but unsure about where to begin
You don't have to figure this out alone!
The IECMH Foundations Certificate Training will help you deepen your understanding of infant and early childhood social-emotional development, early brain development, and the critical role of relationships in shaping lifelong outcomes.
Led by experienced IECMH specialists from South Carolina's leading organization dedicated to infant and early childhood mental health, this training will help you see children and families through a new lens, one that transforms the question from:
"What's wrong with this child?" to
IECMH Foundations Certificate Training helps professionals like you:
UNDERSTAND
See young children and families through an IECMH lens.
APPLY
Bring IECMH principles into the work you already do with families.
RESPOND
Use a relationship-based approach to better understand what children and families need.
When we change the way we understand young children and families,
we change the way we support them and that can
change a child's trajectory for life.
IECMH Foundations Certificate Training
Six weeks. Six modules.
A deeper understanding of young children.
Module 1
Introducing IECMH
What IECMH is and why relationships matter
Module 2
Attachment & the brain
How early relationships shape development
Module 3
Pregnancy, birth & postpartum
Understanding the earliest experiences that shape development
Module 4
Infant & early childhood development
What young children need as they grow
Module 5
Separation, trauma, grief, loss & resilience
Understanding what children may carry into relationships
Module 6
Family-centered practices and parenting
Putting an IECMH lens into everyday work
The training includes:
Resources
Video Recordings
Self-reflection
Mindfulness
Endorsement Hours
Completion Certificate & CEUs
Community
Is the IECMH Foundations Certificate for you?
If you work with young children and families, the answer might be yes.
You don't have to be a mental health clinician to benefit from an IECMH lens. Foundations is designed for professionals across the systems that support young children and their caregivers.
You might be...
Supporting children every day
Early childhood educators • Childcare professionals • Home visitors • Early intervention professionals
Supporting families and caregivers
Social Workers • Family support professionals • Nurses • Pediatric providers • Community Health Workers
Supporting the systems around them
Program directors • Supervisors • Administrators • Child-serving leaders • Community partners
Wherever you work, the IECMH Foundations Certificate can change the way you see young children, understand their relationships and experiences, and show up for the families you serve.
Save the dates!
IECMH Foundations Certificate Training is unique with a combination of self-paced modules AND live training by our IECMH Training Specialists. Participants have 6 weeks to complete all the modules and will receive CEUs and a certificate of completion.
IECMH Foundations Certificate Training
A $2000 professional development experience
Your investment:
$420
- Self-paced training modules for busy professionals
- Gain deeper understanding of IECMH
- Real life examples to bring material to life
- Community of similar professionals in SC
- Hours count towards endorsement application
- CEUs available
- Trained by certified IECMH training specialists
Join us! Find the option below that best suits you.
IECMH Foundations Certificate Course
Fill out the form below to save your seat at our upcoming cohort, kicking off on October 27th!
Individual Financial Aid
Thanks to generous funders, we have a limited amount of financial aid available. If you would like to apply for aid, please click the button below.
Group Financial Aid
Thanks to generous funders, we have special financial aid available for groups. If you would like to apply for aid and receive group rates for your team, fill out the application below.
FAQs
What if I'm unable to attend the training dates?
Can I get CEUs for participating in this training?
Does this training count toward my endorsement hours?
How much time should I expect to commit to this training?
More questions?
Reach out to Lindsay Widrig, SCIMHA's Endorsement & Partnership Specialist at lwidrig@scimha.org
Meet Your Trainers
Alissa Eromae, MSW, IMH-E®
IEMCH Training Specialist
I've spent more than 20 years walking alongside young children and their families in a variety of roles, including postpartum doula, infant massage instructor, early intervention provider, and infant mental health specialist. I found my professional home in the field of infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH), where my experience, values, and passion for strengthening relationships during the earliest years of life came together. I earned my Master of Social Work from the University of Washington and hold the internationally recognized Infant Mental Health Specialist endorsement.
Outside of work, I'm a mom to three amazing young adults who have taught me as much as I've ever taught them. I'm a creative at heart and love making art, capturing people and their stories through photography, and surrounding myself with vintage finds and thrifted treasures that bring character to my home.
Lindsay Widrig, MA, MFT
Endorsement & Partnership Specialist
I've spent the past 13 years supporting young children, caregivers, families, and communities through relationship-based, trauma-informed mental health services. As a Marriage and Family Therapist, I worked in private practice before finding my professional home in the field of infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH).
My work is grounded in attachment, early relationships, caregiver-child interactions, and the social-emotional development of young children. At SCIMHA, I support professionals as they build their knowledge, skills, and professional development in IECMH. I also bring experience in IECMH consultation, partnering with early childhood educators, program leaders, and families through reflective consultation, observation, coaching, and collaborative problem-solving.
I'm passionate about helping professionals and systems build the capacity to better support young children and their caregivers.
Outside of work, I enjoy cheering on my oldest son at the ballpark, spending time at the beach, and taking quick weekend getaways with my family. My youngest child’s experience with a rare disease has given me a deeper perspective on parenting, resilience, and the importance of being present for what matters most.
What we do.
SCIMHA is a collaborative, multidisciplinary membership association for all infant-, early childhood- and family-serving professionals in South Carolina. As a hub for healthy social and emotional development resources, we help babies thrive.
