The AACAP has published over 30 Practice Parameters. The Parameters are published as Official Actions of the AACAP in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Links to the complete text of all published parameters are available below.
The AACAP Practice Parameters are designed to assist clinicians in providing high quality assessment and treatment for children and adolescents that is consistent with the best available scientific evidence and clinical consensus. The Practice Parameters describe generally accepted practices, but are not intended to define a standard of care, nor should they be deemed inclusive of all proper methods of care or exclusive of other legitimate methods of care directed at obtaining the desired results. The ultimate judgment regarding the care of a patient and family must be made by the clinician in light of all of the clinical evidence presented by the patient and family, the diagnostic and treatment options available, and available resources.
Before approval by the Council, each Parameter draft is reviewed several times by the members of the Work Group on Quality Issues, co-chaired by Heather Walter, M.D., M.P.H. and Oscar Bukstein, M.D., M.P.H. In addition, the drafts are reviewed by experts in the respective subject areas and by the AACAP general membership. For further information on practice parameter development, please click here.
New Practice Parameters Ready for Member Review!
Join us at the Practice Parameter Member Forum!
• Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Schizophrenia
Jon McClellan, M.D.
• Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Youth in Foster Care Settings
Rachel Brown, MBBS
The parameters will be presented at the AACAP Annual Meeting in Honolulu at the Member Forum on Friday, October 30, at 10:45 a.m. To download and print out the parameters for review before the Annual Meeting, please go to Members Only.
In the interest of full disclosure, click here for conflict of interest information for all people, other than authors and chairs, named in the attribution section of practice parameters. This policy applies to parameters approved after September 2006.
Anxiety Disorders
Vol 46 Feb 2007
For some additional clinical resources, and information to help families, click here for the eAACAP Anxiety Disorders Resource Center.
Assessment of a Child and Adolescent
Vol 36 Oct 1997 Sup
Assessment of Infants and Toddlers
Vol 36 Oct 1997 Sup
Autism
Vol 38 Dec 1999 Sup
Bipolar
Vol 46 Jan 2007
ERRATUM: The “Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Bipolar Disorder,” which appears in the January 2007 issue of the Journal (J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 46: 107-125), includes an incorrect citation for I Hellander 2002 in the reference list. The correct reference is Hellander M (2002), Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation: Membership Survey. Data Presented at: Methodological Issues and Controversies in Clinical Trials with Child and Adolescent Patients with Bipolar Disorder, sponsored by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; June; Chantilly, VA. All references to Hellander, 2002 appearing in the text refer to the M. Hellander 2002 citation appearing here.
Child Custody Evaluation
Vol 36 Oct 1997 Sup
Community Systems of Care
Vol 46 Feb 2007
Conduct Disorders
Vol 36 Oct 1997 Sup
Electroconvulsive Therapy With Adolescents
Vol 43 Dec 2004
Enuresis, Children and Adolescents With
Vol 43 Dec 2004
Language/Learning Disorders
Vol 37 Oct 1998 Sup
Mental Retardation
Vol 38 Dec 1999 Sup
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Vol 37 Oct 1998 Sup
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Vol 46 Jan 2007
Physically Ill Children and Adolescents
Vol 48 Feb 2009
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Vol 37 Oct 1998 Sup
Psychiatric Consultation to Schools
Vol 44 Oct 2005
accompanying tables
Reactive Attachment Disorder
Vol 44 Nov 2005
Schizophrenia
Vol 40 Jul 2001 Sup
Seclusion and Restraint
Vol 41 Feb 2002 Sup
Sexually Abusive Children
Vol 38 Dec 1999 Sup
Stimulant Medications
Vol 41 Feb 2002 Sup
Substance Use (Revised)
Vol 44 Jun 2005
Suicidal Behavior
Vol 40 Jul 2001 Sup
Suicide Tables
Telepsychiatry
Vol 47 Dec 2008
Addendum: JoAnn Elizabeth Leavey, R.N., Ed.D., R. Psych. (Limited Register), served as an expert reviewer in the creation of the Parameter on Telepsychiatry.
Youth in Juvenile Detention and Correctional Facilities
Vol 44 Oct 2005
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