Psychiatric emergencies are complex events always involving several people. At the minimum, a person identified as patient experiences sufficient personal distress or inflicts sufficient distress on others that a service provider is sought to reduce the suffering. The essential elements, then, are a patient's psychic pain or behavioral disturbance and relevant intervention, urgently sought and promptly provided, by a helping person. Many people may be involved in the same distress or disturbance, and a team of professionals may intervene utilizing a program organized in advance for that purpose, or a single distressed person may seek crisis care from an individual professional.