Psychopathology of Childhood and Adolescence

The textbook Psychopathology of Childhood and Adolescence contains 20 chapters and is the result of many years of work and study of psychopathological manifestations and disorders in children and youth. The book provides detailed descriptions of disorders with examples from clinical practice, which helps students more easily recognize the manifestations of specific disorders. The text integrates 29 cases from the author’s own clinical practice. The names of the children are not real but were arbitrarily chosen to protect their identities. Any resemblance to an actual child is purely coincidental.

In explaining the origins of disorders, it was not possible to apply a single dominant theoretical approach; instead, disorders are explained through different theoretical models depending on the specific disorder, and for some, multiple models were used. More space is devoted to the family within the framework of systemic family therapy, though without the intention of favoring this approach. The content of the book meets the requirements of the Psychology study program, while also including sections that go beyond this scope. Primarily, these are chapters on psychological assessment and therapeutic approaches, without which the presentation of clinical pictures and causal factors would be insufficient and incomplete. With these chapters, a comprehensive approach is provided to each disorder and to potential directions for practical interventionThe practical and theoretical experience summarized in this book has shown that systemic family therapy and cognitive-behavioral approaches are effective in working with children and youth, though this does not mean that other approaches cannot also be applicable and highly useful. Chapters on intellectual disability and early disorders of psychological development are included due to their frequent presence in psychological clinical practice, as well as because of common secondary psychopathological manifestations.

Students, through studying this subject, encounter many professional terms for the first time, so a glossary of basic concepts is added at the end. This glossary introduces them to child and youth psychopathology and enables an interdisciplinary approach and equal communication with professionals from medical and other related fields.