In Figure 3, the individual has shifted from the conflict state to the crisis state.  What happened?  Either suddenly or gradually a new conflict within his interaction developed or an already existing conflict worsened.  We will call the causes of such a crisis state the precipitating event.  Whatever happened, an existing conflict worsened or a serious new conflict developed.  We will say that the precipitating event set off or caused the crisis.  When we are dealing with people in crisis then, one of our first questions will be: What happened?  Our effort here is to move gradually toward crisis reduction.

When seeking precipitating events, the tendency is to look for complex psychological or social causes.  This leads to very complicated notions of cause and to considering factors, situations, conditions, and circumstances substantially removed in time from the crisis.  In the social interaction model, emphasis is place on a precipitating event immediately preceding the present crisis.  The individual in crisis is a complex human being; his total situation is similarly complex.  Moreover, the conflict between the individual and his situation may be complex.  However, the precipitating event tends to have the quality of the straw that broke the camel’s back.  Something relatively definable brought the interaction to a crisis point. …

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