A preliminary evaluation of the CBT Decision Making Questionnaire for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CDMQ-A)

Objective: Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is effective for the treatment of anxiety and related disorders (ARDs). Despite this, the use of best-practice CBT in clinical practice is low. While training and assessment strategies have been developed to improve this science-practice gap, both within the educational and clinical training space, many of the assessment techniques developed to enhance the use of best practice CBT remain impractical to use in busy training settings and are prone to bias. Method: The current study presents a preliminary evaluation of the CBT Decision-Making Questionnaire for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CDMQ-A). The CDMQ-A contains vignettes covering seven diagnostic categories, each followed by three questions, resulting in a 21-item questionnaire designed to assess CBT decision-making in the treatment of ARDs in adult patients. A sample of expert (N = 7) (M age = 42.14; SD = 5.64; 57.1% female) and provisionally registered psychologists (N = 104) (M age = 30.76; SD = 8.32; 82.7% female) completed the measure. Results: Experts indicated that the vignettes demonstrated satisfactory face and ecological validity. Results indicated that the CDMQ-A can effectively discriminate between experts and provisionally registered psychologists with the expert sample scoring significantly higher than the provisionally registered psychologists t(10.63) = 6.9, p = .01; d = 1.74). Conclusions: Implications for training and clinical practice are discussed. KEY POINTS: What is already known about this topic: Cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective for the treatment of anxiety and related disorders. Despite evidence, the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy in clinical practice is low. Techniques available to assess and enhance the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy remain impractical to use in busy training settings and are prone to bias. What this topic adds: The current study presents a preliminary evaluation of the CBT Decision Making Questionnaire for Anxiety and Related Disorders. Results indicated that the questionnaire can effectively discriminate between experts and provisionally registered psychologists. The development and use of such tools have the potential to have significant implications for the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practice, particularly within busy educational settings.