Helping Kids in Crisis: A Critical Guide to Managing Psychiatric Emergencies in Children and Adolescents

Responding to high-stakes situations, such as suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and aggressive behavior, in children and adolescents requires expert guidance and quick intervention. Professionals providing services to these children must be able to identify threats to safety and initiate interventions to de-escalate behaviors, often with limited resources.

Expert Guidance for Practitioners

The editors and authors of Helping Kids in Crisis: Managing Psychiatric Emergencies in Children and Adolescents have extensive experience in a busy regional referral center for children with psychiatric emergencies. They have translated their expertise into a symptom-based guide to help non-psychiatric clinicians provide compassionate and effective care for this challenging population.

A Symptom-Focused Approach for Swift Intervention

The book is designed for ease of use, with clear risk and diagnostic assessment tools, decision trees, and easy-to-read tables to facilitate quick de-escalation and risk assessment. This symptom-focused approach enables readers to swiftly identify the appropriate chapter and respond effectively to emergency situations.

Features and Benefits

• Written for practitioners in hospital or community-based settings, including physicians in training, pediatricians, psychologists, social workers, school psychologists, guidance counselors, and school nurses
• Clear risk and diagnostic assessment tools allow clinicians working in settings without access to child mental health professionals to think like trained emergency room child psychiatrists
• A guide to navigating the educational system, child welfare system, and other systems of care helps clinicians identify and overcome systems-level barriers to obtain necessary treatment for their patients
• An extensive review of successful models of emergency psychiatric care from across the country to assist clinicians and hospital administrators in program design
• An abundance of case examples of common emergency symptoms or behaviors provides professionals with critical, concrete tools for diagnostic evaluation, risk assessment, decision making, de-escalation, and safety planning

A Vital Resource for Clinicians

Helping Kids in Crisis: Managing Psychiatric Emergencies in Children and Adolescents is a vital resource for clinicians facing high-risk challenges on the front lines. This book provides the necessary tools and guidance to intervene effectively, relieve suffering, and keep their young patients safe.

Product Details

• Publisher: American Psychiatric Publishing
• Publication Date: April 1, 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9781585624829, 9781585625475