Children and Mental Health Talk: Perspectives on Social Competence—An Epilogue

In this chapter, we offer a commentary of the individual chapters as well as the contribution of the volume as a whole. Specifically, we discuss the notion of children’s social competence advanced in this book, as well as its intellectual history in ethnomethodology, against the reductionist conceptualisations of children and young persons often found in mainstream social and behavioural science literature. Moreover, we also discuss the relatively broad approach taken towards children’s mental health and well-being, and conclude by identifying some implications that the chapters bring to this research field as well as to professional practitioners working with troubled children.