Numerous case studies and several experiments have indicated that suggestive procedures may be effective in treating a variety of dermatological disorders, including congenital ichthyosiform erythrodermia of Brocq (fish skin disease; Mason, 1955; Wink, 1961), psoriasis (Frankel & Misch, 1973, genital herpes (Longo, Clum, &Yaeger, 1988), and warts (e.g., Couper &Davies, 1952;Obermayer & Greenson, 1949). Some dermatological disorders, such as fish skin disease, are so rare as to preclude multisubject experimental studies regarding the effects of psychological treatment. Other disorders, like psoriasis, are relatively common. Nevertheless, controlled experiments assessing the effects of psychological treatments for this disorder are nonexistent. One experiment (Longo et al., 1988) assessed the effects of psychological treatment on the frequency and severity of genital herpes outbreaks. In this case, however, verbal report was the only criterion for assessing the severity and frequency of outbreaks, and, consequently, the extent to which reporting biases influenced the validity of the results remains impossible to determine.In contrast with other skin disorders, warts have been studied fairly extensively. Warts are a relatively common disorder (Lynch, 1982), and 62 3