ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the problem of knowledge of sources of treatment. The acquisition of knowledge about sources of treatment is emotionally tinged for applicants. The chapter shows that the person who acquires more information than others is a very different sort of person from one who does not garner much information; in short, knowing many alternative treatment sources has important consequences for the decision process. It suggests that the very process of acquiring information changes both the applicant and his self-concept. The chapter discusses that types of clinics differ sharply in the proportion of their applicants who said they had taken steps to gain information. Increased information is associated with getting a referral from a source closely affiliated with a particular type of clinic. To ask friends for information about psychiatry one must have understanding friends who know enough to give some useful answers about sources of therapy.
