The author, a professional social worker and professor at the Arizona State University West Department of Social Work, expresses his concern for the increasing number of children being diagnosed and treated for emotional problems. "The unsettling thought of misdiagnosing children who need help but are not being served because of racial and gender issues, and treatment of large number of children who are, in reality, responding in normal ways to maturational and social changes has begun to capture a great deal of attention in the popular and professional literature." -- p. [3]. He proposes an evidence-based practice approach regarding assessment, diagnosis and treatment of children and adolescents with social and emotional problems "including, but not limited to: ADHD; Bi-Polar Disorder; anxiety and depression; eating disorders; Autism; Asperger's Syndrome; lonelines and social isolation; school related problems; gender issues and prolonged grief. The psychosocial interventions discussed in the book provide practitioners and educators with a range of effective treatments that serve as an alternative to the use of unproven medications with unknown but potentially harmful side effects." -- Back cover.