A four-part inservice program on dealing with aggressive behavior on a psychiatric unit was developed, presented, and evaluated. The program was aimed at meeting staff members' cognitive, emotional, and psychomotor needs. Twenty-seven staff members participated. The program was successful in reducing extreme levels of burnout among staff members, and occurrences of patient aggressive behavior resulting in incidents declined after the program. Staff members reported that they felt more confident in dealing with aggression. Protocols and nursing care plans were developed, and ongoing support groups to examine staff members' feelings were established.

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An encounter faculty support groiip using a systems' model by Van Servellen (1984) and Yalom's (1985) therapeutic factors as a guide for analysis was used in the resolution of faculty conflict. Structure, communication, and process are the three components of Van Servellen's model that provided an approach to group sessions with faculty in a department at a small liberal arts college.Faculty conflict within an academic institution can be destructive, and once conflict occurs, it tends to escalate. Unresolved conflict can create a working atmosphere of distrust among faculty, and as a result, job satisfaction diminishes, performance declines, and the quality of education may be compromised. There seems to be an inverse relationship between degree of conflict and faculty morale: the greater the conflict, the lower the faculty morale. Therefore, one of the challenging aspects of a chairperson's role is to deal effectively with faculty conflict (Tucker, 1 984).A group of faculty within a small, relatively new department of a liberal arts college had become paralyzed by their conflicts, resulting in the chairperson employing a consultant.

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A guide for providing a continuum of care for children in need of psychiatric services from the least restrictive services (outpatient care), to a moderately restrictive setting (partial hospitalization), to the most restrictive setting (inpatient care) is described. Movement along the continuum is facilitated by the nurse case manager. Concepts from three theoretical frameworks are integrated to define goals, criteria, and expected outcomes for each level of care along the continuum. They are Neuman's (1982) systems model for nursing practice and education, Caplan's (1961) model for primary prevention of mental disorders in children, and Frances, Clarken and Perry's (1984) differential therapeutics. The continuum provides a guide for nurses and other health care providers to achieve high quality care as economically as possible. It also enhances self‐care and self‐responsibility for families of disturbed children by offering a sequential graded system of care along the health‐illness continuum.