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The close relationship between crisis intervention and prevention is examined in the context of social work consultation with preschool and senior citizen centers. The location of service in community settings provides opportunities to reach "nonclient" populations facing either anticipated or unanticipated crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the role of the field instructor as an agent of socialization into the social work profession. Because the boundaries between personal and professional identity inevitably blur in teaching, learning and helping situations, field instructors must encourage students to think about how their personal identity affects their role as a practicing professional. The process of education in the social work profession includes reorganization of self-image and crystallization of role expectations and new behavior patterns as well as the acquisition of technical skills. Socialization, whether in childhood or adulthood, involves behavior change, which occurs primarily through the personal influence of others. In social work, the field instructor's mandate is to inspire and require behavior change in the student. The concept of educational assessment complements the focus on the personal growth of the student as an important aspect of professional development. The purpose of the self-assessment inventory is to encourage self-reflection in both the student and field instructor regarding how their personal identity characteristics, life experiences and cognitive styles may help or hinder their interaction in the field-work setting. It is, of course, the field instructor's responsibility to adapt his or her style to the student's needs, just as the student must adapt his or her style to the client's needs.

This article offers a look at the time framework for the duration of crisis. The notion that the life span of crisis is from six to eight weeks is widely accepted. Crisis oriented practice in based on this assumption, with time-limited group, individual and family service typically offered for a six- to eight-week contract period. The theory is that the ego of the individual in crisis is more available to help during stressful crisis periods and that after a six- to eight-week interval it seals over and the individual either returns to his or her precrisis state or is improved or deteriorated. Crisis clinics argue for the necessity of twenty-four-hour services and train their workers to guide the frequency of appointments according to the client's need, rather than adhere to rigid weekly spacing. Thus clients in crisis may be seen several times a week. This service model introduced flexibility and relevance to mental health services. It works for the majority of crisis situations. It does not, however, allow for crises which linger, are delayed or which recur after the original six-to-eight-week period has passed. The author, in collecting data about the 1983 Australian bushfire, learned that many individuals cope well during the crisis but fell apart six to eight months later.