Abstract
Child psychiatry is currently well served by good general reference books (e.g. [1–3]) and short general texts (e.g. [4,5]). Falling somewhere between the two, Clinical child psychiatry, at 544 pages in length and with fairly small print, has now entered the fray.
The book has 28 chapters divided into the following sections: ‘The fundamentals of child and adolescent psychiatric practice’, ‘Common child and adolescent psychiatric disorders’, ‘Developmental disorders’ and ‘Special problems in child and adolescent psychiatry’. A small point here: the divisions appear somewhat arbitrary. I don't see why, for example, discussion of anxiety disorders is found in the section on common child and adolescent psychiatric disorders, why eating disorders are included under developmental disorders and why the psychoses are located in yet another section, that on special problems. Also, the section on special problems does not refer to physical disabilities, such as deafness, which are often attended by behavioural and emotional difficulties in the affected child.
The chapters are, individually, well written and present useful, up-to-date summaries of the literature. Indeed, the book is ‘cutting edge’ in some areas as illustrated by its acknowledgement of the current controversy about whether some patients with a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder should instead receive the diagnosis of early mania. Unfortunately, as a whole the book is not cohesive mainly because, across chapters, the style is not uniform. While this is to some degree expected for a multi-author text and might be appropriate for a book dealing with a more specific subject, in a general book such as this it is less acceptable. Thus, the chapter on eating disorders provides 28 excellent ‘clinical tips’; it is not unreasonable to wish the other chapters had followed suit and had also offered tips. Another criticism is that the book does not live up to its name. It might be hoped that a book titled Clinical child psychiatry would emphasise the clinical aspects of presentation, assessment and treatment, and give practical pointers to the reader. Regrettably, many chapters are just literature reviews, albeit scholarly ones. There are exceptions. The chapters on eating disorders and substance abuse in particular focus on clinical issues. Similarly, the section on liaison with schools is clinically orientated. There is also a very handy chapter about psychological assessment. As psychiatrists, we usually have little training in the range and interpretation of psychological tests.
Ultimately, the book has an identity problem which works against it. Too big for a small text, yet too small for a reference book. Together with the mentioned deficiencies, this makes me reluctant to recommend Clinical child psychiatry to individuals. However, it would be useful for libraries to acquire. Borrowers could then use it selectively, confining themselves to those chapters that are particularly strong. All health professionals working with children, particularly child psychiatrists and trainees, paediatricians and interested general practitioners, would benefit from using the book in this way.