Practice Parameters: Children

The AACAP has published 25 Practice Parameters. The Parameters are published as Official Actions of the AACAP in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Summaries and full text parameters are available below.

The AACAP Practice Parameters are designed to assist clinicians in providing high quality assessment and treatment 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.