This was researched by Dr. Lucas LaFreniere, a psychologist at Pennsylvania State University, and was designed to focus more on one of the key elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). It was also presented at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) conference in 2017.

To evaluate the journal's efficacy, researchers recruited 51 participants with Generalized Anxiety Disorder(GAD). The patients were randomly divided into Group A, which used worry outcome journals for 10 days, and Group B (control group), which recorded everyday thoughts.

Those using the Worry Outcome Journal were instructed to document their worries in the journal and to make concrete, specific predictions of the future in relation to the worries. And to track outcomes, including whether outcomes turned out better than, as bad as, or worse than expected.

All participants were instructed to enter their records or journal entries every night. The analysis showed that most of the recorded worries (91%) did not come true. Patients who used worry outcome journals showed a significantly greater decrease in worry levels after the intervention compared to the control group, as measured by the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (P = .04).

At the 30-day follow-up, significant differences were observed (P = .07), and the treatment effects were maintained. Lucas LaFreniere mentioned that while worry outcome journals are effective, they alone may not be sufficient for comprehensive GAD treatment.