Home > Professional > Techniques > Case Conceptualization

Case Formulation and Disorder-Specific Models

“[Formulation is] The lynch pin that holds theory and practice together” (Butler, 1998).

Cognitive behavioral therapists use individually tailored formulations as a framework with which to understand their patients’ difficulties and to plan effective treatment. A case formulation helps therapists and patients to understand the origin, current status, and maintenance of a problem. Formulations are developed collaboratively between therapists and patients during the assessment phase of therapy and are revised as new information is gathered during the course of treatment. Jacqueline Persons wrote an influential account of individualized case formulation (1989). Her current case formulation approach (2008) describes how a complete CBT case formulation ties together all of the following parts:

all of a patient’s symptoms, disorders, and problems;
hypotheses about the mechanisms causing the disorders and the problems;
proposes the recent precipitants of the current problems and disorders;
describes the origins of the mechanisms.

61 languages

Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) experience distress associated with their body image. The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Body Dysmorphi ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-body-dysmorphic-disorder-bdd-2004/

Information Handout

Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Bulimia Nervosa (2003)

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging. Among young women, the point prevalence of bulimia is about 1 ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-bulimia-nervosa-2003/

Information Handout

Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Fear Of Bodily Sensations (2018)

Fear of bodily sensations is present in a number of conditions, most notably panic disorder. The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Fear Of Bodily Sensatio ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-fear-of-bodily-sensations-2018/

Information Handout

Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) (1998)

Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) report significant worry which they find difficult to control and experience as distressing. Numer ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-generalized-anxiety-disorder-gad-1998/

Information Handout

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) has been defined as “an underlying fear of the unknown”. Intolerance of uncertainty is a risk factor for the deve ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-intolerance-of-uncertainty-2019/

Worksheet

Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Low Self-Esteem (1997)

Low self-esteem is characterized as a negative sense of the self and co-occurs with many other mental health problems. Although not formally represent ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-low-self-esteem-1997/

Information Handout

Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (1998)

The essential insight of the cognitive behavioral model of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is that it is the client’s interpretation of the intr ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-1998/

Worksheet

Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Panic (1986)

The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Panic identifies catastrophic misinterpretation of body sensations as a criticial maintenance factor which serves to ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-panic-1986/

Information Handout

Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD) (2017)

Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a form of dizziness which is thought to be maintained by psychological factors. ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-persistent-postural-perceptual-dizziness-pppd-2017/

Information Handout

Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (2000)

The Cognitive Behavioral Model Of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) identifies alterations in memory, cognitions, and behavior as critical mainten ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/cognitive-behavioral-model-of-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd-2000/

Information Handout

Psychology Tools for Overcoming Panic takes a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approach to this common anxiety problem. This chapter discusses the ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/how-does-this-all-add-up-to-a-panic-attack-psychology-tools-for-overcoming-panic/

Chapter

Interpersonal Beliefs And Styles CBT Worksheet

Psychology Tools for Overcoming Panic takes a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approach to this common anxiety problem. This chapter brings togethe ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/making-sense-of-your-panic-psychology-tools-for-overcoming-panic/

Chapter

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity. The ICD-10 clas ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/recognizing-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/

Information Handout

Psychology Tools for Overcoming Panic takes a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approach to this common anxiety problem. This chapter helps a client ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/the-parts-of-your-panic-psychology-tools-for-overcoming-panic/

Chapter

Fairburn, Cooper & Shafran (2003) argue that eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia share common maintenance mechanisms despite difference ... https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/transdiagnostic-cognitive-behavioral-model-of-eating-disorders-2003/

Information Handout

Assessment

Collaborative Case Conceptualization Rating Scale (CCC-RS) | Kuyken, Padesky, Dudley | 2009
- Rating scale & coding manual download archived copy
- Score sheet & feedback form download archived copy
- Kuyken, W., Beshai, S., Dudley, R., Abel, A., Görg, N., Gower, P., … & Padesky, C. A. (2016). Assessing competence in collaborative case conceptualization: Development and preliminary psychometric properties of the Collaborative Case Conceptualization Rating Scale (CCC-RS). Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 44(2), 179-192. download archived copy

Information

CBT

The “Blobby” formulation | Helen Kennerley | 2015 download archived copy
Understanding formulation (client handout) ~~download~~ archived copy
BPS DCP Good Practice Guidelines on the use of psychological formulation ~~download~~ archive.org
Working with Schemas, Core Beliefs, and Assumptions download archived copy
Cognitive behavioral case formulation and treatment plan example download archive.org
What is the case formulation approach to cognitive-behavior therapy? download archived copy

ACT

A quick guide to ACT case conceptualization ~~download~~ archived copy
ACT assessment / case formulation process download archived copy
ACT simple case formulation download archived copy

Intervention

DBT case formulation format ~~download~~ archived copy
Case formulation template ~~download~~ archive.org

Presentations

The case formulation approach to cognitive behavior therapy| Jacqueline Persons | 2014 download archived copy
A case formulation approach to cognitive-behavior therapy | Jacqueline Persons | 2015 download archived copy
The role of a case conceptualization model and core tasks of intervention | Donald Miechenbaum download archived copy
Cafe formulation in cognitive-behavioral therapy | Caleb Lack download archived copy

What Is Case Conceptualization / Case Formulation?

Types of Case Formulation

Case formulations can vary according to their purpose, and according to the information they attempt to convey. A number of types of formulation have been described:

A cross-sectional formulation presents information relevant to a short time period, as though an event were sliced open at a particular moment in time to reveal the triggering event, thoughts (interpretations/appraisals), emotions, body feelings, and behaviors or reactions. One of the most popular formats for a cross-sectional formulation is Padesky and Mooney’s ‘hot cross bun’ (1990).
A longitudinal formulation presents information relevant to the origin and maintenance of a problem. Weerasekera’s “Multiperspective model” popularized the use of the “5 Ps” approach (presenting, predisposing, precipitating, perpetuating, and protective) to case formulation (Weerasekera, 1993). Judith Beck’s cognitive conceptualization (1995) links longitudinal factors (including relevant childhood data, core beliefs, conditional assumptions, coping strategies) to cross-sectional breakdowns (situation, automatic thought and appraisal, emotion, behavior).
Micro-formulations have been described as a helpful way of understanding the origin and effects of troubling imagery (Hackmann, Bennett-Levy, & Holmes, 2011). In this approach problematic images are explored along with their origin, associated appraisals, current impact, maintenance factors, and cognitive consequences.
Disorder-specific models describe the critical presenting, predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors relevant to a condition. Disorder-specific cognitive behavioral conceptualizations have been published for most conditions including low self-esteem, panic, obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder.

References

Beck, J. S. (1995). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond. New York: Guilford Press.
Butler, G. (1998). Clinical formulation. In A. S. Bellack and M. Hersen (eds) Comprehensive clinical psychology. New York: Pergamon Press
Hackmann, A., Bennett-Levy, J., & Holmes, E. A. (2011). Oxford guide to imagery in cognitive therapy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Padesky, C. A., & Mooney, K. A. (1990). Presenting the cognitive model to clients. International Cognitive Therapy Newsletter, 6, 13–14.
Persons, J. B. (1989). Cognitive therapy in practice: A case formulation approach. New York: WW Norton.
Persons, J. (2008). The case formulation approach to cognitive-behavior therapy (guides to individualized evidence-based treatment).
Weerasekera, P. (1993). Formulation: A multiperspective model. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 38(5), 351–358.

Case Formulation and Disorder-Specific Models

Problem

Therapy tool

Language

Assessment

Information

CBT

ACT

Intervention

Presentations

Recommended Reading

Case formulation / Case conceptualization

Cognitive Behavioral Models Of Disorders

What Is Case Conceptualization / Case Formulation?

Types of Case Formulation

References