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Community health nurses have traditionally assumed a major role in providing services to high risk infants and their families. Early intervention with these families can establish a foundation for their future physical and emotional health. The community health nurses in this official community health agency utilize a wide variety of intervention strategies in the home. The authors discuss one intervention mode which they believe is especially effective in facilitating family functioning. Selected community health nurses in this agency made joint visits with infant mental health workers in the home over a 2 year period. Joint visits were made because multiproblem families often require extensive psychotherapeutic treatment, intervention, and follow-up. This article focuses on interdisciplinary functioning, particularly the nurse's role on the interdisciplinary team. The nurse's role focuses on the identification of family behaviors which prevent infants from reaching their fullest potential. This approach can be instrumental in preventing many dysfunctional family behaviors, particularly child abuse and neglect.

(1987). The Nurse Psychotherapist in Private Practice (Book) Journal of Community Health Nursing: Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 256-256.