A ______ is a period of psychological disequilibrium, during which a person’s normal coping mechanisms are insufficient to solve problems or master a situation, and it persists for at least a few days, up to perhaps six weeks

• A. Crisis
• B. Trauma
• C. Episode
• D. Transition

Answer: (A)

A crisis is a period of psychological disequilibrium in which usual coping mechanisms fail to solve problems or master the situation, and it lasts for days to weeks. In school social work, recognizing a crisis helps you see when a student needs immediate support to prevent escalation and to restore functioning, safety, and control over the situation. This term captures both the emotional disruption and the time frame described—lasting at least a few days and up to several weeks—when the individual is overwhelmed and cannot rely on their normal strategies alone.

Trauma refers to distress following a distressing event and typically implies longer-term impact beyond the initial disruption. An episode denotes a discrete occurrence or event, not the ongoing state of overwhelmed coping. A transition refers to moving from one state or phase to another, which can involve change but does not necessarily describe the acute sense of being overwhelmed and in need of intervention that a crisis conveys.