In a larger study assessing the relationship between individual self-esteem and outcome, Hooke and Page (2002) examined results from 348 patients who had just completed a 10-day intensive GCBT programme at a private psychiatric clinic. They found patients’ pre-treatment self-esteem scores predicted patient stress scores post-treatment. That is, patients with low self-esteem experienced less stress reduction compared to individuals of higher self-esteem. Hooke and Page also found pre-treatment self-esteem scores to be significant predictors of post-treatment anxiety. The importance of
self-esteem in terms of treatment outcome led Bothwell and Scott (1997) to propose that patient improvement post- therapy could be enhanced if individuals were provided with an intervention to improve self-esteem prior to engaging in treatment. Davis, Page, and Hooke (2006) attempted to do just that. In their study, patients were provided with a
brief intervention designed to improve self-esteem before entering GCBT. The brief self-esteem booster was associated with mild improvement in depression symptoms following GCBT.