Examined effectiveness of 4 self-help books given randomly to 64 participants who had recently experienced divorce or breakup. Books were either behaviorally oriented, based on stage theories, or focused on general life crises. All groups significantly improved in depressive, general psychiatric, and loss-specific symptoms from pretest to posttest…

Pleasant imagery relieves pain and may account for much of the effectiveness of stress inoculation training. Women who used imagery controlled their pain better; women who did not use imagery had longer tolerance when they heard pain conceptualized as a multistage process. Self-instruction did not affect pain control. (Author)