Effectiveness of Behavioral Relaxation Training Compared to Progressive Muscle Relaxation. A randomized controlled trial

Behavioral Relaxation Training (BRT), according to Poppen, is a relaxation method based on applied behavior analysis. It involves training the participant in relaxed body postures. The participant receives feedback on these body postures and learns to adopt these positions over several sessions to quickly induce a state of relaxation. With the Behavioral Relaxation Scale (BRS), BRT also provides an objective measurement method through which the state of relaxation can be reliably assessed. Unfortunately, there are not many studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of BRT. In addition, there are few comparative studies between BRT and other, more common relaxation techniques. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is one of the most widely used relaxation programs. Unlike BRT, PMR does not involve systematic feedback from the trainer. On the other hand, it can be used more efficiently in group settings. In the present study, 20 subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups. After initial assessments, the participants took part either in BRT or PMR. BRS was taken at every session. BRT proved to be superior to PMR both in the treatment phase and in a subsequent follow-up phase. The subjective feeling of relaxation with the participants improved more in the BRT than in the PMR group, too. Raw data are available online (https://doi.org/10.17632/dztwpcmvny.2).