This paper reviews the position of brief psychotherapies in child psychiatry. Brief psychotherapy with children and families has received less attention than similar work with individual adults. After reviewing literature on brief dynamic psychotherapy with children and their families, the authors describe an approach which developed in an outpatient child psychiatry team. After a brief assessment, a focal hypothesis and plan of treatment are concluded. A decision is made as to which unit (the family group, an individual, or a combination of individuals) would be most strategic to treat. The authors coin the phrase "focal treatment unit" to express this concept.