Handbook of Psychiatric Consultation with Children and Youth

I have spent the best part of the last quarter of a century working on the con­ sultation service at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Much of my satisfaction has stemmed from working with nonpsychiatric physicians, especially in having them come to realize the value of psychological methods in the treatment of their patients. It has always been my belief that learning to understand the patient's mental life was as much a part of medicine as the taking of vital signs. To treat adequately, certainly to treat well, a physician must know something of his patient's thought processes. Teaching others the value of this knowledge is the first step in educating them to seek ways of learning it themselves. Rarely can this be done in the lecture hall. One can best pique curiosity by demon­ strating worth, and that is done at the bedside or in whatever setting the con­ sultation is carried out. Every consultation then carries an implicit imperative to attest its value. It can be covert teaching at its best. I have found the practice of consultation psychiatry satisfying and compelling enough to want to remain in it for at least another quarter of a century . Front Matter....Pages i-xv Introduction....Pages 1-4 The Temperament and Preparation of the Consultant....Pages 5-18 Front Matter....Pages 19-19 The Psychiatrist as a Consultant in Divorce and Custody....Pages 21-45 The Child Psychiatrist in Consultation within the Legal System....Pages 47-69 Family Assessment....Pages 71-83 Consultation for Adolescents....Pages 85-102 Front Matter....Pages 103-103 Child Psychiatry Consultation in a Pediatric Ward....Pages 105-126 Consultation with Highly Stressed Mental Health Professionals—The “Anchor Worker”....Pages 127-136 Consulting to a Rural Guidance Clinic....Pages 137-147 Consultation in Outpatient Settings....Pages 149-166 Front Matter....Pages 167-167 Teachers and Classrooms....Pages 169-183 Administration and the Therapist: Consultation Conflicts and Alliances in the College Community....Pages 185-195 Consulting at Boarding Schools....Pages 197-211 Consultation: Two Worlds in a Factory Town....Pages 213-228 Staff Consultation in a Public School System....Pages 229-245 Front Matter....Pages 247-247 The Pediatric Perspective....Pages 249-259 The Ghetto Child....Pages 261-270 Consultation in Disasters—Refugees....Pages 271-289 Front Matter....Pages 291-291 Consultation and Mental Retardation....Pages 293-298 Child Psychiatry Consultation: Psychiatric Emergencies in Children and Adolescents....Pages 299-318 Front Matter....Pages 291-291 Depressed Children....Pages 319-330 Child Psychiatric Consultation Concerning Childhood Psychosis....Pages 331-353 Child Abuse: Role of the Child Psychologist in Abuse and Neglect....Pages 355-372 The Treatment of Cult Victims....Pages 373-386 Back Matter....Pages 387-400