[Child psychiatry and social security]

The historic development of the units that provided psychiatric care to children and adolescents, which finally yielded the first child guidance clinic early this century is briefly reviewed. We describe the organization of a child psychiatry unit within a social security institute (ISSSTE). The importance of a child psychiatrist, a psychologist and a social worker working together in a team approach to the evaluation and treatment of children is emphasized. The ISSSTE has provided psychiatric care to children and adolescents since 1961. For this purpose the Institute has five psychiatric units, four of them within a general hospital, the other in a neuropsychiatry out-patient clinic. This clinic admitted 749 new cases to the Child Psychiatry department during 1976. Up to December 1976, the total population of the clinic was 14 271 patients, of which 5 471 are children and adolescents. Last but not least, we describe an ambitious project for an in-patient unit for children and adolescents as part of a psychiatric hospital.