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Endowed with compassion, sensitivity, and extensive experience with hospitalized children, Thesi Bergmann collaborating with Anna Freud has made a significant offering to all who come into contact with chronically ill children. In her book Children in the Hospital she has distilled highlights of her 18 years experience at Rainbow Hospital into 162 pages of clear, direct descriptions and analyses of the emotional problems of the children who have prolonged medical illnesses. The author states however that her designation as a child therapist is a "misleading" one. Rather she saw herself as offering the children "first aid in the emergencies created by traumatic situations."
The first section is devoted to the description of the 50-bed hospital and its patient population. It highlights the importance in pediatric care of such functions as the admission procedures, visiting rules, and patient selection policies. It does not neglect the children's emotional relationships