WAIMH Handbook of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health

This special issue of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, guest edited by Drs. Joyce Harrison and Tessa Chesher, focuses on Infant and Preschool Mental Health: Assessment and Treatment. Covering the critical developmental period from birth to age five, it addresses the foundational skills and interventions that promote optimal mental health and developmental trajectories. Recognizing that few child psychiatry programs provide specialized training in early childhood mental health, this issue brings together top experts to provide up-to-date, evidence-based guidance for clinicians working with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.

Key Features:

• Includes 16 practice-oriented topics, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion in infant mental health, advances in developmental neuroscience, evidence-based therapies for trauma, ADHD, disruptive behavior, and eating disorders in young children.
• Offers in-depth clinical reviews providing actionable insights for assessment, diagnosis, and treatment in early childhood mental health.
• Synthesizes the latest research and practice guidelines into clinically significant, topic-focused articles.
• Highlights early interventions that support optimal brain development, emotional regulation, and family wellbeing.
• Serves as a practical resource for child psychiatrists, psychologists, pediatricians, therapists, and other clinicians working with children from birth to five years.