In Steelworkers v. American Manufacturing Co, Justice William Douglas spoke of the “therapeutic” and “cathartic” values of labor arbitration. The authors describe the possible psychologically therapeutic effects that can derive from the choice of hearing site, informality of the hearing, and the role of the arbitrator. In the comments that follow, the authors opine that the therapeutic effect to which Justice Douglas alluded were not psychotherapeutic, but rather pertained to the relationship between the union and the employer: i.e., therapeutic as a source of industrial justice and an alternative to strike.