ABSTRACT
The message of this book is that the role of therapeutic communication, and that of bringing clarity to the assessment process, is not the sole province of clinical work. In fact, the universal everyday services for children, including schools, child-care centres and kindergartens, health visiting and general medical practice, have a critical role to play in terms of prevention and the promotion of emotional wellbeing. The professionals within these universal services are all in a position to bene®t from a conceptual framework that outlines the core principles of assessment and therapeutic practice in their everyday engagement with children, young people and their parents. In this respect, the focus will be on the following three areas: schools; early childhood services; and general medical practice.
