Dr Guy is a keynote speaker at the New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists conference in Dunedin. The three-day conference opens today, at Salmond Hall, with 125 delegates.
Dr Guy works with district health boards and nongovernment organisations helping oversee infant mental health programmes. While many of those referred to services had been exposed to violence and abuse, "middle class" families were not immune from problems, she said.
Poverty added a special element of stress to families, but it was only one of many "vulnerabilities".
Disabled or premature infants were at particular risk of stress.
Infant mental health programmes targeted children up to age 4.
Dr Guy said infant mental health programmes helped carers interact with children without being "coloured by ghosts in the past and current stresses".
Caring for a new baby was stressful for anyone, but parents should try not to transfer stress to a baby and acknowledge that being a baby could be tough, too.
An overseas study had put the rate of significant mental health problems in 10-month-old babies as high as 12% to 15%.
Emotional problems in infants potentially had serious consequences in later life, for both physical and emotional health.
Dunedin's longitudinal developmental study had also confirmed early experiences influenced how people's lives unfolded, she said. Rather than the "nature versus nurture" argument of how children developed, the key was "nature via nurture", making a person's environment crucial.
Conference committee member and retired Dunedin child psychotherapist Angela Stupples said Dunedin was "backward" in providing the type of programmes Dr Guy was involved with in the North Island. Emphasis on early mental health was also common in other countries.
Southern District Health Board mental health and community services general manager Elaine Chisnall said the Otago "provider arm" offered a mental health service for children under 5.
"There is no specific infant service. However, if a referral is received for an infant where there is evidence of a moderate to severe psychiatric disorder, they will be seen by the child and family mental health service."
This was in partnership with the child's family, she said.
The other keynote speaker at the conference is University of Otago Prof Doug Sellman, director of the national addiction centre in Christchurch.
