ABSTRACT
Community studies indicate that a considerable proportion of children and adolescents have significant psychiatric symptoms or disorders, a matter that has its implication on those children and adolescents on achieving their potential and affects their quality of life. Deeply thinking about the assessment of children and adolescents will reveal that it essentially has the same core and framework as that of adults, but some considerations are needed. The arrangements for the interviewing of children and adolescents and their families depend on the characteristics of each, and on the age of children and type of complaints. A psychiatric emergency is defined as an acute disturbance of thought, mood, behavior, or social relationship that requires an immediate intervention as defined by the patient, family, or the community. Disruptive and aggressive behavior is an everyday problem challenging clinicians in the emergency department. Patients exhibiting these behaviors have a high morbidity and mortality, and represent a medico-legal risk for the clinicians.
