The place of crisis intervention in psychiatry

This paper examines the concept of crisis intervention and its relevance to psychiatric practice. Crisis theory originated in relation to healthy subjects disturbed by major life hazards. Its application, however, has been widened in an uncritical manner to include patients with psychiatric disorders. To what extent crisis theory and intervention can be applied is discussed and relevant research on the outcome of their use in a variety of settings reviewed. It is concluded that although crisis theory cannot be transplanted in its entirety into psychiatry, modified versions might prove useful. The role of crisis in inducing behaviour change in a variety of psychiatric settings and the ways in which this might be harnessed are of considerable interest and worthy of careful investigation.