SYMPTOM PRESCRIPTION AND REFRAMING - SHOULD THEY BE COMBINED

The present study evaluated the initial effects of two types of parado xical directives. Socially anxious males were randomly assigned to thr ee groups: symptom prescription without reframing, symptom prescriptio n with reframing, and a wait-list control condition. The assessment of outcome consisted of various measures administered pretreatment, post treatment, and at 1-month followup, as well as daily self-ratings that were obtained throughout the course of the study. Subjects who were e xposed to symptom prescription with reframing showed significantly gre ater improvement than the subjects in the other groups, both at posttr eatment and at followup. In contrast, the subjects who were exposed to symptom prescription alone manifested only limited improvement and we re not significantly less socially anxious after treatment than the su bjects in the wait-list control group. The findings support the view t hat paradoxical treatments are clinically useful when their effects in clude changes in the meaning clients attribute to their symptoms.