More and more often, emotional and behavioral problems in the young are being evaluated and treated by professionals other than child and adolescent psychiatrists -- busy clinicians who may struggle to keep abreast of the rapid changes in this challenging field. This book can help those nonspecialists better understand the problems of young patients by presenting specific guidance on more than a dozen commonly seen conditions, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, eating disorders, and tic disorders -- all in concise chapters written by leading experts on these disorders.

Essentials of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry distills the authoritative advice found in the third edition of The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Updating and pruning that volume's detailed and comprehensive content, Essentials omits those chapters directed primarily toward subspecialists and retains what is immediately useful to general psychiatrists, pediatricians, neurologists, and nonphysician mental health clinicians such as nurses, psychologists, social workers, and family therapists. It offers an overview of child and adolescent psychiatric problems; practical guidance in the use of interviews, rating scales, and laboratory and diagnostic testing with young patients; and targeted information on a wide range of often-perplexing disorders, including: the assessment and diagnosis of mental retardation; autistic disorders; and learning, motor skills, and communication disorders guidelines relating to the differential diagnosis of schizophrenia, early-onset mood disorders, and anxiety disorders an overview of clinical management of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with a summary of the extensive treatment research the assessment and treatment of substance abuse disorders in youth, including adaptations for youth with comorbid disorders chapters on posttraumatic stress disorder and child abuse strategies for intervention with youth showing suicidal behavior

The book also features an updated chapter on psychopharmacology covering stimulants, antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and antianxiety drugs and addressing diagnostic considerations for their use. Other treatment measures are covered in the chapters on specific disorders. Each chapter ends with multiple-choice questions for self-assessment. For the clinician who needs a practical guide to child and adolescent psychiatric disorders, Essentials is indeed essential, setting a new standard for authoritative help.