This article explicates a systematic and structured conceptual model for crisis assessment and intervention that facilitates planning for effective brief treatment in outpatient psychiatric clinics, community mental health centers, counseling centers, or crisis intervention settings. Application of Roberts' seven-stage crisis intervention model can facilitate the clinician's effective intervening by emphasizing rapid assessment of the client's problem and resources, collaborating on goal selection and attainment, finding alternative coping methods, developing a working alliance, and building upon the client's strengths. Limitations on treatment time by insurance companies and managed care organizations have made evidence-based crisis intervention a critical necessity for millions of persons presenting to mental health clinics and hospital-based programs in the midst of acute crisis episodes. Having a crisis intervention protocol facilitates treatment planning and intervention. The authors clarify the distinct differences between disaster management and crisis intervention and when each is critically needed. Also, noted is the importance of built-in evaluations, outcome measures, and performance indicators for all crisis intervention services and programs. We are recommending that the Roberts' crisis intervention tool be used for time-limited response to persons in acute crisis. [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 5:329-339 (2005)]

The construct of wisdom may have the capacity to shed some light on psychotherapy process and outcome across the wide variety of schools. Wisdom is defined, contrasted with intelligence, and explored with regard to meaning, context, its function in practice, and its implications for training and research. The topic of metacognitive processes in therapy is also discussed from both the therapist and client's perspectives. The authors suggest that wisdom may play an important role in effective therapy. Wisdom is also pointed to as a valuable outcome acquired by the client when therapy is successful. The authors conclude that considering therapy in the context of wisdom may provide new avenues for practice, research, and training.

Cognitive and existential therapies are typically viewed as so diverse in their assumptions as to be largely incompatible, representing opposite ends of the psychotherapeutic spectrum. The purpose of this article is to show how a merging of these therapies may contribute to a greater range of options for therapists. The authors attempt to show the surprisingly wide number of connections between these two schools. Comparisons and suggestions are made in the areas of the therapeutic relationship, interpersonal and environmental factors, sociotropy and autonomy, and meaning-making. Existential therapy is especially helpful in understanding the formation and identification of ontological core schemas, and an extensive list of these is provided. A case example is provided that illustrates the integration of these two approaches. Safran (1996) acknowledged existential psychology's profound influence on many recent developments in cognitive behavioral therapy. This article attempts a formal integration of cognitive and existential therapies, emphasizing benefits that can result from such a merger. Disparate as they may seem, the two approaches are quite compatible. Existential and phenomenological approaches have more to lend to cognitive therapy than heretofore suspected.

In this qualitative study, we explored the question of why some women with progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS) cope successfully in spite of disease progression. Ten women with progressive courses of MS, the more physically challenging forms of the disease, who self-reported as coping successfully with the disease, participated in the study. The study features an interview protocol using a psychotherapeutic model of change, precursors of change model, and incorporates a then-post design. The women's rich descriptions and explanations of precursors indicate the differences between the precursors used most frequently at time of diagnosis with MS and at the time of interview. The article provides a glimpse into the experiences these women have had with the continued change and unpredictability that the disease often engenders.

The authors describe a research‐based curriculum guide for the inclusion of multiculturalism in the preparation of master's‐level counselors.