Inferential statistics are numerical values that enable one to reach conclusions that extend beyond the immediate data alone. Examples include:
* t-test: assesses whether the means of two groups are statistically different from each other
* Analysis of variance (ANOVA): tests the difference among three or more groups
* Pearson's r correlation: tests the relationship between two variables
* Probability: the likelihood of an event occurring
* p-value (level of significance): describes the probability of a particular result occurring by chance alone; for example, if p = 0.01, there is a 1% probability of obtaining the result by chance alone

Panic disorder patients experience brief episodes of intense dread accompanied by physical symptoms like chest pain, chills, shortness of breath, and an irregular heartbeat.
Agoraphobia patients fear situations or places where they might have trouble obtaining help if they become scared. Specific phobia patients fear specific objects or situations, such as animals, storms, heights, blood, airplanes, or any situation that may lead to vomiting, choking, or developing an illness. Generalized anxiety disorder patients feel tense or anxious a majority of the time and worry about many different issues.

In 2001, the Institute of Medicine published Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century. This report identified six goals for quality improvement in health care:
* Safe: Avoiding injuries to patients from the care intended to help them
* Effective: Providing services based on scientific knowledge to all who could benefit, and refraining from providing services to those not likely to benefit
* Patient-centered: Providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions
* Timely: Reducing waits and sometimes harmful delays for both those who receive and those who provide care
* Efficient: Avoiding the waste of equipment, supplies, ideas, and energy
* Equitable: Providing care that does not vary in quality because of personal characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, geographic location, and socioeconomic status

Cognitive therapy, originating with Aaron Beck, purports that external events do not cause anxiety or maladaptive behaviors but that a person's expectations, perceptions, and interpretations of events cause anxiety. The goal of therapy is to change the client's irrational beliefs.
Behavioral therapy focuses on changing maladaptive behaviors through exposure, relaxation, and problem-solving. Existential therapy is a philosophical approach based on life reflections. Psychoanalytic therapy addresses maladaptive behaviors by increasing insight and awareness.

In 1971, C. West Churchman, a pragmatic philosopher, laid the groundwork for systems thinking. He defined an inquiring system as a system capable of facilitating learning and organizational change. The purpose of inquiring systems is to create knowledge and thereby create the capability of choosing the right means for the desired ends. Churchman's model for the design of inquiring systems provides the basis for sustaining evolving organizations.