The readmission experience of a modern comprehensive mental health center was examined and was compared in several ways to the experience of a similar center. The evidence indicated that institutions should expect their own readmissions to constitute a substantial part of their patient load. A scheme for differentiating types of readmissions was examined. The subclasses which evolved slightly softened the impression that all readmissions are therapeutic failures. However, even with a relatively limited definition of failure, the majority of readmissions still fell into this class. Further refinements of the scheme for differentiating types of readmissions are suggested.