Who We Are
The South African Association for Infant Mental Health (ZA-AIMH)
is a national organisation of professionals from diverse fields who work with or have an interest in supporting and promoting mental health of infants and their families.
Our mission: ZA-AIMH aims to connect all those working in infant mental health across South Africa to enable the sharing of knowledge and best practices in supporting infants and their caregivers.
Our mission: ZA-AIMH aims to connect all those working in infant mental health across South Africa to enable the sharing of knowledge and best practices in supporting infants and their caregivers.
What is infant mental health?
Infant Mental Health is defined as: “...the ability to develop physically, cognitively, and socially in a manner which allows them to master the primary emotional tasks of early childhood without serious disruption caused by harmful life events. Because infants grow in a context of nurturing environments, infant mental health involves the psychological balance of the infant-family system.” (WAIMH Handbook of Infant Mental Health, Volume 1: Perspectives on Infant Mental Health. John Wiley & Sons, 2000, p. 25.).
This video created by the Parent-Infant Foundation provides a comprehensive explanation of what infant mental health is.