Management of the psychiatric emergency.

This article provides concrete, practical information designed to increase the knowledge base of the health care provider who works with psychiatric emergencies. Psychiatric emergency intervention is differentiated from crisis intervention. Numerous treatment aspects are addressed, including assessment of psychiatric emergencies and intervention principles. The specialized emergency situations of environmental disasters, families of dying patients, and psychiatric emergencies with children are discussed. The article includes a discussion of frequently used psychiatric emergency medications and their effects and side effects. Legal issues integral to psychiatric emergency care, including confidentiality and involuntary commitment, are addressed.