Book excerpt: Originally published in 2006, this authoritative clinical handbook provides a detailed overview of the main disorders encountered by child and adolescent psychiatrists in clinical practice, ranging from eating, sleep and affective disorders to substance abuse, gender identity disorder and sexual abuse. The approach is evidence based and emphasis is on good clinical practice and quality control of patient care. In contrast to other books in the field, the authors' intention is not to cover exhaustively all the relevant science, but rather to present in condensed form any research findings that are significant for clinical practice. For coherence, each chapter is constructed in the same way: introduction, definition and classification, epidemiology, the clinical picture, aetiology, treatment and outcome. The disorders covered are based on the ICD- 10 and DSM-IV classifications, and appendices include documents for assessment of intervention planning and evaluation.