With the advent of DSM-IV, medical illness may be considered a traumatic event. Yet there is evidence that a lifesaving intervention, the automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator (AICD) may be associated with PTSD, as well. Crisis intervention is reviewed as a possible model to assist AICD patients in their adjustment to AICD discharge and its associated distress [International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, 2000, 2(4), 259-263].