"In this essential volume, Dr. Gardner focuses on diagnostic assessment. Effective child therapy is dependent upon the initial intake assessment. it is typically necessary for the clinician to conduct a series of interviews with parents and child and to gather data from all areas of the child's life to arrive at an effective treatment plan. Dr. Gardner provides child therapists with a crucial book in this current atmosphere of economical therapies that are likely to neglect the assessment process. In this volume, the reader is walked through the assessment process by a master clinician. Dr. Gardner provides step-by-step guidance on how to handle the intake call, how to interview the parents and gather important information while alleviating guilt and building a relationship, and how to interview the child. In summary, this is a holistic, down-to-earth guide to in-depth assessment." —Jeffrey Seinfeld, Ph.D.