Most infants, children, and adolescents facing mental health challenges - including autism, psychosis, mania, depression, anxiety, and substance use - do not receive evidence-based treatments. Instead, they commonly receive ineffective and even harmful treatments. In this book, leading experts from the fields of clinical psychology, school psychology, developmental psychology, pediatric neurology, applied behavior analysis, and social work identify the most problematic psychotherapy interventions used for each mental health issue. In addition to these primary authors, each chapter includes a side bar from a specialist representing the disciplines of pediatrics, anthropology, neuroscience, and psychology. The contributors work in academia, hospitals, and private practice and include book authors, podcasters, and even a filmmaker. Not only does this book highlight the threats of potentially harmful pseudoscience, it also summarizes treatments that actually have a strong evidence base and deliver far more positive results.

'Finally, a volume that clearly helps parents and educators discriminate scientifically-supported fact from pseudoscience fiction about child psychotherapy. Leave your inkblots and dream interpretations at the door, and learn the truth about how psychologists effectively reduce youths’ mental illness and distress. A must read for anyone who is serious about reducing children’s psychological symptoms and ensuring a better future for the next generation!'

Mitch Prinstein - John Van Seters Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

'… full of fascinating information and is extensively referenced … an invaluable guide … There is reason to hope that good science will prevail and that this book will be instrumental in making progress. This book would be instructive for psychotherapists and it is an invaluable resource for parents who are trying to find an effective psychotherapy for their children and adolescents.'

Source: Science-Based Medicine (www.sciencebasedmedicine.org)