While the interest in the mental life of infants in the context of their early relationships can be traced back to the work of Anna Freud, John Bowlby, and Donald Winnicott in Great Britain, infant mental health as a movement of public health policy, empirical research (i.e. baby-watching), and change in clinical practice paralleled both that of the women's movement and of increased awareness of the prevalence and consequences of child abuse and neglect during the 1960s and 1970s.
[8] Both Zero to Three and WAIMH cite empirical research in advocating the assessment and treatment of psychiatric issues in pre-verbal children.
Infant mental health most often implies interdisciplinary practice that began with the work of Selma Fraiberg and her article "Ghosts in the Nursery" among other key figures.
[10] Support and mental health care when indicated is offered to help the parents engage with their infants and toddlers and to better understand the unresolved losses from their past in order to be more emotionally available to them.
One chief goal of infant mental health intervention is to attain a more satisfying relationship between the parent(s) and infant/toddler as well as greater attachment security.