Another 'dangerous opportunity': child and adolescent psychiatry faces health care reform

Child and adolescent psychiatry has evolved into its present form through a series of crises over the past 75 years. The current challenge posed by health care reform represents the next developmental opportunity for this subspecialty. The author presents a brief summary of these crises, an overview of other forces affecting practice, and a possible model of adaptive approaches to these dilemmas. He concludes that there is every expectation that the field will mature further in response to this newest crisis.