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Guidelines, Updates, and Parameters

Practice Parameters Icon

For 40 years, the AACAP Committee on Quality Issues (CQI) has been charged with the development of documents intended to inform clinical practice in child and adolescent psychiatry.  Since the early Practice Parameters series, the development process for these documents has become increasingly rigorous and transparent, and for the new Clinical Practice Guideline series, the development process is consistent with recommendations of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) regarding "trustworthy guidelines".

Practice Parameters (now discontinued), authored by topic experts and the CQI, were intended to inform the practice of child and adolescent psychiatry in a wide variety of topic areas. By standard convention, Practice Parameters, Clinical Practice Guidelines, and Clinical Updates become outdated after 5 years, as they have not been updated to reflect current knowledge and practice, and as such should be accessed for historical purposes only.

Clinical Practice Guidelines & Practice Parameters

Clinical Practice Guidelines & Practice Parameters

Clinical Updates and Practice Parameters

Clinical Updates and Practice Parameters


Clinical Practice Guidelines & Practice Parameters

Disorder AACAP Clinical Practice Guidelines or Practice Parameters Other Professional Organization Clinical Practice Guidelines AHRQ Literature Reviews

ADHD

    ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment in Children and Adolescents
March 2024

Antipsychotics


  First- and Second-Generation Antipsychotics in Children and Young Adults: Systematic Review Update
March 2017

Anxiety

Clinical Practice Guideline for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Anxiety Disorders
JAACAP Volume 59 October 2020
  Anxiety in Children
August 2017

Autism

Practice Parameter
Autism
JAACAP Volume 53 February 2014
  • Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: support and management, Clinical guideline [CG170] Published: 28 August 2013 Last updated: 14 June 2021

Bipolar Disorder

Practice Parameter
Bipolar Disorders
JAACAP Volume 46 January 2007
  • Bipolar disorder: assessment and management NICE Clinical guideline [CG185] Published: 24 September 2014 Last updated: 21 December 2023
 

Depression

Clinical Practice Guideline for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Major and Persistent Depressive Disorders
JAACAP Article in Press October 2022
  • Depression in children and young people: identification and management NICE guideline [NG134] Published: 25 June 2019
Treatment of Depression in Children and Adolescents
April 2020

Disruptive Behavior Disorders 

 

 

Treating Disruptive Behavior Disorders in Children and Teens
August 2016

Eating Disorders

Practice Parameter
Eating Disorders
JAACAP Volume 54, May 2015
  • Eating disorders: recognition and treatment, NICE guideline [NG69] Published: 23 May 2017 Last updated: 16 December 2020
 

Intellectual Disability

Practice Parameter
Intellectual Disability
JAACAP Volume 59 April 2020
   

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Practice Parameter
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
JAACAP Volume 51 January 2012
  Diagnosis and Management of Obsessive Compulsive Disorders in Children
August 2023

PTSD

Practice Parameter
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
JAACAP Volume 49 April 2010
  • World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for treatment of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and posttraumatic stress disorders – Version 3. Part II: OCD and PTSD 

  • American Psychiatric Association (APA) – Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of PTSD 2017

  • NICE Guidelines Post-traumatic Stress Disorder 2018

  • Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Acute Stress Disorder, PTSD and Complex PTSD. 2020
Pharmacologic and Nonpharmacologic Treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: 2024 Update of the Evidence Base for the PTSD Trials Standardized Data Repository
August 2024

Schizophrenia

Practice Parameter
Schizophrenia
JAACAP Volume 52 September 2013
  • Society guideline links: Psychotic disorders - UpToDate

  • Canadian Schizophrenia Guidelines, 2017

  • American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2020, Practice Guideline for Schizophrenia

  • British Association of Psychopharmacology, updated 2019, evidence-based guidelines for use of pharmacology in schizophrenia
 

Substance Use Disorder (SUD)

 
  • Medication for Adolescents and Young Adults With Opioid Use Disorder
    Journal of Adolescent Health Volume 68 March 2021

  • Executive Summary of the Focused Update of the ASAM National Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder
    Journal of Addiction Medicine 14(2), March/April 2020

  • United States Preventive Services Taskforce Recommendation: Illicit Drug Use in Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: Primary Care-Based Interventions

  • SAMHSA - TIP 35: Enhancing Motivation for Change in Substance Use Disorder Treatment

  • Drug misuse prevention: targeted interventions, NICE guideline [NG64] Published: 22 February 2017
Interventions for Substance Use Disorders in Adolescents: A Systematic Review
May 2020

Tics / Tourette’s

Practice Parameter
Tic Disorders
JAACAP Volume 52 December 2013
  • American Academy of Neurology (ANN) systematic review, (part I) and also practice guideline summary (part 2) of treatment of tics in Tourette’s and chronic tic disorder, 2019

  • European clinical guidelines for Tourette’s Syndrome and other tic disorders, 2021
 

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Clinical Updates and Practice Parameters

Clinical Updates, authored by AACAP Committees and the CQI, are intended to address three topic areas: the psychiatric assessment and management of specific populations of children and adolescents; the psychiatric assessment and management of children and adolescents in specific settings; and the application of specific psychiatric techniques to children and adolescents. The Clinical Update development process can be accessed here.

Topic

AACAP Clinical Updates & Practice Parameters

Resources From Other Orgs

AHRQ Literature Reviews

Aggression

Practice Parameter
Aggressive Behavior in Institutions
JAACAP Volume 41 February 2002
   

Child Welfare

Practice Parameter
Child Welfare
JAACAP Volume 54 June 2015
   

Collaborative Care

Clinical Update: Collaborative Mental Health Care for Children and Adolescents in Pediatric Primary Care
JAACAP Article in Press June 2022
   

Cultural Competency

Practice Parameter
Cultural Competency
JAACAP Volume 52 October 2013
   

Disaster Preparedness

Practice Parameter
Disaster Preparedness
JAACAP Volume 52 November 2013
   

ECT

Practice Parameter
Electroconvulsive Therapy
JAACAP Volume 43 December 2004
   

Enuresis

Practice Parameter
Enuresis
JAACAP Volume 43 December 2004
   

Family Assessment

Practice Parameter
Assessment of the Family
JAACAP Volume 46 July 2007
   

Forensic Assessment or Forensic/Correctional Psychiatry

Practice Parameter
Forensic Assessment
JAACAP Volume 50 December 2011
   

LGBTQ Youth

Practice Parameter
GLBT Youth
JAACAP Volume 51 September 2012
   

Mental Health Mobile Applications

    Strategies for Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care
September 2022

Mindfulness-Based Interventions

    Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Mental Health and Wellbeing in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review
February 2025

Nonpharmacological Interventions

    Nonpharmacologic Treatments for Maternal Mental Health Conditions
July 2024
Perinatal Pharmacologic Interventions     Maternal, Fetal, and Child Outcomes of Mental Health Treatments in Women: A Systematic Review of Perinatal Pharmacologic Interventions
April 2021

Pharmacology

    Pharmacotherapy for Adults With Alcohol Use Disorder in Outpatient Settings: Systematic Review
November 2023

Physically Ill Children

Practice Parameter
Physically Ill Children
JAACAP Volume 48 February 2009
   

Psychotherapy

Practice Parameter
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy with Children
JAACAP Volume 51 May 2012
   

Psychotropic Medication

Practice Parameter
Stimulant Medications*
Volume 41 February 2002 Sup

Practice Parameter
Psychotropic Medication
JAACAP Volume 48 September 2009
   

School Consultation

Practice Parameter
Psychiatric Consultation to Schools
JAACAP Volume 44 October 2005
   

Screening & Counseling

    Implementation of Recommended Screening and Counseling Interventions to Prevent Mental Health Disorders in Children and Adolescents
February 2025

Sexual Abuse

Practice Parameter
Sexually Abusive Children
JAACAP Volume 38 December 1999
   
Substance Use Disorder     Treatments, Technologies, and Models for Management of Acute and Chronic Pain in People With a History of Substance Use Disorder
April 2021

Suicide

Practice Parameter
Suicidal Behavior
JAACAP Volume 40 July 2001
Self-harm: assessment, management and preventing recurrence
NICE guideline [NG225] Published: 07 September 2022
 

Systems of Care

Clinical Update: Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Care in Community Systems of Care
JAACAP Article in Press June 2022
   

Telepsychiatry

Clinical Update: Telepsychiatry With Children and Adolescents
JAACAP Volume 56 October 2017
   

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