This paper describes and compares two relaxation training procedures with moderately and severely mentally handicapped people. Abbreviated Progressive Relaxation is a widely used procedure while Behavioural Relaxation Training is a relatively recent development which the authors felt might be more suitable for mentally handicapped people since it does not require a conceptual awareness of internal states of anxiety. While both relaxation procedures produced improvements, Behavioural Relaxation Training was significantly better than Abbreviated Progressive Relaxation. In addition to this the results during treatment showed Abbreviated Progressive Relaxation to produce very variable effects from session to session. In contrast the effects of Behavioural Relaxation Training were quick and consistent.
