Dr. Finch has provided an excellent resource for the teaching of the principles of child psychiatry to the beginning student in the several fields related to work with emotionally disturbed children. Writing in a concise and simplified fashion, the author covers the areas of personality development, psychopathology, procedures of diagnostic evaluation, and treatment.
In his preface, Finch anticipates a question that many will probably raise: Can psychiatric disorders in children be discussed under the broad headings familiar in the classification of psychiatric disorders of the adult? He implies dissatisfaction with the use of this classification, but has utilized it, he explains, because it is clear and familiar to the beginning student in child psychiatry who has had adult psychiatric experience. Though he uses a classification for adult psychiatric disorders, the author frequently points to the differences in child and adult psychiatry. Throughout the book