ABSTRACT
As with most human behavior, a problem usually starts small and grows with time. Except for sudden tragic accidents or a catastrophic event as a brain aneurysm, people usually notice their pressures becoming critical only gradually. Overworked teachers report that they necessarily give the most attention to the students whose troublesome behavior bursts out as a crisis that they cannot ignore. Sometimes a crisis does erupt spontaneously, but far more commonly, little warning signs do appear earlier in the form of personal problems that an alert teacher or counselor can detect and resolve at a more primitive stage. This chapter concerns “nipping these personal problems in the bud” before they get out of control and create chaos.
