a template for case management approaches is still used by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, known as the Veteran's Administration at the time, and by many state mental hospital staffing patterns. As originated, the model replaced the primary one-on-one relationship between client and helping professional with a team approach. The leader of the team, usually a professional social worker or registered nurse assigned specific tasks to a staff of several ancillary workers. The ancillary workers were experts in their own right at providing for the specific needs of the client. For example, one worker could specialize in helping clients get jobs, or helping clients access post-discharge resources in the community. The implication was that such clients needed help not only with psychotherapy or counseling but with life-skills problems, and when met, the client's psychotherapy goals were achieved more efficiently and effectively. Private practice Members of the social work profession have debated for decades about whether its mission is compatible with private practice. Opponents of private practice argue that social workers should only be employed by governmental agencies or charitable organizations, and deal primarily with clients who are economically disadvantaged. When Barker established his clinic in 1969 almost all of his social colleagues were employed by charity oriented. He conducted workshops in private practice and a series of debates with social work advocates of the agency based model. Eventually, more social workers entered private practice and it has become one of the primary ways these professionals are now employed. Crisis intervention theory in couples therapy When Barker left the military to establish his private practice he had been greatly influenced by the studies of Vietnam War veterans who suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and related works about crisis intervention with PTSD victims. He concluded that, while the severity of the trauma in Vietnam might be greater, the crisis facing dysfunctional family members could have similar consequences and might benefit from similar intervention strategies. He conducted a series of systematic research studies with such family members and, with several colleagues used an adapted version of the crisis intervention PTSD model to treat troubled families. Treating Couples In Crisis, has been subsequently used as an instructional textbook for graduate students in marital therapy classes. The Social Work Dictionary In the early 1980s Barker served on several panels of social work experts who wrote the questions and answers for the state licensing