The comparative efficacy of religious and nonreligious imagery for the treatment of mild depression in religious individuals

No previous outcome study in cognitive therapy has examined either the efficacy of imagery modification for depressives or the efficacy of a cognitive therapy geared specifically to the individual's value system. The present study did both of these by comparing the relative therapeutic efficacy of a religious and nonreligious imagery modification for mildly depressed religious individuals. The nonreligious imagery treatment showed no effects beyond those of the self-monitoring treatment or the minimal treatment condition. The religious imagery treatment, however, showed significantly more treatment gains than the self-monitoring or nonreligious imagery treatments, while the self-monitoring plus therapist contact treatment was intermediate in effectiveness.The author wishes to thank J. T. Reagan and Russell Dern for their valuable help in the execution of the study.