Early withdrawal from mental health treatment: Implications for psychotherapy practice.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 46(2) of Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training (see record 2009-08897-009). The fourth author’s name was mistakenly left out of the author byline and table of contents. The correct author listing for this article is presented in the erratum.] Despite more than 50 years of research on client attrition from therapy, obstacles to the delivery and success of treatments remain poorly understood, and effective methods to engage and retain clients in therapy are lacking. This article offers a review of the literature on attrition, highlighting the methodological challenges in effectively addressing the complex nature of this problem. Current interventions for reducing attrition are reviewed, and recommendations for implementing these interventions into psychotherapy practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)