[Crisis work challenged in emergencies]

This paper present a statistical study on the population of 775 psychiatric emergencies that arrived at the emergency service of Saint-Luc Hospital in Brussels (Belgium), between September 1, 1986 and December 31, 1986. The first request of the patient is medical, whereas his relatives expect that the abnormal and disturbing aspects of the patient's behaviour be taken in charge. From the point of view of diagnosis, two populations are clearly identified: psychiatric disorders (or psychiatry in emergency) and couple or family crisis situations, these representing the most specific aspect of psychiatric emergencies. The model of crisis interaction-intervention developed to address these emergencies is presented.