AbstractMood disorders have been associated with reproductive events and gynecologic conditions which specifically affect women. Somatic therapies have dominated treatment for these disorders, possibly because of the commonly held belief that the accompanying mood changes are primarily related to physiological states. Some women, however, may receive inadequate symptom relief from currently available pharmacologic therapies, or find other treatment options, such as surgical or hormonal therapies, unacceptable because of the negative impact on their future reproductive or health status. Based on the documented effectiveness of cognitive‐behavioral therapies in the treatment of other mood disorders, exploratory studies of the efficacy of cognitive‐behavioral treatment strategies for gynecologically related mood disorders have been initiated. This review focuses on the problem areas of premenstrual syndrome and chronic pelvic pain.A number of cognitive‐behavioral strategies for treating premenstrual mood symptoms have been reported in the literature; however, few have been subjected to controlled studies with well‐evaluated and well‐described subjects. Preliminary findings suggest that a combination of cognitive‐behavioral interventions and relaxation training, when administered in an adequate number of treatment sessions, may significantly improve premenstrual mood disorders and possibly maintain benefits for a longer period time than pharmacologic treatments. Few therapeutic modalities specific for pelvic pain beyond medical/ surgical approaches have been evaluated. Depending on the treatment setting, general pain management approaches may be applied to pelvic pain patients; however, there is some evidence that chronic pelvic pain patients may differ from other chronic pain conditions and may have special therapeutic needs. Reports of controlled trials of psychological interventions are quite limited; however, several studies report that combined multidisciplinary approaches result in improved levels of functioning. A proposed model for chronic pelvic pain and suggested intervention strategies are also discussed. Depression 3:60–65 (1995). © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.