There has been a major shift in the way we conceptualize and provide services to children and adolescents with mental health needs. We are moving away from the traditional disorder-oriented model of treatment to a child-centered, family-focused service delivery system that mandates mental health services in the context of the child's family and social ecology. This new system of care has spawned many variations of the model, including wraparound services, multisystemic treatment (MST), futures planning, and person-centred planning. As systems of care are different across countries and cultures, it is imperative that we share our knowledge and make explicit the lessons we have learned in our attempts to provide services to children and adolescents which focus on improving their quality of life rather than merely treating their psychiatric disorders and psychological problems. There is an urgent need to evaluate the various treatments being offered to children and adolescents with mental health needs. Empirical date on outcomes will determine the funding and delivery of services. As such, the latest research on treatment outcomes needs to be disseminated so that new and validated treatment methods can be implemented rapidly.

The papers included in this volume highlight research and practice in child and adolescent mental health from around the world. As systems of care are different across countries and cultures, it is imperative that knowledge is shared and lessons learned. The biennial Elsevier conference on Child and Adolescent Mental Health is designed to provide a forum for mental health and educational experts from various disciplines and countries.

More than half of the 25.9 million refugees in the world are under the age of 18 and the mental health of these children and adolescents constitutes a growing global public health priority. Refugee children and their families are at increased risk to develop mental health problems, but they often face major challenges in accessing adequate treatment and mental health professionals frequently feel ill-equipped to assist this group. Refugees are faced with a plethora of issues including the ambiguous loss of loved ones, psychological trauma related to past experiences of violence and atrocities, the complexities of daily life as a refugee, and the challenges to adapt to new systems of care and support. Refugees’ life circumstances all too often undermine their agency, asthey face discrimination, stigma, and social isolation or exclusion. Refugees are frequently disconnected from the usual family and community supports that they once had, which creates additional mental distress. As parents struggle with these changes, their children often find it even more difficult to adapt and connect with them. This all leads to increased prevalence of mental health conditions among refugees. Humanitarian policies recommend family-centered interventions that are multi-sectoral,multi-disciplinary, and focus on optimizing resource utilization. Over the last decade, a considerable body of research has emerged around socio-ecological models of mental health, family and community approaches, and resilience and strengths-based theories, but these insights are insufficiently incorporated in the practice of mental health care for refugee children. Clinicians often struggle to grasp the common unique stressors that families face and are not familiar with working with families as units for intervention. Using culturally and contextually informed assessment methods and family-oriented management approaches not only help individual children or adolescents, but also their families. This book aims to provide an overview of the latest theoretical insights from research on sociocultural aspects of mental health and connect these with clinical insights from practical mental health care provision. Using strengths-based, resiliency-oriented and family-centered approaches can enrich clinical practice in refugee mental health, but clinicians need to translate the emerging evidence into concrete steps and interventions. This requires additional skills for the assessment and management of mental health conditions in refugee children and families. The chapters in this book are written by a diverse group of authors using global, multi-disciplinary approaches. The chapters provide examples from various contexts including refugees who are displaced to neighboring countries, refugees ‘on the move’, and refugees and asylum seekers in resettlement settings. This book is therefore a unique resource for clinicians, researchers and policy makers working on mental health issues of refugee children and adolescents around the world.

This book addresses a variety of critical themes that relate to child and adolescent mental health and working memory. It focuses on various theoretical perspectives as well as highlighting implications for practice. The topics contemplated include social media and mental health, parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT), the role of e-learning in mental health, perinatal depression and working memory, language, and reading and behaviour. In focusing on mental ill-health, this book addresses a global concern. The causes of poor mental health are complex and multi-faceted. In acknowledging this complexity, it must be recognized that there is no single ‘magic bullet’ that will solve the problem. A multidisciplinary approach is therefore required for approaching the issues, including a variety of interventions. Finally, the book emphasizes the important contributions that schools, health and social care services and families can provide about addressing the mental health challenges experienced by children and young people.

Within child and adolescent psychiatry, there are a number of potential dilemmas pertaining to diagnosis, treatment, the protection of the child, as well as the child's own developing intelligence and moral judgement. Diagnostic Dilemmas in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is the first in the IPPP series to explore this highly complex topic.

This unprecedented set examines the most prominent factors that harm or support healthy development in children outside the United States, from abuse and economics to social injustice and poor public policy. In International Perspectives on Children and Mental Health, expert contributors from around the world examine the forces affecting the psychological well-being of children in regions worldwide. They consider such factors as family conditions and economic status, including single parents, poverty, disease, war, child abuse, substance abuse in the home, and a loss of community stability. And they look at political, religious, national, and global matters, including racism and class inequality. Since education is key to children's success, the essays consider these factors largely in the context of how they affect educational readiness and academic adjustment. Volume 1 of the set considers development and context, while volume 2 focuses on prevention and treatment. Specific examples enable readers to better understand the often-horrific challenges to child development and mental health across nations. But the work is not limited to exploring problems. It also looks at various programs and actions that mitigate risks, helping children to be mentally healthy despite the odds.