The role of positive beliefs about worry in generalized anxiety disorder and its treatment

Individuals suffering from generalized anxiety disorder hold a variety of beliefs about the possible benefits of their worrying. The present article suggests that these beliefs emerge from both short-term and long-term experiences with negative reinforcement of the worry process. Elements of treatment that target these beliefs within a general cognitive behavioral therapy approach for this disorder are briefly described, and a case transcript, exemplifying both the relevance of positive beliefs in GAD cases and the potential importance of modifying those beliefs, is presented.