Investigators at Jaume I University reported their findings on the effectiveness of the "Talk to Me" interactive program on treating fear of public speaking. This internet-based, self-applied intervention has several components, including a diagnostic assessment, a structured treatment, and an outcome protocol that evaluates treatment efficacy in a continuous manner. One case study revealed a significant decrease in levels of fear and avoidance related to speaking in public. However, a pilot study is needed to confirm this promising but inconclusive case study.

Citation: Botella C, Hofmann SG, Moscovitch DA.A self-applied, Internet-based intervention for fear of public speaking. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2004 Aug; 60 (8): pages 821-30.

An MRI study out of Japan reveals more inner workings of the brain during imagery, and connections between alexithymia (inablity to translate emotions into words) and imagining past and future events.

Researchers from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Hiroshima University in Japan used MRI’s to investigate differences in brain function between people with high degrees of alexithymia (an inability to put emotions into words, commonly found in people with PTSD) and those with low degrees.

A pilot study from the Purdue University School of Nursing finds that guided imagery plus progressive muscle relaxation helps with mobility and perception of pain in 28 older women when compared to a control group.

Researchers at Purdue University School of Nursing conducted a randomized, controlled, longitudinal, clinical trial pilot study to determine whether Guided Imagery (GI) with Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) would reduce pain and mobility difficulties of women with osteoarthritis. Twenty-eight older women with OA were randomly assigned to either the treatment or the control group. The treatment consisted of listening twice a day to a 10-to-15-minute audiotaped script that guided the women in GI with PMR.

A pilot study out of France shows that virtual reality therapy works well for social phobias, but no better than standard, cognitive behavioral therapy.

This unique preliminary study out of Caen, France assesses the efficacy of virtual reality therapy (VRT) for alleviating social phobia, since it has been found helpful for fear of public speaking. Virtual reality therapy was compared to a control condition - group cognitive behavioral therapy - where graded exposure to feared social situations is one of the fundamental therapeutic ingredients.

A Korean study with 30 breast cancer patients demonstrated that guided imagery and progressive relaxation administered together before each of 6 cycles of chemotherapy, reduces anticipatory nausea and vomiting, improves quality of life.

Researchers at the Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea studied the effectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation training (PMRT) and guided imagery (GI) in reducing the anticipatory nausea and vomiting (ANV) and postchemotherapy nausea and vomiting (PNV) and in increasing quality of life for patients with breast cancer.

Treatment with hypnotherapy reduces the sensory and motor component of the gastrocolonic response in irritable bowel syndrome.

Researchers at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Goteborg, Sweden, conducted a randomized, controlled clinical trial to see if hypnotherapy could mediate the post-mealtime gastrocolonic symptoms typically suffered by many people with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).

The study included 28 patients with irritable bowel syndrome refractory to other treatments. They were randomized to receive gut-directed hypnotherapy 1 hour per week for 12 weeks (N = 14) or were provided with supportive therapy (control group; N = 14). Before randomization and after 3 months, all patients underwent a colonic distension trial before and after a 1-hour duodenal lipid infusion. Colonic sensory thresholds and tonic and phasic motor activity were thus assessed.

In a study at a French hearing clinic (Laboratoire de Recherche sur l''Audition) at Rene Descartes University, 96 patients with chronic and intense tinnitus (ringing and buzzing in the ears) - 38 females, 36 males, with a mean age of 48 years - were given a cognitive behavioral therapy protocol (CBT) specifically developed for this condition, and designed particularly to help with the anxiety and depression that often accompanies tinnitus.

The study concludes that it is of critical importance to address and treat the related distress of anxiety and depression in this population, and that CBT significantly helps with this, as well as ameliorating the perception of tinnitus in 75% of the study subjects.

Citation: Londero A, Peignard P, Malinvaud D, Nicolas-Puel C, Avan P, Bonfils P. [Contribution of cognitive and behavioral therapy for patients with tinnitus: implication in anxiety and depression] Annales d Oto-Laryngologie et de Chirurgie Cervico-Faciale. 2004 Dec; 121 (6): pages 334-45.