About

Mission Statement

The Washington Association for Infant Mental Health (WA-AIMH) is a chapter of the World Association for Infant Mental Health (WAIMH). Our purpose is to promote an understanding of the importance of infancy in human development and offer a forum for interdisciplinary communication and collaboration to providers of services to infants and their families.

Board Members:  Present

Susan Spieker, President, 2011-2013                Susan Spieker, Ph.D. is Professor of Family and Child Nursing at the University of Washington and director of the UW Center on Infant Mental Health & Development (CIMHD). At CIMHD she teaches in the Graduate Certificate Program in Infant Mental Health and conducts research aimed at supporting healthy development prenatally through five years.  Her research has focused on Early Head Start, a federally funded community-based program for low-income families with infants and toddlers and pregnant women,  and Promoting First Relationships (Kelly, Sandoval, Zuckerman, & Buehlman, 2008), a prevention program dedicated to promoting children’s social-emotional development through responsive, nurturing caregiver-child relationships. Future plans include research on incorporating infant massage into psychotherapy groups for new mothers experiencing post partum depression.

Eve Keller, Secretary-Treasurer, 2011-2013                   Eve Keller has worked as a postpartum doula and infant massage instructor in the Seattle area for fifteen years.  She has also been a Listening Mothers group facilitator and an early childhood educator.  Eve co-founded the Northwest Association for Postpartum Support (NAPS) in 1997 and served as its Treasurer from 1997-2002.  In 2005, she graduated from the Certificate Program in Infant Mental Health at the University of Washington.   Previously, Eve earned a BFA from the University of Iowa in Metalsmithing and Sculpture, and has worked as a puppet builder in television and films in the United States and England.

Jennifer Nash, Webmaster, 2011-2013         Jennifer Nash, MOT, OTR/L is currently pursuing a PhD in Rehabilitation Science at the University of Washington.  Jennifer recently completed the Graduate Certificate Program in Infant Mental Health at the UW and infant massage educator training.  Parent-infant interaction in infants with prenatal alcohol exposure has been the focus of her research.  She has worked as a pediatric occupational therapist in the Seattle area for eight years.

Judy Burr-Chillen, 2012                                   Judy Burr-Chellin, LMHC, has worked in the mental health field for over 30 years and is currently the Director of Parent/Child Services at Wellspring Family Services.  She’s a 2006 graduate of the UW Graduate Certificate Program in Infant Mental Health.  Judy manages and supervises clinicians providing infant/parent psychotherapy, is the Mental Health Consultant to Wellspring’s Early Learning Center and to the Denise Louie Early Head Start Home Visitors’ Program.  Judy recently opened a small private practice in addition to her work at Wellspring.

Lisa Mennet, 2012                                                             Lisa Mennet, PhD has worked with infants, toddlers and preschool aged children—and their parents—for more than 10 years. She began her clinical career at Ryther Child Center, then studied at the Center on Infant Mental Health at the UW, and was later a clinical instructor there. She’s also taught infant mental health principles at the UW schools of Social Work and Nursing, and for the Washington DSHS. She has a certificate in child psychoanalytic psychotherapy from SPSI, and a doctorate in Infant Mental Health from the University of Washington.

                                                                                                                                        Board Members: Past

Caron Harrang, Past President, 2011-2012                   Caron Harrang, LICSW, FIPA is a clinical social worker and IPA-certified psychoanalyst with a private practice in Seattle. Caron is also a trained parent-infant psychotherapist providing psychoanalytic psychotherapy to women during pregnancy, and after delivery (as needed) to mother and infant. Active in the field of infant mental health for many years, Caron has presented papers on parent-infant psychotherapy locally and internationally (South Africa, Japan). As a teacher and supervisor she is interested to share insights derived from infant observation with clinicians working with older children, adolescents, and adults. Caron is a founding member of WA-AIMH (2001) and served as president of the organization from 2009-2011.

Margaret Bermann-Ness, Past Secretary-Treasurer, 2011-2012                                                      Margaret Bergmann-Ness, MA, LICSW, is a therapist in private practice, working with individuals, couples, and mother-baby couples.  She has a special interest in pregnancy and postpartum adjustment challenges and mood disorders, parent-infant relationships, and the influences of earliest relationships in emotional life.  In addition to her Master’s degree, she has a certificate in Parent-Infant Psychotherapy through the Secure Beginnings Program of the COR-Northwest Family Development Center. She is trained in the Reflective Parenting Program and facilitates Reflective Parenting Program workshops and Listening Mothers groups.  She has been working with individuals and families from a variety of perspectives, including health education, birth and postpartum doula work, and social work, for over twenty years.

WA-AIMH History: Past and Present

The Washington Chapter of the World Association for Infant Mental Health (WA-AIMH) was founded in 2001. The original membership was composed of a small group of individuals wearing many hats (often simultaneously); psychoanalysts, teachers, nurses, pediatricians, psychologists, child development researchers, students, and parents (to name a few). All were lifelong learners, and, all, of course, had been infants and children. Many original members were involved in the Secure Beginnings program through Northwest Family Development Center (COR-NWFDC).

In 2011 WA-AIMH is adding to its multi-disciplinary membership and the Board is seeking input from membership on next directions for the organization. A recent membership poll identified areas of special interest, including creation of a committee to explore credentialing/endorsement of Infant Mental Health (IMH) as a practice specialty in Washington State, the need to bring IMH stakeholders together as a policy force, identifying reflective practice resources, and interest in learning about what is happening in other IMH agencies. Thus there are significant growth opportunities for WA-AIMH, and the board encourages members to organize into smaller committees that can focus on specific tasks. A likely first committee will form around IMH credentialing/endorsement. Interested members are encouraged to contact the board through wa.aimh.wa@gmail.com.

Another member-identified need was for a WA-AIMH website, and we are pleased that two volunteers, Jennifer and Robert Nash, have been instrumental in its creation. Jenn is occupying the newly created WA-AIMH board position of Webmaster starting in September, 2011.

Below are the past and present officers of WA-AIMH. Note that past officers continue on the Board for a year after the end of their terms.

• July 2001-July 2003                                                                                                      Founding President: Colleen Huebner, PhD, MPH                                                     Founding Secretary Treasurer: Diane Fisher, LMHC

• July 2003-July 2005                                                                                                   President:  Ginger Miller, LMHC                                                                              Secretary Treasurer: Melissa Hoffman, LICSW

• July 2005-July 2007                                                                                              President: Mirta Berman Oelsner, LMHC, FIPA                                                               Secretary Treasurer, Nicole Wiggins, LMHC

• July 2007-July 2009                                                                                                       President: Dana Blue, LICSW, FIPA                                                                                 Lisa Mennet, PhD [co-President July-2007-July 2008]                                             Secretary Treasurer: Margaret Bergmann Ness, LICSW

• July 2009-July 2011                                                                                              President: Caron Harrang, LICSW, FIPA                                                                 Secretary Treasurer: Margaret Bergmann Ness, LICSW

• July 2011-July 2013                                                                                                        President: Susan Spieker, PhD                                                                               Secretary Treasurer: Eve Keller                                                                           Webmaster: Jennifer Nash