ABSTRACT
As with any powerful intervention, there are potential adverse effects associated with in-patient treatment. It is particularly important to think explicitly about these since many, both within the child mental health professions and beyond, have significant concerns about residential treatment for young children and a number of non-psychiatric residential care programmes have been associated with well documented disaster. Although there have been none of these to our knowledge in child psychiatry units in the UK, it would be short sighted and arrogant to assume that this could never happen (see chapter 17)
