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 Making and Breaking Children's Lives 
 Edited by Craig Newnes & Nick Radcliffe, PCCS Books
 ISBN 1898059505, £14

 STAR RATING: 3/5

There are two broad themes being addressed here: some examples of therapeutic and service models for vulnerable children and - predominantly - a collection of texts on how societal attitudes and changes impact on children. The latter often focus on a range of mental health concepts and interventions, and how these can be misconstrued or applied by services, writes Panos Vostanis.

There are some interesting and challenging topics on children, agencies and society. There is, however, consistently limited, if any, reference to child-rearing and family roles, which is an essential context for the understanding of theoretical frameworks and the improvement of services.

This omission may, of course, have been intentional, but I somehow think not. There are some taboos that we may not be ready to discuss within our society and some of the challenging chapters fell short of doing that.

Panos Vostanis is professor of child psychiatry, University of Leicester