Both outpatient mental health clinics and psychotherapists in private practice are well familiar with applicants for psychotherapy who either cancel or break the first treatment session and are never heard of again. Various studies7,8,13,14,17,18have mentioned these pre-therapy dropouts, but no follow-up of these persons had heretofore been made. Since these individuals are obviously not interested in continuing their initial contact, a follow-up encounters great difficulties. It is, therefore, understandable that for example at the Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic: A patient was notified of his initial therapy appointment by mail. If he failed to keep it, another appointment note was sent. If the patient again failed to come and did not communicate with the clinic, his name was removed from the waiting list. Some patients called to say that they were no longer interested in receiving the psychotherapy offered... However, we have not as yet made a systematic study