News from the WAIMH Central Office: Member Survey, World Congresses, and IMH Resources

Dear WAIMH Members,

The WAIMH 2024 Tampere Interim Congress in June was well attended with 422 participants from 36 countries. We received kind feedback from the delegates, the Professional Congress Organizer, as well as the venue staff on site, noting that the atmosphere at the conference was exceptionally warm. This is thanks to you – thank you all for the wonderful WAIMH spirit!

In this office news, we invite you to participate in a brief survey about the WAIMH member webpage, provide updates on the World Congresses, and remind you of some current membership benefits and resources.

WAIMH Member Webpage Survey 2024

Your feedback is essential in shaping the WAIMH member webpage to meet the needs of our online membership community and to ensure it is accessible, relevant, and valuable for everyone involved. Please take a moment to answer this brief survey by September 30^th.

Photo: WAIMH2024 Welcome Reception was hosted by the City of Tampere at the City Hall. Credit: WAIMH

WAIMH World Congresses

The WAIMH 2024 Interim World Congress was held in Tampere, the hometown of the Central Office, in June this year, to resume the pattern of the World Congresses occurring in even years. The theme of the Congress was “Looking for the Best Care for Babies, Young Children, and Their Families.”

For those who couldn’t join us, don’t worry – the Congress presentations were recorded, and we will notify you once they are available for viewing. If you did attend the Congress and have not yet received a certificate of attendance, you can request it via email: office@waimh.org

The WAIMH 2026 World Congress will be held in Toronto, Canada, from October 2nd-6th, 2026. The theme of the Congress will be “Harmony in Diversity: Nurturing the Youngest Minds Around the World.” Preparations for the Congress have already begun. Stay tuned for further announcements!

WAIMH is still open for bids for the WAIMH 2028 World Congress. It has been our experience that hosting a World Congress can have a stimulating, boosting effect for the local Affiliate, the benefits of which are felt for a long time thereafter. The deadline for submitting a bid is December 15th, 2024. Read more about what the WAIMH Board expects from a bid.

WAIMH Membership and IMH Resources

As a member of WAIMH, you gain access to materials, congresses, and information that help all of us increase infant mental health globally. There is still time to renew your membership or to become a WAIMH member for 2024. Please note that the membership year runs from January to December, regardless of when you renew. (Membership effective Jan 01 – Dec 31).

The Infant Mental Health Journal, the official publication of WAIMH, is now Infant Mental Health Journal: Infancy and Early Childhood! The updated title better reflects the journal’s focus on infant and early childhood mental health. WAIMH members may order the journal at a greatly reduced member rate through the WAIMH Online Store.

As a reminder, here are some other ongoing online resources for WAIMH members and all our IMH colleagues:

WAIMH eBook: Global Perspectives on the Transdisciplinary Field of Infant Mental Health 1993–2021. This comprehensive resource spans nearly three decades of insights into theories, interventions, and practices in infant mental health. The 17 chapters cover essential topics such as reflective supervision, parent-infant therapeutic modalities and settings, as well as contextual topics in the field, such as infant mental health promotion, infants’ rights, COVID-19, and resilience. The eBook is free for WAIMH members and $10 USD for non-members.
WAIMH Infants in Crises webpage. This webpage comprises free and open-access resources that focus on the needs of infants and their families amidst global crises.
Laying the Path for Lifelong Wellness Lecture Series 2022. The 15-part webinar series brings world-renowned experts in infant and early mental health research and practice to you in an accessible and flexible format that can be easily integrated into staff development and continuing professional education. The series is presented jointly by Infant and Early Mental Health Promotion (IEMHP) at the Hospital for Sick Children, WAIMH, and Tampere University.
WAIMH 2023 Recordings of Presentations.
1. Emotional Brain Development and the Role of Parenting (Nim Tottenham, Columbia University)
2. Threat versus Deprivation in Mother’s Childhood: Differential Relations to Infant Regional Brain Volumes and Cortisol Responses Over the First Two Years (Karlen Lyons-Ruth, Harvard Medical School)
3. The mother’s relationship with the unborn baby – key concepts, empirical evidence, and implications for practice (Jane Barlow, University of Oxford)