Table 7.
Beliefs and Preferences about Anxiety Treatment (Patient Survey, n = 42)
| Completely disagree | Somewhat disagree | Neutral | Somewhat agree | Completely agree | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I enjoy working regularly with a therapist on my anxiety. | 2.5 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 45.0 | 47.5 |
| I like taking medication for my anxiety. | 30.0 | 2.5 | 22.5 | 15.0 | 30.0 |
| Therapy has been helpful in managing and reducing my anxiety. | 2.5 | 2.5 | 12.5 | 27.5 | 55.0 |
| Medication has been helpful in managing and reducing my anxiety. | 27.5 | 2.5 | 7.5 | 30.0 | 32.5 |
| I prefer therapy that is open-ended and allows me to talk about my problems and feelings. | 2.5 | 2.5 | 22.5 | 27.5 | 45.00 |
| I prefer therapy with specific goals in which I learn strategies and skills for managing my anxiety. | 2.6 | 2.6 | 15.4 | 28.2 | 51.3 |
| I like (or would like) a therapy that teaches me new ways of thinking in anxious situations. | 2.6 | 0.0 | 12.8 | 33.3 | 51.3 |
| I think therapy that teaches me new ways of thinking in anxious situations has been helpful (or would be helpful, if I were to receive it). | 2.6 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 43.6 | 46.2 |
| I think therapy that helps me gradually confront the things I’m afraid of to learn something new about those things is helpful (or would be helpful, if I were to receive it). | 2.6 | 7.7 | 20.5 | 30.8 | 38.5 |
| I think therapy that helps me gradually confront the things I’m afraid of sounds terrifying. | 12.8 | 12.8 | 17.9 | 35.9 | 20.5 |
| If my therapist offered me an effective treatment that required me to face my fears, I would not want to do it. | 33.3 | 17.9 | 28.2 | 10.3 | 10.3 |
| Anxiety is harmful. | 20.5 | 10.3 | 15.4 | 28.2 | 25.6 |
| I think the combination of therapy and medication is better than therapy alone. | 12.8 | 7.7 | 17.9 | 23.1 | 38.5 |
| I think the combination of therapy and medication is better than medication alone. | 7.7 | 2.6 | 5.1 | 25.6 | 59.0 |
| I think my anxiety gets better the more I practice what I learn with my therapist in my daily life. | 5.1 | 0.0 | 15.4 | 28.2 | 51.3 |
| My therapist has offered to teach me new thinking skills. | 2.6 | 5.1 | 2.6 | 33.3 | 56.4 |
| My therapist has offered to teach me new thinking skills to improve my anxiety but I declined. | 46.2 | 20.5 | 12.8 | 12.8 | 7.7 |
| My therapist has offered to help me gradually face the things I avoid because of my fear and anxiety (like thoughts, images, situations, body sensations, and memories). | 2.6 | 12.8 | 15.4 | 38.5 | 30.8 |
| My therapist has offered to help me gradually face the things I avoid and that I’m afraid of (like thoughts, images, situations, body sensations, and memories), but I declined. | 41.0 | 7.7 | 12.8 | 25.6 | 12.8 |
| I started learning specific skills or facing my fears with my therapist to reduce my anxiety but I stopped coming in regularly for therapy. | 64.1 | 10.3 | 10.3 | 10.3 | 5.1 |
| I started therapy that did not include learning specific skills or facing my fears to reduce my anxiety, and I stopped coming in regularly. | 66.7 | 15.4 | 7.7 | 10.3 | 0.0 |
| Anxiety is the least of my problems – when I meet with my therapist, we have more important issues to discuss. | 46.2 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 15.4 | 7.7 |