The criterion issues in the area of outcome research in psychotherapy were addressed and reviewed. Through this review of previous outcome research, it was determined that three basic criterion areas related best to traditional outcome variables such as therapist and community informant ratings, length of stay, and rehospitalization. These three criteria were: (1) satisfaction with self, (2) satisfaction with interpersonal relations, and (3) satisfaction with the therapeutic outcomes. With this impetus, an eighteen item scale was developed to measure the present state, and the magnitude and direction of change of the three criterion areas. The scale was administered to eighty-six former physchiatric patients from Fort Logan Mental Health Center. The scale was found to be extremely reliable and internally consistant. As a partial validation of the scale, a sub-sample of community informants' ratings on the treatment effectiveness scale was correlated with patient ratings. High correlations indicated partial validation of the instrument. (Author)