Transferring psychotherapy clients from one therapist to another is a common event that may pose clinical and administrative problems. Clinicians and therapists in training transfer clients when their professional role or activities change or when they leave their clinical settings. We review the literature on transferring psychotherapy clients and report on aspects of the transfer process and procedures used by a national sample of psychology training clinics. We also report and discuss the results of an exploratory analysis of training clinic records in which we investigated the relation between transfer outcome (successful vs. unsuccessful) and a set of treatment and demographic factors. Last, we suggest several ways of handling difficulties that arise as a result of clinical and administrative reassignment.Transferring clients from one psychotherapist to another is a common clinical occurrence. Routinely, transfers occur at training centers and clinics where treatment is carried out by students. Transfers also take place when professionals leave clinical settings or change job descriptions. Although this is a common clinical event, most clinicians proceed in accordance with their intuition (Chang, 1977).

A model for the development and implementation of a psychology training center shared equally by a counseling psychology program and a clinical psychology program is discussed. The history of the Center and the administrative structure are reviewed. Professional issues, including third party payments and training versus financial priorities are also addressed. It is believed that the Center's development and administration raises issues that need to be considered by those developing or reorganizing a psychology training center.

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