Doctor finds a mother in crisis (5)
I believe the answer is:
drama
'crisis' is the definition.
(drama can mean a dramatic situation)
'doctor finds a mother' is the wordplay.
'doctor' becomes 'Dr' (abbreviation).
'finds' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'mother' becomes 'ma' (ma can mean mother).
'dr'+'a'+'ma'='DRAMA'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for drama that I've seen before include "Work to be performed by actors" , "Play; emotional event" , "Theatrical production" , "Hamlet, say" , "sensation" .)