This paper provides general guidelines for psychiatric mental health workers who work with children and adolescents in a residential treatment center. Twenty-four questions commonly asked by therapists in these situations are posed and answers are discussed for each question. Topics covered include why some patients appear perfectly normal, the role of the therapist in relation to the child's teacher in a classroom setting, the responsibility of the therapist for the child's actions, supervising groups of children, establishing rapport, keeping control of a group, and handling one's feelings toward the children. Ways of handling patient requests are discussed and suggestions are given for dealing with children who threaten to run away, request contact with the therapist after discharge, act out, ask personal questions, flirt, ask the therapist to keep secrets, or complain of physical symptoms with no physical basis. Several areas of staff relations are also examined: helping other staff members, handling patient criticism of other staff members, disciplining patients of other therapists, discussing patients with coworkers, and handling disagreements over a coworker's decisions. The appropriateness of discussing a patient in his presence is also considered. This paper concludes with a list of six basic guidelines for workers in a residential treatment setting: (1) be consistent; (2) provide alternatives; (3) be a role model; (4) see clients as children first, patients second; (5) control is not everything; and (6) be yourself. (NRB)