Beyond the Best Interests of the Child is the first volume in a classic trilogy of works by Joseph Goldstein, former Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law at Yale Law School; Albert J. Solnit, the former director of the Yale Child Study Center, and Anna Freud, daughter of Sigmund Freud.

This collection of texts are classic references often cited in child custody cases. Rather than the familiar legal "best interests of the child" doctrine, the authors’ work is based on the more realistic standard of finding the "least detrimental alternative." This is indispensable reading for social workers, family court judges, lawyers, psychologists, and parents.