Case Formulation in Psychotherapy: Revitalizing Its Usefulness as a Clinical Tool

Objective: Case formulation has been recognized to be a useful conceptual and clinical tool in psychotherapy as diagnosis itself does not focus on the underlying causes of a patient's problems. Case formulation can fill the gap between diagnosis and treatment, with the potential to provide insi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAcademic psychiatry Vol. 29; no. 3; pp. 289 - 292
Main Authors Sim, Kang, Gwee, Kok Peng, Bateman, Anthony
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc 01.07.2005
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Authors
Behavior Modification
Behavior Patterns
Case-Control Studies
Caseworker Approach
Clinical Diagnosis
Cognitive Therapy - methods
Etiology
Graduate Medical Education
Graduate Students
Humans
Individual Characteristics
Intervention
Medical Students
Mental Disorders - therapy
Modeling (Psychology)
Patients
Psychiatric Services
Psychiatry
Psychological Characteristics
Psychological Patterns
Psychopathology
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy - methods
Resistance (Psychology)
Skill Development
Young Children
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Summary:Objective: Case formulation has been recognized to be a useful conceptual and clinical tool in psychotherapy as diagnosis itself does not focus on the underlying causes of a patient's problems. Case formulation can fill the gap between diagnosis and treatment, with the potential to provide insights into the integrative, explanatory, prescriptive, predictive, and therapist aspects of a case. Despite the acknowledgment that case formulation is a basic, necessary, and key clinical skill, it is still largely undertaught and underlearned. Some of the issues faced in the development of a case formulation include that of immediacy versus comprehensiveness, complexity versus simplicity, observation versus organization, and the need for cultural sensitivity toward each individual patient. Methods: The authors propose five aspects of case formulation beneficial to therapists and residents in training. Conclusions: The authors argue that case formulation remains an important and indispensable integrative tool for therapists and residents in training who are involved in psychotherapeutic interventions.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:1042-9670
1545-7230
DOI:10.1176/appi.ap.29.3.289