Recognizing and treating uncommon behavioral and emotional disorders in children and adolescents who have been severely maltreated: introduction.

To provide more effective clinical services for children and adolescents who have been severely maltreated, the New York State Office of Mental Health sponsored the development of several guides to assist clinicians providing services to these children and adolescents. This article introduces the six other articles in this special section, articles that are adapted from those clinical guides. It also provides basic guidelines for services to severely maltreated children, adolescents, and their families and introduces several concepts that should be considered when reading the other articles in this special section.