Psychiatric outpatient clinics report that between 20 and 57% of their potential clients fail to return after the first visit. To examine the effectiveness of videotaped, systematic client preparation on dropout rate in short-term psychotherapy, 66 adult, beginning psychotherapy clients were randomly assigned either to a control or experimental group, after an initial intake interview. Control clients completed the Expectations About Counseling-Form B (EAC-B). Experimental clients viewed a videotape that explicitly modeled client behaviors and provided information found to relate to successful psychotherapy outcomes. Experimental clients then completed the EAC-B. The number of sessions attended, scores on the EAC-B, and the intake worker's rating of client problem severity were collected for all clients. An analysis of the results showed that the videotape was effective in reducing dropout rates after the first psychotherapy session and in increasing attendance through five sessions. The videotape increased attendance regardless of the rated severity of clients' problems. The videotape and previous counseling had equal effects on attendance, while the videotape was very effective with clients who had no previous counseling experience. The videotape was equally effective in reducing dropouts and in increasing attendance in the three diverse settings of university counseling center, psychology clinic, and psychiatric outpatient clinic. (Author/BL)