Clinical research in the area of severe psychiatric disorders constituted the major focus for the discipline of applied behavior analysis during the early 1960s. Recently, however, there appears to be a notable lack of a behavioral focus within many inpatient psychiatric settings and a relative dearth of published behavioral treatment studies with this population. To examine this trend, a review was conducted of nine journals, within the behavioral literature, which deal with the treatment of severe psychiatric disorders (including schizophrenia, psychotic disorders, dissociative disorders, and personality disorders, among other diagnostic categories). A total of 256 articles published between 1963 and 1988 were reviewed and findings on 9 separate variables were reported. The data indicated that behavioral treatment studies concerned with severe psychiatric disorders significantly decreased in frequency over the past 10 years, following a peak of interest during the 1970s. Subsequent analyses suggest that research in the area of anxiety disorders has replaced the early focus of behavioral researchers on the severe psychiatric disorders. Following an introductory discussion, the bulk of this document consists of the source list or bibliography of the 256 articles identified in the review. (NB)