Introduction & Theoretical Background
Progressive relaxation training has been demonstrated to be a clinically important intervention. Selected results include:
- Applied relaxation (incorporating progressive muscle relaxation) in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) resulted in treatment effects that were comparable to CBT (Dugas et al, 2010).
- A meta-analysis comparing ‘less complex’ interventions (including progressive muscle relaxation) with ‘more complex’ interventions (such as CBT, EMDR, and behavioral therapies) for a wide range of conditions found that ‘less complex’ treatments yielded medium effect sizes. ‘More complex’ interventions added only modest additional benefits (Stevens et al, 2007).
- Progressive muscle relaxation is effective in reducing acute feelings of stress and anxiety in patients with schizophrenia (Vancampfort et al, 2011)
- Progressive muscle relaxation is of debatable utility in the treatment of panic attacks and panic disorder. Some research has indicated that relaxation can be beneficial in the treatment of panic (e.g. Ost, 1988) although dismantling studies indicate that muscle relaxation is one of