This book examines how professionals practising in various health and welfare settings go about the ordinary, but complicated, business of making sense of the symptoms and troubles with which their patients or clients present. Our motivations for writing the book are varied, but are the result of our conversations with each other about the problem of judgement in clinical practice, which have taken place over many years of professional, academic and research collaboration. We share a practice background in child health and welfare services, but also an academic interest in the importance of language and social interaction in human life. There is a complex dialogue, and at times an.
