Psychiatric assessment of the very young child in the clinic

There is a clear shortage of child psychiatrists, in general, and an even greater shortage of child psychiatrists who are comfortable assessing and treating children less than 5 years of age. Current evidence shows that the rates of the common child mental health disorders in preschoolers are similar to those seen in later childhood. Although AACAP has described Practice Parameters for the Assessment of Infants and Toddlers and standardized structured interviews and assessment tools exist, a lack of training, as well as time constraints in the office, prevent many practitioners from feeling competent in their ability to assess very young children.
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Workshop 33 Source Type: research