First published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

"I have used Dr. Wilens's book in teaching graduate social work students about mental health issues with children and adolescents. I have found Dr. Wilens's approach to be direct, understandable, and applicable for my students as they learn about pharmacological interventions with children and adolescents. My students, too, report that the book is one they have shared with families, internship supervisors, and colleagues; one they will keep in their resource libraries long after they complete their graduate education."--Jeff Levy, ACSW, LCSW, Lecturer, Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois-Chicago

"Our students appreciate Straight Talk for its practical information presented in a well-organized, question-and-answer format. Students repeatedly indicate that the book is a definite 'keeper' for their resource libraries."--DeDe Wohlfarth, PsyD, Department of Psychology, Spalding University

"Dr. Wilens has done a masterful job in synthesizing complex information and making it available to parents and families. Practical and useful, this book will strengthen parents' ability to understand the role that psychiatric medicines can play in their children's health and well-being. I strongly recommend it for any parents struggling with behavioral and emotional difficulties in their young." --Joseph Biederman, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

"An extraordinarily valuable reference for parents and others who care for children with psychiatric disorders. With remarkable clarity, Wilens describes a wide variety of conditions and up-to-the-minute information about related treatments. These topics are covered in a manner befitting the author's first-rate credentials in psychopharmacology research and psychiatry. What may be most striking, however, is the compassion for families that is conveyed in every chapter. Wilens is clearly sensitive and knowledgeable about the experiences and concerns of parents. I strongly recommend this book for any parent who is making, or has made, a decision about psychiatric treatment for their child." --Mary McDonald Richard, Coordinator, LD/ADHD Services, The University of Iowa

"This book gives exactly the kind of advice parents need to find appropriate care for their children with serious behavioral and emotional symptoms. In a thoughtful and compassionate way, Dr. Wilens answers the many questions parents have when their children need psychiatric referral. Parents, teachers and others who work with children will find this book an enlightening guide to recent advances in psychiatric treatment." --Andrea J. Eberle, MD, PhD, Board Member, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Parent, Pediatric Endocrinologist, Child Mental Health Advocate

"A real 'how-to' for anyone whose child is being treated with medication for psychiatric problems. This book empowers caregivers to manage their children's care more effectively." --Judith L. Rapoport, MD, Child Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health

"Finally, parents of children with developmental, psychiatric, or behavioral-emotional problems have a no-nonsense, state-of-the-art guide for assisting them with the decision to use psychiatric medications with their children. And clinicians now have at their disposal a trustworthy resource to which they can readily direct parents for any and all questions they may have about the medications that may be proposed for their children. As if that were not enough to recommend it, this book's author, Dr. Timothy Wilens, is a leading expert in child psychopharmacology working in an internationally renowned clinical and research program for children's psychiatric disorders. We owe Dr. Wilens a huge debt of gratitude for taking the time to produce this highly readable, superbly organized, and richly detailed modern synthesis of critically useful information. It will serve to counter the myriad alarmist, exaggerated, and often unfounded scare stories in the popular media about the use of psychiatric medicines with children. More important, this book gives parents the facts they need to help them with one of the most anxiety-provoking decisions they may face: should medication be used to help my child, and what are the risks and the benefits? Parents need wonder no longer. The best answers science has at its disposal are right here." --Russell A. Barkley, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School

"This book gives parents the facts they need to help them with one of the most anxiety-provoking decisions they may face: Should medication be used to help my child, and what are the risks and the benefits? Parents need wonder no longer. The best answers science has at its disposal are right here." --Russell A. Barkley, PhD, author of Your Defiant Child

"Readable, thorough, and up-to-date, this book provides cutting-edge information about an important topic. To date, no other book has filled this role. It is a 'must' read for families and educators who want to make sense of the complex issues of when medications may be considered for children and adolescents, and what to expect." --Henrietta L. Leonard, MD, coauthor of Is It "Just a Phase"? and It's Not All in Your Head

Timothy E. Wilens, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, specializes in pediatric and adult psychopharmacology in his clinical work at Massachusetts General Hospital. Board-certified in child, adolescent, adult, and addiction psychiatry, Dr. Wilens has researched and published widely on psychiatric medications and their uses.

Part I: What Every Parent Should Know about Psychiatric Medications for Children The Preliminaries: Building a Foundation of Knowledge. The Psychopharmacological Evaluation: Finding Out What's Wrong. The Diagnosis and Treatment Plan: Laying Out a Strategy to Help Your Child. Treatment and Beyond: Collaborating in Your Child's Ongoing Care. Part II: Common Childhood Psychiatric Disorders. Attentional and Disruptive Behavioral Disorders. Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders. The Mood Disorders. Anxiety-Related Disorders. Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders. Disorders of Known Medical and Neurological Origin. Other Mental Health Disturbances Affecting. Children and Adolescents. Part III: The Psychotropic Medications. The Stimulants. The Antidepressants. The Mood Stabilizers. The Anxiety-Breaking Medications. The Antihypertensives. The Antipsychotics. Medications for Sleep, Bedwetting, and Other Problems.