Fathers are often less likely to attend for appointments with their referred children at family and child psychiatry clinics than are mothers. The literature related to this topic is examined. A study of fathers' attendance at family sessions is reported, in which attenders are compared to nonattenders. It is concluded that conventional suppositions regarding fathers' attendance, such as work hours and family roles, are not as important predictors of fathers' attendance as fathers' relationships with their own fathers and current relationships with their partners. Clinical implications are examined.

The management of apparent sleep problems is often not straight-forward because of a proportion of clients attending with a 'hidden agenda', requiring more in-depth long-term treatment for psychological problems. This paper looks at a sample of 100 consecutive referrals to a community sleep clinic in the East End of London and attempts to address the question of who comes to the sleep clinic and why. A proportion of clients responded to brief intervention of a behavioural nature but 19% were referred on to other services for psycho-therapeutic help.

Using clinical material this article attempts to make some links with symptoms presenting in children in a child psychiatry setting and aspects of their fathers' stories; a particular link is made with depression in the fathers. Hitherto depression in men has been under-researched. This article also attempts to highlight this issue as one of importance in the child psychiatry setting. Following a literature review six clinical cases are presented to amplify the points raised.

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