Textbook of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
VAshok Mysore · 2018 · Indian Journal of Psychiatry · Open access
This 800-page textbook is the first comprehensive textbook on the topic from India. This is made up of over 75 chapters across five sections. Of the four score and more authors, nearly a half are from the Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi (and RINPAS, Ranchi) and they contribute to two-thirds of the chapters, a support acknowledged by the main editor in the preface. A third of the authors are made up of senior residents, residents in training and research scholars and they would be inspired by this opportunity and one can look forward to more specialist contributions from them in the coming years. The editors include acclaimed authors of text books in psychiatry, leaders of prominent institutions and an expert from Nepal too and they bring their collective expertise of a fast-expanding area of knowledge to bear on the book. The first section on conceptual issues focuses on classification, clinical assessments, child development, and brain imaging/electrophysiology besides a very helpful compilation of epidemiological studies from India in childhood mental disorders. The next section has an exhaustive list of 26 chapters focused on clinical syndromes, including two on depression, one on suicides and self-injurious behavior, and one on temperament and personality disorder. These chapters draw from both the international (International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision) and American classifications (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition). Descriptions are comprehensive, drawing on several international publications and are laid out across well-marked multiple subsections, tables, and helpful lists/flow charts. The third section on treatment approaches has 9 chapters largely detailing psychosocial interventions in a practically useful manner. This section lays out well-accepted principles of psychopharmacological management in children and includes an independent chapter on managing childhood onset schizophrenia. The chapters on behavioral modification and cognitive behavioral will come as a great resource for postgraduate trainees who will find the specific plans easy to understand and implement. The section focused on special issues carries 23 chapters and allows the authors to step out of classificatory limitations and discuss matters as they present to the clinician. The chapter on behavioral problems in preschoolers is a particularly well-laid out list of such issues that every clinician will be called upon to address. There is an important chapter on epilepsies and one on genetic syndromes that practitioners and students can refer to often. The forensic child psychiatry chapter will be a good starter guide for professionals, especially in public health settings. The child maltreatment chapter lists several international approaches to this malady while the one on foster care and adoption brings attention to international approaches along with a focus on India. The chapter on youth mental health makes an attempt to bring a broad perspective on the Indian scenario. This section also has chapters overlapping with the one on clinical syndromes, such as attachment disorders and sleep disorders reflecting views of different teachers on the topics. The last section on areas of special interest has articles reflecting broad perspective on related topics along with a repeated focus on trauma, child abuse, and neglect. This section brings expert views on assessments and parental guidance on the one hand and scholarly focus on adolescent mental health issues at large on the other hand. Psychosocial perspectives as well as medical approaches (use of laboratories, brain-based interventions) are described here along with thoughts on homelessness too. This section by senior authors ably complements the detailed descriptions in section two. There is a good index in the end to help those looking for quick focus on issues. Systematic focus on child mental health in South Asia is still limited to certain geographies, particularly urban areas. The stakeholders include varied sets of professionals besides public health administrators. Matters related to child mental health are increasingly being taken note of by the society at large, as indexed by increasing lay and public discourse on topics in this area. In this background, a textbook by Indian experts is very relevant. The authors have understandably left out specifying the target population for this book. In fact, this book is of use to practitioners and students alike. The newly emerging child psychiatry training programs in the country will find this book a valuable resource while the generic psychiatry trainees will enjoy assimilating the specific and practical guidelines in the interventional sphere. Psychology and psychiatric social work (PSW) trainees will find useful starter lessons as well while undoubtedly benefiting from the clinical descriptions and therapies. Over a quarter of the chapters bring specific focus on Indian realities and this adds to its utility in the subcontinent. I feel this textbook will be a much-referred one in the coming years in South Asia. Some editing challenges are reflected in terms of overlapping chapters. Students and practitioners will need to refer across the sections to get a broader understanding of some of the topics. Senior teachers could have even better stamped their clinical expertise on the content and enhanced the local flavor. Diagrams and anecdotes could have added relief. A section on cultural aspects would be missed by practitioners in particular. Challenges in training child mental health professionals could have been highlighted. This book is a happy addition to the profession. Postgraduates in particular may need it priced lower!