Diagnostic Dilemmas in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry ─ Philosophical Perspectives

Though many of the ethical issues important in adult mental health are of relevance in the child, there are a considerable number of issues special to children. Many of the dilemmas faced pertain to diagnosis, treatment, the protection of the child, as well as the child's own developing intelligence and moral judgement. In addition, there are cases where the interests of the parents may conflict with the interests of the child. For example, the interests of a mother with schizophrenia might best be served by her continuing to look after her child, but the child's interests might require that a substitute placement be found.

Diagnostic Dilemmas in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is the first in the IPPP series to explore this highly complex topic. It brings together a collection of clinicians and philosophers who consider a range of topics central to the diagnosis and treatment of children and adolescents affected by mental disorders.

Christian Perring, Professor of Philosophy, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Dowling College, USA,Lloyd Wells, Emeritus Consultant in Psychiatry, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, USA

Christian Perring is Professor of Philosophy at Dowling College, NY. He has academic degrees from Oxford University, King's College London, and Princeton University. He is a member of the executive council for the Association for the Advancement of Philosophy and Psychiatry, and he is the editor of Metapsychology Online Reviews. His research interests are in philosophy of psychiatry, philosophy of psychology, and moral psychology, with particular focus on issues of the moral responsibility of people with mental illness, the classification of disorders in child and adolescent psychiatry, and the role of scientific reductionism in psychiatry. He teaches in a wide variety of areas, including medical ethics, the philosophy of law, the philosophy of sex and love, and the history of psychology.

Dr. Wells recently retired after a thirty-nine year career at Mayo Clinic, where he worked in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. For twenty-two years he was Chair of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. For twelve years he served as Vice-Chair of the department, in charge of education issues. For more than twenty years he was medical director of the inpatient child and adolescent psychiatry unit. Dr. Wells was a course director in the medical school for almost twenty years and served as program director for the residency programs in child and adolescent psychiatry and general psychiatry. He examined on the general psychiatry Boards and served as education chair for the Society of Professors of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.