Though many detailed case studies, this book describes and analyses the work of the Cassel Hospital, an internationally renowned centre for the treatment of families with severe emotional and psychological problems whose children are at risk and have been abused. For such families, and their mental health workers, the law can be seen as offering an emergency escape route for the abused child. Kennedy describes how a legal framework can help those working in the mental health field and a psychotherapeutic understanding of individuals, families and groups can aid lawyers and steer families more effectively and humanely through the legal process.