Follow-up to: "Tension headaches: what form of therapy is most effective?'

In an earlier study the authors reported on the relative effectiveness of three psychological methods of treating tension headache. This paper reports follow-up data on each procedure and focuses on variables seemingly related to long-term success. Follow-up occurred at 3, 6, and 12 months and involved 1 week of self-report records of headache activity and medication dosage. For the 30 original subjects, follow-up information was available for 23, 20, and 18 subjects, respectively, at each of the three follow-up periods. Questionnaire and physiological data indicated that the type of treatment offered was relevant only in explaining initial success. Continued practice of relaxation procedures seemed more important in explaining long-term outcomes. The relationship between type of training and continuing practice seemed to involve several heretofore unspecified "placebo' variables, which were explored and found to influence long-term success rates. Treatment procedures can presumably be modified to include these new variables, thus strengthening this therapeutic process.