School crisis consultation

School crisis consultations are services necessary to assist school communities recover from disruptions that interfere with a learning environment. Child and adolescent psychiatrists are ideal participants in such consultations owing to their knowledge of child development, familiarity with school systems, family dynamics, stress reactions in children, and crisis intervention skills. The exciting challenge is to tailor a consultation based on a needs assessment, degree of impact of event, and other resources. Every consultation is a unique and stimulating learning experience. Those who develop expertise in this area will be poised to lead future consultation efforts. These consultations are now informed by an increasing body of research on children's stress reactions and various types of interventions.