Training for infant mental health specialists involves unusual requirements for depth and breadth as it seeks to address 7 languages: the languages of the infant, the parent, the parent-infant relationship, the family, infant mental health specialists, collaboration, and self-reflection. The training approach in the Graduate Certificate Program in Infant Mental Health at Merrill-Palmer Institute, Wayne State University, built upon the training and intervention legacy of Selma Fraiberg (1980), includes graduate coursework, direct observational and clinical experience, reflective supervision, and a yearlong clinical seminar. The program's history, orientation, structure, resources, and outcomes are described. Essential aspects of the program include its focus on observational skills, knowledge of normative development in infancy, understanding of early relationship development, understanding of the family and cultural context of development, and clinical assessment and intervention skills. Since 1988, more than 75 graduate trainees have completed the program's special blend of interdisciplinary study and supervised clinical practice, earning their graduate certificates, and making important contributions to the field of infant mental health.
