Symposium: NeurodisabilityThe paediatrician's role in mental health

Mental health is increasingly acknowledged as an integral part of a paediatrician's work. This article aims to cover six important areas that will be useful to the general paediatrician. In the first part of the article I will tackle: why mental health is an important part of paediatric care, what kind of mental health difficulties do children encounter and how should paediatricians initially approach emotional and behavioural problems? In the second part I will describe the emotional problems encountered in paediatric services, how to understand behavioural problems and how to manage both of these in paediatric practice. Practical approaches and advice are provided in each section.