Previous research has shown that counselor warmth, empathy, and genuineness facilitate client growth. One explanation suggests that these qualities facilitate client discharge of emotion. Another explanation emphasizes the sense of understanding and sharing with the counselor. The current study has Ss self-disclose on a mild personal problem to a student counselor, silently meditate alone, or verbally discharge alone into a tape recorder. Self-report measures were taken of the usefulness of the counseling sessions. Ss also filled out an open-ended questionnaire. Interpersonal counseling Ss rated the degree to which understanding-sharing or discharge was more important. Interpersonal counseling was significantly more useful to Ss on several measures than discharge into a tape recorder. Interpersonal Ss wrote fewer words on the open-ended questionnaire, suggested they had less need to communicate than tape Ss. Understanding-sharing was rated as more important by interpersonal Ss than discharge. It also correlated more with Ss' perceptions of the usefulness of counseling. Overall results support understanding-sharing as more important than discharge. (Author)