Effects of autogenic training on emotional distress symptoms

We investigated the effects of autogenic training (AT) on patients with emotional symptoms as a response to a distress condition. All of the patients were assessed with the Profile of Mood States (POMS), as well as other inventories and interviews. After this phase, even before the beginning of the AT course, an improvement in the POMS scores was observed, thus demonstrating the ‘drug–doctor phenomenon’ reported by Balint. The control subjects (N=47), put on a waiting list, showed no further improvements from this phase of the study; the experimental subjects (N=87), who had completed the 3-month AT course, showed a further, significant amelioration, reaching mean POMS standard scores. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.