Psychiatric crisis situations can be divided into psychiatric emergency situations (acute illness), acute emotional emergencies in the case of psychosocial stress and acute care emergencies in the case of longstanding mental illness. Psychiatric crisis situations are characterized by the fact that other people, relatives and friends are involved in addition to a person who is ill or particularly affected.

The term "crisis intervention" refers to the activities of the crisis service. Crisis intervention is active action that shapes the situation and facilitates change. Coercion should be avoided in crisis interventions; outpatient solutions have priority over inpatient ones. The actions of the crisis service in crisis interventions should be geared towards preventing an escalation of the situation, reducing the complexity of the situation and finding solutions that enable positive developments.

And beyond: