Treating and preventing adolescent mental health disorders: what we know and what we don't know : a research agenda for improving the mental health of our youth

Following on the heels of the widely-acclaimed, updated edition of Nathan and Gorman's A Guide to Treatments That Work (OUP, 2002), Treating and Preventing Adolescent Mental Health Disorders brings together a distinguished group of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists to provide a cohesive, evidence-based guide to treatments and preventions that work for adolescents with mental disorders. The project, funded by the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands in conjunction with the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, seeks to address mental disorders in the teenage years when support is still available from home and school and while behaviour and the brain are still "plastic". Seven commissions established by the Annenberg Foundation pool their expertise to address the state of our knowledge on adolescent anxiety, schizophrenia, substance and alcohol abuse, depression and bipolar disorder, eating disorders, and suicide. Individual chapters thoroughly define each disorder, offer empirically-tested treatments, discuss prevention, and suggest a research agenda based on what we know and don't yet know. The volume also incorporates the latest research on positive youth development, which addresses how we can fully prepare young people to be happy and successful throughout their lives rather than focusing simply on ensuring that teenagers are not engaged in risky behaviours. Integrating the work of eminent scholars in both psychology and psychiatry, this work will be an essential volume for academics and practising clinicians.