Family therapy and infant mental health: natural partners

Abstract

As science identifies the importance of interplay between an infant's innate potential and the experiences of the first two years of life for life-long brain development, infant mental health as a discipline in its own right is burgeoning. Family therapists with their knowledge of systems theory are well-placed to become specialised in this field. In this article, following discussion of definitions and ‘territories’, brief descriptions of the history of attachment theory and attachment behaviours lead to summaries of current work where family therapy and infant mental health overlap. Although definitive evidence of effectiveness of family interventions remains sparse, the vital benefits of ensuring appropriate home and cultural environments for our infants through family and community interventions is likely to be demonstrated in the next decades. Earliest intervention and preventive interventions are likely to be the most rapid and the most potent.