"Part of these institutionalized biases, we think, results from the institutionalized racism that lies at the heart of the conceptual systems we use in psychiatry". There is a crisis of credibility within child and adolescent psychiatry. Child and adolescent mental health theory and practice have come to be dominated by a narrow biomedical frame. Rising numbers of children are being diagnosed with psychiatric illnesses and given psychotropic medication to 'treat' these 'illnesses'. This text brings together knowledgeable specialists across the spectrum of child and adolescent psychiatry, which are deeply critical about current mainstream theory and practice. These 'critical voices' drawing upon research and writing from related disciplines, radically question many of psychiatry's most cherished assumptions and offer new ways of thinking about theory and practice. This courageous book aims to bring marginal voices into the mainstream. Exploring the influence of drug companies, the impact of trauma, the crisis in academic medicine, systemic perspectives, adolescent in-patient units, ADHD, childhood depression and the role of diet and nutrition, the contributors offer hope to those looking for alternatives to diagnosis and medication for children and families with emotional and behavioral problems.

Experts from a variety of disciplines contribute to this substantially revised edition of this popular handbook - new chapters are included on identity work, refugee children, and the work of the Asian Project. The book also examines the central importance for professionals of the Lawrence Enquiry; the move to include more public services in the Race Relations Act; increased awareness of institutional racism; and the specific inclusion of ethnic minority children in health improvement programmes. Offering practical guidance based on sound research and practice, the book provides a focus on some of the most difficult and topical aspects of this field of work.