Pediatricians and primary care providers (PCPs) commonly encounter youth with mental health problems in their practice. The aim of this practical handbook is to facilitate the triage, differential diagnosis, treatment, and referral of youth in an efficacious and safe manner. Starting with common chief complaints, this ground-breaking text provides systematic algorithms which guide you through each step of the evaluation and treatment process. By using innovative tables, figures, and programmed text, your clinical input leads you to the key information that you need.

How to deal with mental health problems in children and adolescents - algorithms and practical advice for pediatricians and primary care providers.Pediatricians and primary care providers (PCPs) commonly encounter youth with mental health problems in their practice. The aim of this practical handbook is to facilitate the triage, differential diagnosis, treatment, and referral of youth in an efficacious and safe manner. Starting with common chief complaints, this groundbreaking text provides systematic algorithms that guide users through each step of the evaluation and treatment process. By using innovative tables, figures, and programmed text, the practitioner's clinical input leads him/her to the key information needed. Want to know how to structure your practice so that it can function smoothly even when a child is seen in crisis? This handbook can help with that. Ever wonder whether a child should get a trial of therapy before starting medications? This handbook will help figure that out, too. Ever wonder which medicine to start, at what dose, how to titrate it, what to tell parents, and how to manage it? It will help with that as well. Ever wonder which rating scale would be good to monitor a child's progress? Done.Developed and written jointly by child psychiatrists and pediatricians working in unison, this is the handbook that PCPs and pediatricians who encounter mental health issues in youth have been waiting for. In an age of 'black box warnings' and concern regarding high risk behaviors in youth, it places practical, easily accessible, and clinically useful information at their fingertips.

Dedication ... vi Foreword ...vii Preface ... ix Contributors ... xiii Acknowledgements ... xiv Section I: Getting Ready ...1 Chapter 1: How to Use This Book ...3 Chapter 2: Setting Up Your Office ...6 Section II: Approach To Common Chief Complaints ... 11 Chapter 3: Irritable or Out-of-Control Behavior ...13 Chapter 4: Fatigue or Changes in Appetite ...19 Chapter 5: School Refusal ...25 Chapter 6: Recurrent Mild Medical Complaints ...32 Chapter 7: Speech Problems or Refusing to Speak ...38 Chapter 8: Sudden Personality Change or Confusion ...45 Chapter 9: Excessive Worries ...50 Section III: Psychiatric Diagnoses ...55 Chapter 10: Adjustment Disorder ...57 Chapter 11: Anxiety Disorders ...61 Chapter 12: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ...73 Chapter 13: Autism and Pervasive Development Disorders ...76 Chapter 14: Delirium ...82 Chapter 15: Disruptive Behavior Disorders ...85 Chapter 16: Eating Disorders ...91 Chapter 17: Learning Disorders ...96 Chapter 18: Mental Retardation ...99 Chapter 19: Mood Disorders ...101 Chapter 20: Psychotic Disorders ...109 Chapter 21: Somatoform and Factitious Disorders ... 116 Chapter 22: Substance Use Disorders ...121 xvi Table of Contents Section IV: Toolbox of Interventions ...127 Pharmacological Interventions ...129 Chapter 23: Alpha Adrenergic Agonists ...131 Chapter 24: Antidepressants ...136 Chapter 25: Atypical Antipsychotics ...142 Chapter 26: Benzodiazepines ...151 Chapter 27: Mood Stabilizers ...155 Chapter 28: Stimulants and Related ADHD Medications ...162 Psychotherapeutic And Psychosocial Interventions ...173 Chapter 29: Planning for Psychotherapeutic Interventions ...175 Chapter 30: Planning for Psychosocial Interventions ...181 Appendices Appendix A - Comprehensive Psychiatric Evaluation ... A1 Appendix B - Suicide and Risk Assessment ... B1 Appendix C - Concise Overview of Pertinent DSM-IV-TR Diagnoses ... C1 Appendix D - Commonly Used DSM-IV-TR Diagnostic Codes ... D1 Appendix E - Suggested Rating Scales ...E1 Appendix F - References and Sources for Additional Information ...F1 List of Algorithms Assessment Algorithms for Chief Complaints: Assessment Algorithm for Irritable or Out-of-Control Behavior ...16 Assessment Algorithm for Fatigue or Changes in Appetite ...22 Assessment Algorithm for School Refusal ...28 Assessment Algorithm for Recurrent Mild Medical Complaints ...35 Assessment Algorithm for Speech Problems or Refusing to Speak ...42 Assessment Algorithm for Sudden Personality Change or Confusion ...48 Assessment Algorithm for Excessive Worries ...53 Algorithms for Psychiatric Diagnoses: Severity Assessment and Treatment Algorithm for Adjustment Disorders ...59 Assessment Algorithm for Anxiety Disorders ...63 Severity Assessment and Treatment Algorithm for Anxiety Disorders ...71 Severity Assessment and Treatment Algorithm for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ...75 Assessment Algorithm for Autism and Pervasive Development Disorders ...77 Severity Assessment and Treatment Algorithm for Autism and Pervasive Development Disorders ...81 Assessment Algorithm for Disruptive Behavior Disorders ...86 Severity Assessment and Treatment Algorithm for Disruptive Behavior Disorders ...89 Assessment Algorithm for Eating Disorders ...92 Severity Assessment and Treatment Algorithm for Eating Disorders ...94 Assessment Algorithm for Learning Disorders ...97 Assessment Algorithm for Mood Disorders ...102 Severity Assessment and Treatment Algorithm for Mood Disorders ...108 Assessment Algorithm for Psychotic Disorders ... 110 Severity Assessment and Treatment Algorithm for Psychotic Disorders ... 115 Assessment Algorithm for Somatoform Disorders ... 117