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Relaxation training

from Psychology, health and illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2014

By
Michael H. Bruch
Edited by
Susan Ayers ,
Andrew Baum ,
Chris McManus ,
Stanton Newman ,
Kenneth Wallston ,
John Weinman  and
Robert West
Michael H. Bruch
Affiliation:
University College London
Susan Ayers
Affiliation:
University of Sussex
Andrew Baum
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Chris McManus
Affiliation:
St Mary's Hospital Medical School
Stanton Newman
Affiliation:
University College and Middlesex School of Medicine
Kenneth Wallston
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
John Weinman
Affiliation:
United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas's
Robert West
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London
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Summary

Introduction

Procedures for the relaxation of body and mind have been known for thousands of years. In some cultures relaxation methods have even become an integral part of philosophical, religious value systems. In view of this it is perhaps surprising that relaxation techniques have gained clinical interest only fairly recently. Early pioneers include J.H. Schultz (autogenic training; e.g. Schultz & Luthe, 1959) and Edmund Jacobsen (progressive muscle relaxation; Jacobson, 1929). Davidson and Schwartz (1976) found it surprising that the subject had been absent from psychological examination for so long, despite obvious links between psychological and physiological arousal and emotional disorders.

Furthermore, perhaps as a result of its varied nature and ideographic meaning for different individuals, there were no generally agreed definitions of the concept. Jacobson attempted to define relaxation by describing its effects thus: ‘respiration loses the slight irregularities, the pulse rate may decline to normal, the knee jerk diminishes or disappears along with the pharyngeal and flexion reflexes and nervous start, the esophagus … relaxes in all its parts, while mental and emotional activity dwindle or disappear for brief periods’ (Davidson & Schwartz, 1976, p. 400).

In modern clinical psychotherapy and behavioural medicine the focus for relaxation is on emotional and health problems which are perceived to be associated with increased levels of tension. In such clinical contexts therapists make frequent use of stress reduction or relaxation techniques.

Type
Chapter
Information
Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine , pp. 389 - 393
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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References

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