This book of original contributions presents investigations of psycho therapautic interaction. While the methodological strategies and the oretical orientations of these investigations are notably diverse, the utterance-by-utterance analysis of client-therapist dialogue provides a strong commonality of interest and a particularly productive perspective from which the process of psychotherapy can be illuminated. It is hoped that the contributions selected, and the problems with which they are occupied, will make evident the rich possibilities such a perspective has to offer. It should be noted, however, that the present volume is not a com pendium: any effort to be exhaustive would be thwarted by considera tions of length alone. Thus, certain omissions were inevitable. It is hoped that the interested reader will use the extensive references to become acquainted with the works not here included. Whatever effort I extended as editor and contributor to this volume could not have been undertaken without the lifelong spirit of support of my parents, Selma S. and Jay F. Russell. I dedicate my contribution to them.