As colleagues in Ireland and England and Wales are bracing themselves for revisions of their respective mental health legislations, I would like to share some of the joys and tribulations of working within the legal framework of mental health of young people in England and Wales as it stands. (This is the first major reform of UK Mental Health legislation since the 1983 Mental Health Act, which was based on a full review of mental health legislation from the 1950s.)

On first approach, the complexities of this framework can be daunting. However the underlying principles are similar to Ireland's. Ideally, health professionals, parents and children are working together in a co-operative therapeutic alliance. In reality, factors such as time, communication, resources, differences in professional judgements regarding thresholds for concern and action, interagency and interprofessional rivalries impact greatly on our day-to-day practice.