Professional Affiliations

The Infant and Early Childhood Development (IECD) program Ph.D. is a partner with the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health (Alliance). The Alliance is a global organization of those states and countries whose infant mental health associations have licensed the use of the Competency Guidelines® and/or the Endorsement for Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice Promoting Infant Mental Health® (Endorsement®) under their associations’ names.

Two organizations offering education and advanced training, Fielding Graduate University and Profectum, have an articulation agreement to collaborate and expand the outreach of both clinical practice as well as research. This agreement solidifies a relationship that works to benefit practitioners and families interested in fostering a developmental approach to children with neurodiversity and their families. Fielding Graduate University’s Infant and Early Childhood Development (IECD) doctoral program and Profectum™ entered into this academic agreement to provide students expanded opportunities for both increased academic study and research, and certification, respectively.

The Infant and Early Childhood Development (IECD) Ph.D. program with an emphasis in Mental Health and Developmental Disorders was originally founded in 2009 by Stanley Greenspan, MD, and Serena Weider, Ph.D. under the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning (ICDL), a non-profit organization.  On January 22, 2015, this nationally recognized doctoral program was acquired by Fielding Graduate University (FGU), became accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WSCUC), and currently resides within the School of Psychology (SOP). ICDL remains the official home of DIR® and DIRFloortime®, providing training courses for professionals and parents for now over 30+ years.