Book excerpt: TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1. a good therapist is a good telephone operator 2. the first interview: the most crucial one 3. understanding the honeymoon phase of treatment and becoming a competent honeymooner 4. the first treatment crisis: when threats to quit treatment are common 5. mishandling of situational crises and the patient's readiness to quit treatment 6. how subtle resistances of the patient are reinforced by the therapist: a major factor in patient dropout 7. further thoughts on countertransference reactions: how they can influence the patient's wish to stop treatment 8. the finale: the dynamics of quitting treatment: conributions by therapist and patient.