Welcome to the WAIMH History Archive.
Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Robert Emde, presented the history and development of the field of Infant Mental Health in a plenary lecture at the 15th World Congress of WAIMH in Prague in 2016. His presentation was titled Infant Psychiatry and the origins of WAIMH - Early Contributions that Energized the Field.
This plenary took us on a journey of ‘reverberating memories’; of our founders, of infants, families, practitioners, and of WAIMH as an organization. A journey following the evolution of our field from the early frontiers of recognition of infant suffering, to considering the impacts of infancy beyond infancy and the importance of moral development, always reflecting on translation to meaning - psychological, relational and community meaning.
The presentation provided an insight into the passion and dedication of the pioneers in our field who have laid the foundations for infant mental health as a field of practice and for WAIMH as an organization to represent and advocate for it. Many of today’s practitioners and those to come will not have the good fortune to learn directly from these pioneers in infant mental health. The WAIMH History Archive is a response to reflections on how the voices of the pioneers and leaders of our field could be archived and recorded to ensure that all infant mental health practitioners have the opportunity to understand WAIMH’s foundations, incorporate it into their present work and be enabled to contribute to a better future for infants, young children and their families. In this way it is hoped that infant mental health and the work of WAIMH will continue to reverberate across generations.
As you explore this archive, it is hoped that you will be energized by the ‘reverberating memories’ of the past, challenged to consider new frontiers, inspired to translate your findings to clinical meaning, grow a deeper self-reflective moral stance in your work and consider ways to achieve more together, in cooperation and collaboration with parents, families, communities, colleagues and as an organisation in a global context.
