Child and adolescent psychiatry is a rapidly expanding branch of medicine. Important research gains have been made in the past decades, and there is now a firm knowledge basis for many of the psychiatric disorders with child or adolescent onset. This knowledge has taken some time to filter through to clinical child and adolescent psychiatric services.

The aim of this book is to provide a comprehensive overview of the relevant objectives of child and adolescent psychiatry in clinical practice. The approach is decisively evidence based as far as this is possible with the current status in the field and thus avoids the consideration of various theoretical or even speculative approaches. Rather, the emphasis is on guidance for good clinical practice and help with the quality control of patient care. The various chapters have been written by experts in the respective fields. In contrast to other textbooks, the major objective is not to cover all relevant research findings exhaustively but rather to condense the scientific knowledge that is significant for clinical practice. Thus, the present deskbook deals with clinical disorders only.

The list and order of contents is guided by the ICD-10 and the various chapters also comment on the DSM-IV classification. A clear common structure for the chapters enforces the coherence of the monograph. After an introduction, definition and classification, epidemiology, the clinical picture, aetiology, treatment and outcome are specifically outlined for each disorder. Tables, figures and flowcharts, serve as additional sources of information and highlight special messages.