Selection and outcome in in-patient psychotherapy

In a retrospective study of 28 successive admissions for in-patient psychotherapy, the following characteristics have been identified as predictors of favourable outcome: a diagnosis of neurotic psychopathology; superior intelligence; considerable depression; and minimal previous out-patient treatment. Two alternative sets of decision rules are presented which might be used as a guide in deciding whether to admit patients. More rigorous selection criteria are suggested in the common situation where the demand for treatment greatly exceeds the supply of facilities, but such criteria would result in the exclusion of a small proportion of borderline patients who might respond to in-patient psychotherapy and might otherwise prove untreatable.