The concept of crisis: its utility for nursing.

The concept of crisis is important to nursing; yet, discrepancies exist in the way the term is viewed conceptually and applied clinically. This lack of clarity makes systematic research more difficult. In this article, crisis intervention theory is used to describe the concept of emotional crisis. Traditional and more recent constitutive definitions are discussed using related theories of stress and threat. The utility of crisis for nursing is outlined with a focus on crisis as a continuous entity as opposed to the dichotomous variable it is often considered to be. Implications for research and clinical practice are explored.