A transition is a short-term life change characterized by a sharp discontinuity with the past. Examples of transitions include job changes, marriages, births, divorces, death, vacations, and relocation. Transitions can be either positive or negative, voluntary or involuntary, on-time or off-time. Life transitions can be viewed by using metaphors from classical literature. Counselors can help clients to view their transitions in terms of personally meaningful metaphors and as significant learning events on their lifelines. Another way to characterize a life transition is through the social interaction model in which a transition is examined in regard to how the person appraises the event, the nature of the transition itself, coping resources, and the personal characteristics of the person and environment. A third way to view transitions construes the transition as a process of fairly predictable stages that overlap one another. Coping attitudes and skills can help individuals adjust to the transitions in their lives. The key goal for counselors is to teach clients the skills needed to conceptualize the nature of their transitions and the skills to cope with various stages in the process. The anticipated outcome is client self-management. (NB)