title: Experimental effects of a cognitive therapy technique in depressed patients.
abstract: Five single-case experiments were conducted to study the effect of a cognitive therapy technique on depressed mood. The effect on mood and psychophysiological variables of coping with an unhappy thought in two different ways, 'involvement' and 'distancing', was compared with thinking a happy thought. It was found that 'distancing' had a significantly alleviating effect on mood and that, of the five psychophysiological measures, the corrugator supercilii EMG and heart rate differentiated to some extent. Heart rate, corrugator EMG and mood were all significantly correlated. The results are discussed within the framework of cognitive theories of depression.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D003071:Cognition; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*