summary This paper reports several pilot investigations into the social and physiological parameters of the psychotherapeutic interview aimed at testing (1) whether real therapy could actually occur under the research conditions, (2) whether the Bales system of interaction process analysis could be fruitfully used to portray meaningful characteristics of the therapeutic interrelations, (3) what physiological changes occur within an interview and throughout a series of interviews, (4) whether any significant relationships exist between the social interaction and these physiological changes, and (5) lastly, to analyze the role and reactions of the therapist in the the therapeutic relationship. [p. 9]