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In steering the family toward ego-adaptive and away from maladaptive responses, the worker uses time-honored focused casework techniques of specific emotional support, clarification, and anticipatory guidance.

Over a relatively short period of time, usually about four to twelve weeks, the worker must be able to shift the focus, back and forth, between immediate external stressful exigencies ( `` precipitating stress '' ) and the key, emotionally relevant issues ( `` underlying problem '' ) which are, often in a dramatic preconscious breakthrough, reactivated by the crisis situation, and hence once again amenable to resolution.

Though there is obviously nothing new about these techniques, they do challenge the worker's skill to articulate them precisely on the spot and on the basis of quick and accurate diagnostic assessments.

Then, too, the utmost clinical flexibility is necessary in judiciously combining carefully timed family-oriented home visits, single and group office interviews, and appropriate telephone follow-up calls, if the worker is to be genuinely accessible and if the predicted unhealthy outcome is to be actually averted in accordance with the principles of preventive intervention.

In addition, in many cases, a variety of concrete social resources -- homemaker, day care, medical and financial aid -- must be reasonably available for the reality support needed to bolster the family in its individual and collective coping and integrative efforts.

At certain critical stages, and only for sound diagnostic reasons, it may be important to accompany family members in their use of these resources if their problem-solving behavior is to be constructive rather than defeating.

While expensive in time and involving a great deal of adaptation on the part of the worker ( in terms of his willingness to leave the sanctity of his office and enter actively into the client's life ), techniques of accompaniment were found to be of tremendous value when in the service of specific preventive objectives.

Finally, whatever the techniques used, a twin goal is common to all preventive casework service: to cushion or reduce the force of the stress impact while at the same time to encourage and support family members to mobilize and use their ego capacities.