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4 from these data and from his knowledge of turnover and other changes, that at least 200 professional mental health service providers work in Lexington. We used our list of 173 names and office addresses to draw our sample, taking every sixth name from that list. We are grateful to the many practitioners who gave us their time and shared their expertise. Lexington’s population in 2002 was 31,122, with 6,655 of this number under 17 years of age. The hypothetical ratio of providers to citizens was thus 155.6, an exceptionally high ratio compared to communities elsewhere in the nation and in the Boston metropolitan area. If we take the often-utilized proportion in mental health literature of ten percent of a population in need of services, there may be about 3,000 citizens at risk of mental and emotional distress in Lexington, and on this estimation, the residential hypothetical ratio is 1 provider per 15 residents. There is, we believe, an indisputably high number of mental health service providers working in Lexington. Our study interviewed 28 solo practitioners for a sample of 16 percent of this group. In addition, we interviewed from two to five professionals in each of four agencies and organizations. Within the 28, 17.9 percent were psychiatrists, 42.9 percent were psychologists with PhDs, 25 percent were psychologists or counselors with PsyD or EdD degrees, 7.1 percent were social workers with MSW degrees, and 7.1 percent came from other professions. We did not sample pastoral counselors. 85.7 percent of our solo practitioners had 15 or more years of professional experience. 3. AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS Four agencies and organizations serve Lexington, apart from solo practitioners. They include Wayside RePlace, Eliot Community Human Services, the Edinburg Center Inc., and the Department of Guidance Counseling at Lexington High School. Wayside RePlace. RePlace has been in Lexington since 1970 when it began as a