Child psychiatry-pediatrics consultation-liaison services in the hospital setting: a review.

The historical background of the child psychiatry-pediatrics consultation and liaison field is summarized. Two recent national surveys of consultation and liaison programs are presented; one survey was sent to departments of pediatrics, while the other covered divisions of child psychiatry. The development of a multidisciplinary, multidepartmental consultation and liaison group in a children's hospital is described and offered as a possible paradigm. Finally, the author discusses the problems revealed by the surveys and offers some possible solutions.