A study was conducted to investigate the effects of teaching mental patients to use client-centered and experiential therapeutic skills with each other. To determine whether these skills could be learned, the 42 patients were pretested and posttested using the Hinterkopf-Brunswick Talker and Helper Rating Scales. The patients were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. The results indicated that patients in the experimental group were successful in learning the majority of skills taught. Administration of the Discharge Readiness Inventory revealed significant improvement in experimental group subjects as compared to control group subjects on community adjustment potential, while no significant differences were found on other Discharge Readiness Inventory scales, such as psychosocial adequacy, belligerence, or manifest psychopathology. In addition to statistical results, patients reported other beneficial effects from the training. (Author)