barriers to treatment progress due
to patient expectations
Patients' unrealistic expectations about the process
and outcome of treatment mitigated the successful
implementation of CBT. Frequencies of participants’
endorsements as reported in Table 5 indicate
that patients expected that they would be free of all
anxiety following treatment (54%), successful
exposure would mean not having any panic or
anxiety (41%), and that more than reduction of
panic symptoms was needed in treatment (20%). In
addition, patients’ beliefs that therapists would
do all the work to make things better (53%),
disappointments with past therapists (33%), and
expecting that treatment would be brief and easy
(28%) were problems. Patients’ beliefs that they
need medication to reduce panic (49%) also
interfered with CBT. Finally, 20% of respondents
indicated that their patients believed that reduction
of panic symptoms was not enough.