Few things in life make parents more concerned than the idea that their child has significant emotional or behavioral problems and needs professional help. Once the decision to seek professional help is made, difficult questions arise. Who sees children for emotional problems? What are their qualifications? How do I know if they are competent? What can I expect to hear when I call one of them? How will they go about evaluating my child? What kind of therapy is right for my child? These and other questions understandably make parents anxious. In this book the questions are addressed and answered in plain English from the parents' perspective.

Child psychiatrist Calvin Colarusso, M.D., has been evaluating and treating children for 50 years. He writes in a simple, direct style that makes it possible for parents to take the first step toward getting an evaluation of their child, with less apprehension and greater understanding of the procedures involved.

What Parents Need to Know About Choosing a Therapist for Their Child is a roadmap directing parents toward a solution for existing problems and a path to healthy development for your child. This book includes information on:

• The credentials of mental health professionals who evaluate and treat children
• Basic components of a child psychiatric evaluation
• Evaluation procedures with young children
• Evaluation procedures with adolescents
• Techniques used in the treatment of children and adolescents
• The relationship between diagnosis and treatment recommendations

About the author: An eminent authority in the field of child and adult development, Dr. Colarusso is a board-certified Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California at San Diego, where he served for two decades as director of the Child Psychiatry Residency Training Program. He is also a Training and Supervising Analyst in child and adult psychoanalysis at the San Diego Psychoanalytic Institute and an internationally known lecturer to students, professionals, teachers and the general public on many aspects of normal and pathologic development. His ebooks, audiobooks, and books in print have been published in English, Korean, and Spanish. (See www.calbooks.info) In addition, Dr. Colarusso has published over 50 articles and book chapters in peer-reviewed journals.