ABSTRACT
A survey of casework research—the bulk of which has been carried out in the United States—reveals that clients are rarely asked to appraise the effectiveness of the services received. In comparison with administrators and policy makers, researchers are more oriented to improving the quality of future services. Leaving sociology aside, market research comprises another area which has made extensive use of 'client-oriented' studies. Lack of research precedent, in other words, cannot account for why social work researchers have not solicited the opinions of clients. To researchers and to practitioners convinced of their healing powers these results were discouraging, even demoralizing, and generated pressure for a reformulation of the issues involved. Recently matters have become crystallized in the realization that some people receiving psychotherapy improve greatly, others improve not at all, while still others become worse. The failure of social work researchers to undertake client-oriented studies comprises a fascinating chapter in the sociology of research.
