THE 10-MONTH CLINICAL EXPERIMENT, KNOWN AS COMPREHENSIVE VOCATIONALLY ORIENTED PSYCHOTHERAPY, SERVED YOUTHS WHO HAD BEEN EXPELLED FROM SCHOOL OR WHO HAD DROPPED OUT FOR REASONS OF THEIR OWN. EMPHASIS WAS ON JOB ASSISTANCE, BUT THERAPISTS PROVIDED A VARIETY OF SERVICES ON A FLEXIBLE BASIS. THE SELF-INITIATING, INDIVIDUALIZED ASPECTS OF THE SERVICE WERE STRESSED, AS WAS THE AVAILABILITY OF THE THERAPIST TO OFFER ASSISTANCE, WHEN NEEDED, IN ANY AREA OF THE CLIENT'S LIFE. THE PROGRAM EVALUATION, WHICH INVOLVED COMPARISONS OF TREATMENT AND CONTROL GROUPS, SOUGHT TO DETERMINE THE GENERAL EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROGRAM AND TO IDENTIFY SPECIFIC CHANGES THAT TOOK PLACE DURING TREATMENT. THE EVALUATION ENCOMPASSED MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE: OVERT BEHAVIOR, AS MEASURED BY LEGAL STATUS, JOB STATUS, MARITAL STATUS, AND SIMILAR CRITERIA; COGNITION, AS MEASURED BY ACHIEVEMENT TEST SCORES IN VOCABULARY, READING, AND ARITHMETIC; AND PERSONALITY CHANGE, AS MEASURED IN PICTURE INTERPRETATION TESTS. EVALUATION TESTS WERE CONDUCTED BEFORE AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM AND AGAIN, 2 YEARS LATER. WHEN COMPARED TO THE NONTREATED GROUP, THE TREATED YOUTHS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN ALL AREAS -EDUCATIONAL AND JOB STATUS, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, AND PERSONALITY (PARTICULARLY SELF-IMAGE AND CONTROL OF AGGRESSION). FOLLOWUP FINDINGS REVEALED THAT THE TREATED GROUP CONTINUED TO PROGRESS, WHILE THE UNTREATED GROUP SHOWED A CONSTANT DECLINE. ADDITIONAL FOLLOWUP CONTACTS 5 AND 10 YEARS AFTER THE PROGRAM REVEALED THAT THIS PATTERN HAD PERSISTED. ADDITIONAL ANALYSES PROVIDED INSIGHTS INTO THE NATURE OF THE CHANGES THAT OCCURRED IN THE TREATED GROUP, IN COMPARISON BOTH TO CHANGES IN THE UNTREATED GROUP AND TO CHANGES THAT OCCUR IN THE NATURAL COURSE OF THE DEVELOPMENT DURING ADOLESCENCE. NO TABULAR DATA ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)