Infant psychiatry, Mental Health--in infancy & childhood, Mental Disorders--in infancy & childhood, Child Development Disorders 

Despite the wealth of research on infancy, this comprehensive handbook is the first to offer a broad interdisciplinary analysis of the developmental, clinical, and social aspects of infant mental health. With chapters written by scholars and clinicians from a variety of perspectives, the work is grounded in a relational view of infancy and applies the fruits of contemporary research in developmental psychology to the problems encountered in clinical practice. Extensive in its scope, this volume thoroughly covers models of development, risk conditions and protective factors, and social policy considerations, as well as assessment, evaluation, and diagnosis for all children from birth to three years of age. The broad initial chapters critically evaluate different models of development and developmental psychopathology, and the contexts of infant mental health, particularly the family. Subsequent chapters examine factors that may influence infant development, including adolescent motherhood, multiple family relationships, the consequences of poverty, and the effects of premature birth, parental mental illness, and maternal substance abuse. Issues of assessment, evaluation, and diagnosis are covered in detail, and separate chapters then focus on specific disorders--from traditional topics such as autism and failure to thrive to contemporary descriptions of regulatory and attachment disorders. An array of interventions --from practitioner-based models of psychotherapy to programmatic prevention and early intervention efforts--are presented. The final chapters on day care and custody illuminate social policy questions that can profoundly affect infant mental health. This book is unparalleled as a complete resource for a wide variety of professionals. Relevant to clinicians, investigators, and those concerned with social policy, it is an indispensable reference for psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, pediatricians, nurses, special educators, policy makers, and early intervention specialists. It also serves as an excellent text for students in these disciplines. Editorial Reviews Review "The new field of infant mental health has long awaited a defining text--and in this volume, it has finally gotten one--and a superb one it is: comprehensive; interdisciplinary, addressing theory and practice; and made up of excellent, well-written contributions, intelligently organized. This volume will be the text of reference in the field for the foreseeable future. Its publication, in fact, is a landmark in the establishment of the field of infant mental health. Charles Zeanah is to be congratulated. He has put together a text that will be both required and invaluable to everyone working in the field." --Daniel Stern, M.D., University of Geneva "As the developmental perspective has become increasingly assimilated into extant theory, research, and intervention, investigators and clinicians have been forced to re-examine their beliefs about the causes, course, and sequelae of mental disorders across the lifespan. In this timely and crucial volume, editor Charles H. Zeanah has done a fantastic job assembling some of our nation's leaders in the field of infancy with the goal of examining early adaptation and maladaptation from a multidisciplinary framework. This important book provides an in-depth coverage of contextual issues, risk and protective factors, assessment, and prevention and intervention for infant high-risk conditions and disorders, including an eye toward the social policy implications of this work. The Handbook of Infant Mental Health provides unequivocal evidence that the period of infancy merits the attention of scientists and clinicians interested in optimizing our children's mental health. The Handbook is a major contribution to the burgeoning discipline of developmental pathology." --Dante Cicchetti, PhD, University of Rochester "The book is a good general textbook of current research and intervention." --Barbara Nathanson, Johns Hopkins "The best collection of writings and research in the field available on the market today." --Joanne Kalesnik, PhD, University of Texas-Dallas About the Author Charles H. Zeanah, Jr., M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. He is the Medical Director of a clinical intervention program for homeless adolescents and their infants. His research interests include the development of attachment and social competence, representational processes in parent-infant relationships, and attachment and relationship disorders in early childhood. He is Secretary of the World Association of Infant Mental Health (WAIMH) and Editor of the WAIMH Newsletter.