Patients in psychiatry, or their parents, experiment with alternative methods and practices; psychiatrists, in search of scientifically-based discussion and evidence of use for daily practice, find that information in this issue of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics. Readers will find clinically focused information in the major categories of Selected Treatments, Selected Disorders, and Perspectives on Clinical Complementary and Alternative Therapies. Pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments are discussed for ADHD, Mood disorders, Autism, Learning and Cognitive disorders, and Neurologic disturbances, such as sleep, traumatic brain injury, headache, etc. EEG and Neurofeedback, Meditation and Movement Therapies, Music Therapy, Massage, Acupuncture, and other body-based therapies are presented. Evidence for minerals, vitamins, and herbs is discussed, and Ethical and Legal issues for the Psychiatrist are presented. Guest Editors Deborah Simkin and Charles Popper, with decades of experience in working with complementary therapies, lead this issue.

Patients in psychiatry, or their parents, experiment with alternative methods and practices. Psychiatrists, in search of scientifically-based discussion and evidence of use for daily practice, find that information in this issue of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics. Readers will find clinically focused information in the major categories of Selected Treatments, Selected Disorders, and Perspectives on Clinical Complementary and Alternative Therapies. Micronutrients for mental disorders, the role of essential fatty acids. EEG and Neurofeedback, Mind-Body Meditation and Movement Therapies, Music Therapy, are presented. Evidence for minerals, vitamins, and herbs is discussed. Guest Editors Deborah Simkin and Charles Popper, with decades of experience in working with complementary therapies, lead this issue.

An overview of childhood traumatic exposures and their impact for health care providers - child and adolescent psychiatrists, general psychiatrists, other pediatric behavioral health providers and primary care clinicians - is presented. Most clinicians are unaware that children in the United States are exposed to trauma frequently, either as a single occurrence, or through repeated events. These exposures result in neurobiological, developmental and clinical sequelae that can undermine children's health and well-being. This issue describes the multiple types of traumatic exposures and their sequelae, methods of screening and assessment, and principles of effective prevention and clinical treatment. The volume highlights areas of particular relevance to children, such as natural disasters, war, domestic violence, school and community violence, sexual victimization, and complex trauma. Each is differentiated as a unique trauma, requiring trauma-informed systems of care to effectively meet the needs of the exposed population. Since traumatic exposure results in added risk to child well-being, the third section of the volume describes strategies for primary prevention (e.g. violence prevention) and risk mitigation (e.g. skill and resilience building strategies), as well as reviews evidence based treatments for trauma-induced clinical disorders.

The “spectrum in this disorder is Autistic Disorder, Asperger Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. This issue specifically addresses acute management of the extreme behaviors that accompany this disorder spectrum: extreme behaviors, complete lack of communication, inability to learn or express language, etc, and covers in-hospital or residential therapies as well as in-home family involvement. Medical treatment for this disorder is the main focus of discussion in topics such as: Emotional Regulation: Concepts and Practice in ASD; Specialized Inpatient Treatment of ASD; Residential Treatment of Severe Behavioral Disturbance in ASD; Treatment of ASD in General Child Psychiatry Units; Behavioral Approaches to Acute Problems; Communication Strategies for Behavioral Challenges in ASD, along with topics covering Psychiatric Assessment of Acute Presentations in ASD; Sensory Regulation and its Relationship to Acute Problems in ASD; Family Dysfunction, Assessment and Treatment in the context of Severe Behavioral Disturbance in ASD; and Self Injurious Behavior in ASD.

Because of the complex range of factors to be considered in pscyhosis –genetic, neurologic, biologic, environmental, family, culture - this issue of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics presents aspects that have the greatest relevance and impact in diagnosing and treating child and adolescent patients. Among some of the topics covered: Schizophrenia, Affective disorders and Psychosis, Comorbid diseases, Neurocognition, Genetics, Neuroimaging findings, and Treatment approaches of Psychopharmacology, Psychotherapy, and Community Rehabilitation. Jean Frazier, an expert in child and adolescent neuropsychiatry and in child psychopharmacology, leads this issue along with Yael Dvir, whose research and clinical interests include childhood psychosis and the associations between childhood psychosis and Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

This issue of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics provides an overview of childhood traumatic exposures and their impact for health care providers: child and adolescent psychiatrists, general psychiatrists, other pediatric behavioral health providers and primary care clinicians. Children in the United States are exposed to trauma more frequently than most clinicians are aware - either as a single occurrence, or through repeated events. These exposures result in neurobiological, developmental and clinical sequelae that can undermine children's health and well-being. This publication describes the multiple types of traumatic exposures and their sequelae, methods of screening and assessment, and principles of effective prevention and clinical treatment. Emphasis is on areas of particular relevance to children - disasters, war, domestic violence, school and community violence, sexual victimization, complex trauma - and differentiates disasters as unique traumas, requiring trauma-informed systems of care to effectively meet the needs of the exposed population. The third section of the issue describes strategies for primary prevention - violence prevention, useful public policies - and risk mitigation - skill and resilience building strategies. Evidence based treatments for trauma-induced clinical disorders are reviewed.

This publication promotes school based mental health services as a means for increasing access to care and for early intervention. There are 3 levels of intervention in school-based mental health: 1. Universal promotion/prevention: Implementing whole-school approaches (including training teachers and administrators) to ensure and foster wellness. 2. Targeted prevention: Providing prevention services for youth at-risk of developing mental health problems. 3. Indicated services: Providing assessment and direct care for youth with identified mental health needs. The approach of this Issue presents current evidence-based practice in schools and review of schools as a vital part of systems of care for youth. In addition to psychiatrists, this issue addresses collaboration with families, educators, administrators, social workers, counselors and psychologists. The Editors leading this issue are from Vanderbilt University and University of Maryland. Both Vanderbilt and Maryland have well-established clinical programs that provide a full continuum of mental health services, including "indicated services" to serve youth with mental health diagnoses (i.e., severe psychiatric disorders). Psychiatrists are part of the treatment team, and work directly in the school or provide consultation (often via telehealth technologies). Given that family engagement is a major part of making therapies work effectively, partnering with families is a critical part of the treatment process.