Most psychiatric hospital treatment in this country has been based on the theories and techniques of the office practice of individual psychotherapy. As a result, if a patient requires hospitalization he is apt to automatically get "more of the same" type of therapy he received on the outside. Although it may be useful, this approach fails to distinguish between the goals and practices of outpatient versus inpatient treatment. The authors attempt to spell out a more rational basis for the use of psychiatric hospitalization.Abstract Teaser