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Dr. Simmons' Psychiatric Examination of Children is an extremely readable and reasonable treatise. The common-sense approach which characterizes the book is only surpassed by the dignity with which both child and parent are approached in every phase. The examples given are well chosen both to illustrate how difficult parts of the examination may be undertaken and to reassure the neophyte that the reluctant, silent, or unmanageable child and the defensive or hostile parent are encountered by all who work with children and can be worked with to provide a meaningful psychiatric examination.
The Mental Status Report is a well-designed one, and the case illustrations help students to understand how such a report can be written.
Unfortunately, nosology and classification are integral and vital parts of such an examination, and the fact that the author refers to several possible classifications without himself using one is not helpful. Similarly, the question of