Psychotic disorders can be misunderstood or misdiagnosed by clinicians that deal with children, including clinical social workers, counselors, child psychiatrists, and child psychologists. Many times it is difficult for a mental health professional to determine whether the problematic behaviors exhibited are the result of an altered normal developmental process or the result of a serious mental disorder. This book provides professionals and students with the specific information needed to assess better the exact nature of what is affecting the young patient.

Once thought to be extremely rare, juvenile-onset schizophrenia occurs in almost one-third of all persons with schizophrenia. Clinically, adolescents tend to have different, usually poorer, outcomes than adults with schizophrenia, and they respond differently to treatments. Because their age precludes them from functioning independently, adolescents are generally considered more vulnerable, and they require age-appropriate psychosocial interventions. From a scientific perspective, the fact that adolescents appear to have a more severe form of the disease may provide researchers with useful...