Hollender is concerned with optimal utilization of the initial interviews. He focuses especially on the question of what the individual wants to do about his problems; whose idea it was to seek help; the effect of psychic distress; the use of confrontation to clarify the patient's objectives; and the purpose for which self-knowledge is sought. A further important index is the kind of relationship the person seeks and has sought habitually. The author makes the interesting observation that many drop-outs from psychotherapy reflect people who really had not decided upon therapy but only seemed to be engaged in it because of faulty evaluation in the initial interviews.