THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF CRISIS INTERVENTION METHODOLOGY IS REVIEWED TO INDICATE THE BROAD KNOWLEDGE BASE INCORPORATED IN PRESENT PRACTICE. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PSYCHOANALYSIS AND PSYCHOANALYTIC PSYCHOTHERAPY AND BETWEEN BRIEF PSYCHOTHERAPY AND CRISIS INTERVENTION METHODOLOGIES ARE EXPLORED IN THE AREAS OF GOALS, FOCUSES, ACTIVITIES, THERAPEUTIC INDICATIONS, AND LENGTH OF TREATMENT. TO SHOW THE BASES FROM WHICH CRISIS GROUPS HAVE EVOLVED, AN OVERVIEW OF THERAPEUTIC GROUPS AND GROUP THERAPIES IS PRESENTED. TWO STUDIES ON CRISIS GROUPS ARE ALSO INCLUDED TO ILLUSTRATE SERVICE IMPLEMENTATION, ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE CRISIS GROUP FORMAT, AND APPLIED INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES. SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS, WHICH MAY ACT AS BARRIERS TO THE PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC PROCESS, ARE ALSO EXAMINED. THE PROBLEMSOLVING PROCESS IS DELINEATED, AND BASIC TERMINOLOGY IN THIS APPROACH TO CRISIS RESOLUTION IS DEFINED. AN INTERVENTION PARADIGM, WHICH CLARIFIES THE SEQUENTIAL STEPS INVOLVED, IS FORMULATED, AND ITS APPLICATION IS EXEMPLIFED. STRESSFUL CRISIS-PRECIPITATING EVENTS, SUCH AS SUICIDE, ROLE CHANGE, DIVORCE, OR RAPE ARE DISCUSSED; INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES APPROPRIATE TO A VARIETY OF STRESSORS ARE EXAMINED IN ILLUSTRATIVE HYPOTHETICAL CASE STUDIES. RELEVANT THEORETICAL MATERIAL PRECEDES EACH CASE STUDY. DEVELOPMENTAL AND MATURATIONAL LIFE CHANGE EVENTS, WHICH MAY PRECIPITATE CRISIS SITUATIONS, ARE DELINEATED, ILLUSTRATED, AND DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF THEORY. CRISES INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES MAY ALSO BE APPLIED TO AID THE CHRONIC PSYCHIATRIC PATIENT WHO HAS BEEN REINTEGRATED INTO THE COMMUNITY. A CASE STUDY SHOWING TECHNIQUES OF UTILITY IN THIS APPLICATION IS PROVIDED. REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDED READINGS ARE PROVIDED FOR EACH OF THE EIGHT CHAPTERS. AN INDEX IS ALSO INCLUDED. (JAP)