The advantages and elements of a therapeutic daycare program for preschool children with emotional and behavioral problems are described in this paper. The goal of the therapeutic preschool is to meet the needs of behaviorally disordered and emotionally disturbed children in a special education setting, and then to mainstream the children into less restrictive settings as soon as possible. Eight program elements that can be combined to create a therapeutic daycare program are as follows: (1) a developmental evaluation and behavior observation made prior to admittance in the program; (2) planned structure in the areas of space, time, relationships and knowledge; (3) use of behavior modification procedures at several levels; (4) a mental health curriculum designed to focus on identification of emotions, acceptance of feelings, and ways to cope with and solve social problems; (5) one-to-one remediation sessions with therapists; (6) a high staff-to-child ratio and staff relationships characterized by consistency, the ability to increase prosocial behavior and decrease inappropriate behavior, and the ability to reflect and interpret children's feelings; (7) parent involvement; and (8) follow-up procedures at several intervals subsequent to the child's discharge from the program. This sort of program can alleviate presently distressful symptoms for the child and his family, and can help prevent mental health problems from occurring at a later life stage. (Author/SS)