Collection of Evidence-based Practices for Children and Adolescents with Mental Health Treatment Needs – The recognition that children and adolescents suffer from mental health disorders is a relatively recent development. Throughout history, childhood was considered a happy period. Children were not thought to suffer from mental disorders or emotional distresses, due to the notion that they were spared the stresses that afflict adults (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2002). It is now well-recognized that these disorders are not just a stage of childhood or adolescence, but are a result of genetic, developmental, and physiological factors.