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That we are experiencing an upsurge of interest in the many formulations and preventive adaptations of brief treatment in social casework is evident from even a small sampling of current literature.

Especially noteworthy is Levinger's finding that the length of treatment per se is not a reliable indicator of successful outcome.

According to a number of studies, the important predictors are the nature and management of the client's anxiety as well as the accessibility of the helping person.

For example, the level of improvement noted in a recent experiment with a short course of immediate treatment for parent-child relationship problems compared favorably with the results reported by typical child guidance clinics where the hours spent in purely diagnostic study may equal or exceed the number of hours devoted to actual treatment interviews in the experimental project.

Of startling significance, too, is the assertion that it was possible to carry out this program with only a 6 percent attrition rate as compared with a rate of 59 percent reported for a comparable group of families who were receiving help in traditionally operated child guidance services.

These reports refer to a level of secondary prevention in a child guidance clinic approached by the customary route of voluntary referral by the family or by other professional people.

Similarities to the approach which I have described are evident in the prompt establishment of a helping relationship, quick appraisal of key issues, and the immediate mobilization of treatment plans as the essential dynamics in helping to further the ego's coping efforts in dealing with the interplay of inner and outer stresses.

While there are many different possibilities for the timing of casework intervention, the experiments recently reported from a variety of traditional settings all point up the importance of an immediate response to the client's initial need for help.

In some programs, treatment is concentrated over a short period of time, while in others, after the initial contact is established, flexible spacing of interviews has been experimentally used with apparent success.

Willingness to take the risk of early and direct interpretation ( with the proviso that if the interpretation is too threatening, the worker can withdraw ) is another prominent feature in these efforts.

My aim in mentioning this factor obviously is not to give license to `` wild therapy '' but rather to encourage us to use the time-honored clinical casework skills we already possess, and to use them with greater confidence, precision, and professional pride.