Clients' perspectives on the helpful aspects of treatment were examined using post-treatment data from the NIMH Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program. Averaged across treatments, perceptions that were coded as indicative of common aspects of the treatments, such as the helpfulness of the therapist, were reported most frequently. There were no group differences; thus, in the placebo plus clinical management group, responses were coded into common-factor categories no less often than in the other groups. However, cognitive-behavior therapy clients and imipramine plus clinical management clients gave responses coded as reflecting aspects that were specific to the treatment they received significantly more often than did clients in the other conditions.