Different psychological schools or models utilize clinical formulations, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and related therapies: systemic therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and applied behavior analysis. The structure and content of a clinical formulation is determined by the psychological model. Most systems of formulation contain the following broad categories of information: symptoms and problems; precipitating stressors or events; predisposing life events or stressors; and an explanatory mechanism that links the preceding categories together and offers a description of the precipitants and maintaining influences of the person's problems.
A model of formulation that is more specific to CBT is described by Jacqueline Persons. This has seven components: problem list, core beliefs, precipitants and activating situations, origins, working hypothesis, treatment plan, and predicted obstacles to treatment.
A psychodynamic formulation would consist of a summarizing statement, a description of nondynamic factors, description of core psychodynamics using a specific model (such as ego psychology, object relations or self psychology), and a prognostic assessment which identifies the potential areas of resistance in therapy.
Formulations can vary in temporal scope from case-based to episode-based or moment-based, and formulations may evolve during the course of treatment. Therefore, ongoing monitoring, testing, and assessment during treatment are necessary: monitoring can take the form of session-by-session progress reviews using quantitative measures, and formulations can be modified if an intervention is not as effective as hoped.
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Kanter, Jonathan W.; Cautilli, Joseph D.; Busch, Andrew M.; Baruch, David E. (2005). "Toward a comprehensive functional analysis of depressive behavior: five environmental factors and a possible sixth and seventh". The Behavior Analyst Today. 6 (1): 65–81. doi:10.1037/h0100055. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26452621
Zettle, Robert D. (2007). ACT for depression: a clinician's guide to using acceptance & commitment therapy in treating depression. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications. ISBN 9781572245099. OCLC 148853276. 9781572245099
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Tsai, Mavis; Kohlenberg, Robert J.; Kanter, Jonathan W.; Holman, Gareth; Loudon, Mary Plummer (2012). Functional analytic psychotherapy: distinctive features. The CBT distinctive features series. Hove, East Sussex; New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415604031. OCLC 698324521. 9780415604031
Kanter, Jonathan W.; Cautilli, Joseph D.; Busch, Andrew M.; Baruch, David E. (2005). "Toward a comprehensive functional analysis of depressive behavior: five environmental factors and a possible sixth and seventh". The Behavior Analyst Today. 6 (1): 65–81. doi:10.1037/h0100055. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26452621
Persons, Jacqueline B. (1989). Cognitive therapy in practice: a case formulation approach (1st ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0393700771. OCLC 19125638. 0393700771
Perry, Samuel; Cooper, Arnold M.; Michels, Robert (May 1987). "The psychodynamic formulation: its purpose, structure, and clinical application". The American Journal of Psychiatry. 144 (5): 543–550. doi:10.1176/ajp.144.5.543. PMID 3578562. /wiki/Robert_Michels_(physician)
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Caspar, Franz; Silberschatz, George; Goldfried, Marvin; Watson, Jeanne C. (March 2010). "Similarities and differences in four views of David". Journal of Psychotherapy Integration. 20 (1): 101–110. doi:10.1037/a0018886. /wiki/Journal_of_Psychotherapy_Integration
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Persons, Jacqueline B. (December 2013). "Who needs a case formulation and why: clinicians use the case formulation to guide decision-making". Pragmatic Case Studies in Psychotherapy. 9 (4): 448–456. doi:10.14713/pcsp.v9i4.1835. http://pcsp.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/pcsp/article/view/1835
Dawson, David L.; Moghaddam, Nima G. (2016). "Formulation in action: an introduction" (PDF). In Dawson, David L.; Moghaddam, Nima G. (eds.). Formulation in action: applying psychological theory to clinical practice. Berlin; New York: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 3–8 [7]. ISBN 9783110470994. OCLC 932645602. 9783110470994
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Basseches, Michael; Mascolo, Michael F. (2009). "Psychotherapy as a developmental process: implications and future directions for psychotherapy research, practice, and training". Psychotherapy as a developmental process. New York: Routledge. pp. 283–312. ISBN 9780805857306. OCLC 244063508. 9780805857306
Kelly, George (1991) [1955]. The psychology of personal constructs: volume two: clinical diagnosis and psychotherapy. London; New York: Routledge in association with the Centre for Personal Construct Psychology. ISBN 9780415037983. OCLC 21760190. 9780415037983
Kelly, George (1991) [1955]. The psychology of personal constructs: volume one: theory and personality. London; New York: Routledge in association with the Centre for Personal Construct Psychology. ISBN 9780415037976. OCLC 21760190. 9780415037976
Kelly, George (1991) [1955]. The psychology of personal constructs: volume two: clinical diagnosis and psychotherapy. London; New York: Routledge in association with the Centre for Personal Construct Psychology. ISBN 9780415037983. OCLC 21760190. 9780415037983
Kelly, George (1991) [1955]. The psychology of personal constructs: volume two: clinical diagnosis and psychotherapy. London; New York: Routledge in association with the Centre for Personal Construct Psychology. ISBN 9780415037983. OCLC 21760190. 9780415037983
See also, for example, the summary of Kelly's concepts in: White, Lauren (March 2014). Borderline personality disorder: a personal construct approach (D.Clin.Psy. thesis). Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK: University of Hertfordshire. pp. 23–24. hdl:2299/14439. OCLC 894598148. http://uhra.herts.ac.uk/handle/2299/14439
"Good practice guidelines on the use of psychological formulation" (PDF). bps.org.uk. Leicester, UK: British Psychological Society. December 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-11-17. Retrieved 2017-10-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20171117203339/http://www.bps.org.uk/system/files/Public%20files/DCP/cat-842.pdf
Bruch, Michael, ed. (2015) [1998]. Beyond diagnosis: case formulation in cognitive behavioural therapy. Wiley series in clinical psychology (2nd ed.). Chichester, UK; Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781119960768. OCLC 883881251. 9781119960768
Bruch, Michael, ed. (2015) [1998]. Beyond diagnosis: case formulation in cognitive behavioural therapy. Wiley series in clinical psychology (2nd ed.). Chichester, UK; Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781119960768. OCLC 883881251. 9781119960768