Twenty-six patients with neurodermatitis were treated in brief psychotherapy (twelve sessions) which specifically encouraged the expression of hostility toward a contemporary figure, a technique first introduced by Seitz. In an attempt to

help select suitable patients for future treatment, a screening interview was conducted by a psychiatrist who was not to be the therapist, and a battery of psychological tests was administered. The interview and test data concentrated on the intensity of the hostility and its overt or covert quality. The sixteen improved patients showed a significantly greater awareness of their anger and had the highest scores on the 'hostile contents' of their Rorschachs. Contrary to expectation there was no contraindication to treatment in the presence of psychosis; nor did the removal of the symptom precipitate substitute symptom-formation or 'acting out'. The prime prognostic factor seemed to be the accessibility aggressive ideation which was elicited most easily from the intake interview itself.