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Relaxation Training in the Reduction of Traumatic Headaches: A Case Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2009

Timothy W. Smith
Affiliation:
Brown University Program in Medicine University of Kansas
Douglas R. Denney
Affiliation:
Brown University Program in Medicine University of Kansas

Extract

Self-controlled relaxation training was combined with assertion training to treat a 22-year-old woman with a 2-year history of chronic headaches following a traumatic injury to her head and neck. There was a substantial drop in the frequency of headaches and medication use with the introduction of both components of treatment. Gains were maintained at a 6-month follow-up. The case is presented in the context of a general treatment plan for modification of traumatic headaches. The plan combines a focus on both antecedent (i.e. environmental stress) and consequent (i.e. pain behavior reinforcers) events as possible factors influencing chronic post-traumatic head pain.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 1983

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