Researchers from Boston University conducted an effect size analysis of MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) for anxiety and mood symptoms in clinical samples. The meta-analysis was based on 39 studies totaling 1,140 participants receiving mindfulness-based therapy for a range of conditions, including cancer, generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and other psychiatric or medical conditions.
 
Effect size estimates suggest that mindfulness-based therapy was moderately effective for improving anxiety (Hedges's g = 0.63) and mood symptoms (Hedges's g = 0.59) from pre- to posttreatment in the overall sample.

Researchers from the University of London’s Institute of Psychiatry explored which conditions predicted successful outcomes for 77 adults with chronic PTSD who were randomly assigned to either exposure therapy and/or cognitive restructuring therapy, as compared with relaxation therapy.
 
The CAPS (Clinician Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale) was used to measure outcomes.

More social support on the Significant Others Scale significantly predicted better outcomes on the CAPS, even after controlling for the effects of the treatment group and of pre-treatment severity.  A particularly important finding was that social support was a significant predictor of outcome for subjects receiving cognitive restructuring and (or) exposure therapy, but did not impact subjects in the relaxation condition.

Researchers from the Centre de Recherche et d'Innovation sur le Sport at the Universite Claude Bernard-Lyon in Cedex, France, were interested in investigating whether imagery can improve stretching and flexibility the way it has been found to enhance learning and motor performance.
 
They compared flexibility scores in 21 synchronized swimmers before and after a 5-week mental practice program that included five stretching exercises in active and passive conditions.

Researchers from the San Diego V.A. system examined the efficacy of Imagery Rehearsal Therapy or IRT (a kind of nightmare reprocessing therapy that trains people to use a variety of “lucid dreaming” to change or control the content of the nightmare) on reducing nightmares in veterans seeking outpatient treatment for chronic, trauma-related nightmares.

Of those offered IRT, veterans who completed a full course of treatment for PTSD in the past year were more likely to initiate treatment.  However, completion of IRT was not related to previous treatment, demographic variables, or nightmare severity as reported at the first treatment session.

Treatment completers reported significant reductions in nightmare frequency and intensity, severity of insomnia, and subjective daytime PTSD symptoms.  Insomnia and PTSD symptoms, on average, were below clinical cutoffs following treatment, and 23% of patients showed a complete treatment response (defined as one or no nightmares per week).

Researchers from University Medical Center in Groningen, The Netherlands, examined the longterm effectiveness of three treatments for panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia: cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), pharmacotherapy using a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), or the combination of both (CBT + SSRI). As a secondary objective, the relationship between treatment outcome and 7 predictor variables was investigated.
 
One hundred fifty patients were assigned to a treatment arm lasting one year. Pharmacotherapists were free to choose between 5 SSRIs currently marketed in The Netherlands. Outcome was assessed after 9 months of treatment (posttest 1), after discontinuation of treatment (posttest 2), and at 6 and 12 months after treatment discontinuation (follow-up 1 and follow-up 2).

Researchers from The University of Tokyo in Japan conducted a meta-analysis of the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the mental and physical health status of patients with various types of cancer.
 
Ten studies (randomized-controlled trials and observational studies) were determined to be eligible for meta-analysis.  Study results were categorized into mental and physical variables and Cohen's effect size d was computed for each category.

Researchers from the University of Southern California’s Department of Psychology performed a meta-analysis of what treatment approaches work best for women who have been sexually assaulted during adolescence or adulthood.
 
Altogether, 32 articles were located using data from 20 separate samples. Of the 20 samples, 12 targeted victims with chronic symptoms, three focused on the acute period post-assault, two included women with chronic and acute symptoms, and three were secondary prevention programs.

Researchers from William Beaumont Hospital’s Department of Urology in Royal Oak, Michigan, conducted a pilot study to see if guided imagery might have an effect on the symptoms of interstitial cystitis, a condition involving urinary urgency, frequency, and pelvic pain, which affects more than a million women in the U.S.

Thirty women with diagnosed IC were randomized into 2 equal groups. The treatment group listened to a 25-minute guided imagery compact disc, created specifically for women with pelvic pain and IC, twice a day for 8 weeks. The control arm rested for 25 minutes twice daily for 8 weeks.

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York tested the effectiveness of a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy and hypnosis (CBTH) to ameliorate radiotherapy-related fatigue.

Women (n = 42) scheduled for breast cancer radiotherapy were randomly assigned to receive standard medical care (SMC) (n = 20) or a CBTH intervention (n = 22) in addition to standard medical care.
 
Participants assigned to receive CBTH met individually with a clinical psychologist, receiving training in hypnosis and CBT. Participants assigned to the SMC control condition did not meet with a study psychologist.

Researchers from the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, investigated the impact of mindfulness training (MT) on working memory capacity (WMC) and affective experience of reservists during their high-stress, pre-deployment phase.  They hypothesized that MT may bolster working memory and mitigate the deleterious effects of high stress.  (Working memory capacity is used in managing cognitive demands and regulating emotions.  High levels of stress may deplete it, leading to cognitive failures and emotional disturbances.)

The study recruited 2 military cohorts during the high-stress pre-deployment interval, and provided MT to 1 group (MT, n = 31) but not the other group (military control group, MC, n = 17). Additionally, the study used another control group of civilians (n = 12) for comparison.