This volume represents a painstaking and scholarly introduction to the
management of children and adults who have problems of communi- cation
related to, or in addition to, mental disorder. It is a relatively
unexplored field having received scant attention until recent years, but
the quality of the work included here gives a clear indication that the
area should move from the periphery into a main- stream position in the
education and practice of speech therapists. Although all students in
training receive some teaching in the area of psychiatry it tends to be
limited to a brief consideration of the role of the psychiatrist, and
clinical psychologist - very rarely the speech therapist. It has been
proposed that the education of the speech therapist who intends to enter
this difficult but rewarding field should be developed at post graduate
level and there are strong arguments given in this volume to support the
idea. Claims that the field is neglected during initial training are,
however, well founded and this volume should alert those responsible for
the education of speech therapists to this deficiency.