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Demystifying the Psychiatric Case Formulation

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 Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry
Volume 10 | Issue 2 Article 4

June 1992

Demystifying the Psychiatric Case Formulation

Len Sperry, M.D., Ph.D.
Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Sperry, M.D., Ph.D., Len (1992) "Demystifying the Psychiatric Case Formulation," Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry: Vol. 10 : Iss. 2 ,
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 Demystifying the Psychiatric Case
Formulation
Len Sperry, Ph.D. , M.D.

Abs t ract

Until recently case formulation was an ethereal art, in that there was 110 standard,
agreed-upon fo rmat fo r conceptualizing and writing formulations. However, the increasing
emphasis on accountability in psychiatric care, the trend toward theoretical integration, and the
diJIiculty trainees experience in mastering formulat ion skills highlight the need for a standard
format. The descriptive, etiological and treatment-prognostic components qf a fo rmulation are
discussed as a standard format for conceptualizing and writing case formulations. Four written
fo rmulations are described in terms ofcontent, structureand process to illustrate thisfo rmat.

Th e psychi atric formulation is th e clinician 's com pass g uid ing trea tm ent. It
sho uld acc u ra te ly reflect th e pat ie nt a nd his or her patt e rn of functioni ng as well as
th e pr ecipit ants, pr edi sp osin g a nd pe rp etuating fac tors, an d prognosis , while al so
being clear, co nc ise and clinicall y useful. Yet , th e a rt of case formu la tion has been too
ofte n s hro ude d in a myst ical a ura . Largely thi s is because t he re has been no
s tanda rd, ag reed- upo n form at for conce pt ua lizing a fo r mu la t ion, and se ldom ha s it
been writte n or required as part of a case record o r docum en ta tion ( I). Traditionally,
d eveloping th e skill of formu lating cases has been relegat ed to individual supervision
a nd case co nfe re nces during psychi atric resid en cy t raini ng (2) . U nfortuna tely, th e
perform an ce of recent g ra d ua te s in formul ating case materia l on oral psychiatry
board exa m ina tions su ggest s th ese skills m ay be inad eq ua te. A rece nt po ll for th e
Briti sh eq uiva le n t of th e ABP N o ra l exam ina t io n found th at 87 pe rcen t of examin ers
m ention ed th e ca nd ida tes' inability to present a co here n t for mu la tio n as th e chie f
reason for fai ling th e exam (3) .
Today, th e sh ift toward briefe r a nd more cost-e ffec t ive psychi at ric t rea tm ent, as
well as the trend tow ard th eoret ica l int egration has result ed in changes in our
und erstanding and utilization of case formu lati on s. The va lue a nd necessit y of
succ inc t, well-con cept ualized , writt en ca se formu lation has been recogni zed and is
rapid ly becom ing a req uire m e n t for psych iatric eva lua t ions, di sch a rge summaries,
a nd prior a u t horiza t io ns for treatm ent in both public a nd priva t e sec tors (2) . Thus , it
becomes imperative th at psychi atry train ing pr ogra m s form all y and more sys temati-
ca lly facilit at e th e learning a nd acq uisition of th e skill of case form ulation. A
sta nda rd ize d formul ation form at cou ld g rea tly a id in devel opi ng and refining this
esse n t ia l skill.
This pape r bri efly describ es th e co m po ne n ts of a case formu lat ion an d suggest s a
12
DEMYSTIFYING TH E PSYCHIATRIC CASE FO RMULATION 13

standard format for conce pt ua lizing a nd writ ing cas e form ula t ion s. Four writt en cas e
formul ation rep orts for a sing le case are then present ed. These reports reflect t he
st ruc t ure, co n te n t a nd pr ocess a mo ng th e cu rre nt biological , psychodyna m ic, beh av-
ioral a nd biop sychosocial orie n ta tio ns (4-9) . A side -by-side co m pa ra t ive a na lysis of
th ese rep ort s illu strat es th e utility of th e for ma t.

THE A AT O MY OF A CASE FO RMULATION

Basicall y, th e re are three co m po ne n ts of a psych iatric formu lation: d escriptive,

e t iolog ica l a nd treatm ent -progn osti c ( I). A descriptive fo r mul a tio n is a ph enom eno-
logical sta te me n t a bou t th e nature, se ve rity a nd pr ecipit an ts of an individ ual's
psychi atric present ation . It a nswe rs th e "W hat happen ed ?" qu est io n. While th ere a re
m an y different ways to conce pt ua lize this dat a, for all pract ica l purposes, t he
d escriptive formulation lends it self to DSM-III-R di a gn ostic cr ite ria and nosology.
An e t iologica l formul ation att empt s to offer a ra t iona le for t he deve lopm ent a nd
m aint en ance of sym p toms a nd dysfun cti onal life patt erns. It is more expla natory a nd
lon gitudinal in nature. Etiological formulation s a nswe r th e " Why d id it happen ?"
qu estion .
A treatm ent-progn osti c form ulation follows from t he descr iptive and e t iolog ical
for m ula t ions a nd se rves as a n explicit blu eprint gove rning treatm ent int ervention s
a nd p rogn osis. The treatm ent formulation add resses th e " W ha t ca n be done abo u t it
a nd how?" q uestion. As in th e ot he r two functi on al typ es of formulations , th ere migh t
be many ways to answer t his q uestion.
A review of rece nt pu blica tions (4-9) ind icates that cases formulat ed in four
major orie ntat ions- bio log ica l, psycho dy na m ic, behavioral and biopsychosocial-
t end to enco m pass a ll t hree struct u ra l di m ension s: d escriptive, e t iolog ica l and
treatment-prognost ic. Parenthe ticall y, the review a lso suggests som e conve rge nce in
co n te n t a mo ng th e va rying a pproaches. Convergence refers to t he e me rg ing simi lar-
iti es among d ist in ct orie nta tio ns rathe r th an to a n actual int egratio n or synth esis of
th ese o rie n ta tions (10 ).
The case of Mr. Z. describes a relatively common psyc hia tric pr esentation. It is
followed by fou r psychi atric formulation s to illu strat e th e process of th e biological ,
psych od yn am ic, beh avioral a nd biop sych osocial o rien ta tions . Ea ch formu lation is
org a nized in t hree sec t ions, design at ed I-III: Sectio n I refers to t he " de scriptive"
fun ction, II refers to th e "e t iolog ica l" func tio n a nd III to th e " t reatmen t-prognosti c"
fun cti on .

TH E CASE O F MR . Z

Mr. Z is a 40-year-old busin essm a n who pr ese nt ed wit h co m pla ints of loss of
int erest in his job, hobbies, a nd fam ily ove r a period of six wee ks. H e ac knowledg ed
pe riods of profound sa d ness, red uced ap peti te wit h sign ifican t weight loss, insomnia ,
fa t ig ue, a nd recurrent th ou ght s of dea th , bu t de ni ed su icida l idea t io n. H e d eni ed any
precipitan ts but did adm it th a t his expecte d job promo t ion had not mat eri ali zed .
14 J EFFERSO N JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY

Mr. Z d escribed him self as unusu all y se rious, conse rva tive, and relatively un abl e
to express a ffec t ion. H e also ac knowledged trying to be perfect, needing to be in
co n t ro l of eve ry socia l sit uat ion, a nd havin g a n excess ive commitment to work.
Mr. Z indicat ed th at his mar riage had been worse ning for se ve ra l yea rs a nd
described his wife as flighty, ove remot ional an d helpl ess un der stress . For th e pas t,
seve ra l years she had been a ngry, di st ant , a nd had decli ned to be invo lved sexu all y
with him . Since th e onse t of his sym p to mato logy, howeve r, sh e had been soli cit ou s
a nd obvio us ly conce rned . Th e Z' s have two child re n, a boy, 12, and a girl, 10, wh o
a ppeared to be doing we ll a t schoo l a nd hom e.
M r. Z describ ed his family of origin as ve ry poo r. H is fa th er des ert ed his mot her
whe n th e patient was 12 years of age a nd, as th e oldest child , he had to tak e
co ns ide ra ble resp on sibility for you nge r siblings , as we ll as to wor k part -tim e wh ile
a tte nd ing scho ol. H e kn ew th at his mat ernal g ra nd fa t he r had com m itted sui cid e a nd
th at two mat ernal uncl es were a lcoholics. A pat ernal uncl e had died in prison aft er a
lon g pe riod of antisocial behavior.
Ph ysical , laboratory, a nd neurological st ud ies were nega tive.
Axis I 296 .22 M ajor Depression , sing le episode
Axi s II 30 1.40 Obsessive-C ompulsive Person ality Disorde r
Axis III No rel evant cur re n t ph ysical disorder
Axis IV 3; Mod erat e st ress with m a rital d isco rd
Ax is V GAF now 50; past 12 mon t hs 69

BIOLOGICAL FO RMULAT ION

I. This is the first psychia tric consu ltation for a 40 yea r old married mal e. He
prese n ts wit h a six-wee k histo ry of profound sadness, weight loss, decr eased a ppe ti te,
a nhe do nia a nd recurren t d epressive disorde r a nd suicida l t hrea t. Furth er inform a-
t ion is need ed a bo u t mood reactivity, t he na ture of th e insomnia, diurnal variation ,
ex cessive gui lt, psyc ho mo tor agi tation o r re tarda tion, melancho lic sympt om s, hop e-
lessness, a nd t ho ug h ts of death. Alt hough sc ree ning ph ysical and neurological exa ms
a nd lab o rat ory eva luatio ns were negative, insidi ou s m edi ca l cond itions, d epresso-
ge nic m edi catio ns, an d drug a nd alco ho l ab use m ust a ll be ru led out. Concurrent
st resso rs an d availa ble su ppo r t sys te ms need to be ca re fully asses se d sin ce suc h
reso u rces ca n reduce th e impact of pot ent ial st ressors.
II. Mr. Z's positive fa m ily hist ory of suicide, alco hol ism and sociopathy has
ge ne tica lly pred isp osed him to a n affec tive disorde r. Thou g h job, marital, and famil y
stressors have been identifi ed , it is just as lik ely th a t t hey are a result rath er th an a
cause of th e depressive sym pto ms. Assu m ing th e re is not occult or subclinica l m edi cal
co nd itio n, prescribe d medicat ion, or alcoho l and dr ug us e th at is e t iologic a nd t hat
m ela ncho lic fea t ures a re prese n t, t he di a g nosis of Maj or De pressio n, singl e episode is
est a blished . Give n M r. Z's cu r rent cogn itiv e style, a hei gh ten ed risk for su icide is
pr esent.
III. If sufficien t fam ily support for M r. Z's ca re outsid e a st ruc t ure d e nviro nme nt
cannot be assured , inpat ie nt hospitalization is recomm ended. A het erocyclic an tide -
DEMYSTIFYING THE PSYCHIATRIC CASE FORMULATION 15

pr essant-rather than a MAOI or psychotherapy-would be th e treatm ent of choice,

monitored by a psychiatrist we ll-experienced with psychopharm acology. If th e insom-
nia was of th e init ial typ e, a more sedating drug lik e imipra mine, trazadone or
maprotiline wou ld be tried first. The pati ent and his rel atives wou ld be ed ucated
abou t th e depressive disorder, its prognosis , a nd th e th erap eutic an d side effects of
th e m edi cation. This ed uca t io n would includ e a dis cu ssion of th e a nticipated the ra-
pe ut ic effec t, th e est im a te d duration of treatm ent , a nd th e import a nce of co mplia nce
with medication and follow-up appointm ents. Sch eduled weekl y visits, with pho ne
calls as need ed, wou ld be set for th e first two months. Session s would be cha nged to
bimonthly and th en monthly, assuming ad equat e response and resolu tion of symp -
toms. In th e unlike ly event that only a partial response was ac hieved aft er 4 to 6
weeks , drug plasm a leve ls wou ld be drawn a nd th e do se would be adjust ed . If no
improvem ent in symptoms occurred , triiodothyronin e, 25 meg / day, would be ad ded .
If a noticeable response still had not occurred , a pr ot ocol for treat m en t-resista nt
depression wou ld be follow ed . Giv en that Mr. Z' s mood di sord er had sufficiently
improved, th e need for con current psychotherapy would be assessed . Drug main te-
nance wou ld con tinue for at least six months a fte r a full rem iss ion of symptoms. This
wou ld be at approximat ely 50-75% of th e th erapeutic dos e. Subseq ue nt ly, t he dos ag e
wou ld be furth er tapered a nd th en di scontinu ed if possibl e.

PSYCHODYNAMIC FORM ULATION

I . The patient is a 40-year-old m arri ed bu sin essman who prese nt ed for evalua -
tion a nd treatm ent afte r being pa ssed over for promotion a bo u t e ig ht we eks prior to
eva lu a t ion. Sin ce th en he not es dysphoria , a nhe d onia, a nd veg eta tive symptoms of
depression. H e al so reports a recurring th ought to run off a nd be fre e of demands,
a nd a nightm are in whi ch he expe r ie nce d a profound dread of bein g far away a nd lost.
Hi s fath er wa s describ ed as tyr annical, crit ica l, a nd unsu ccessful as a businessm an ,
whil e mother wa s overprot ective and intru sive. Sh e wor ked , a nd th ou gh sh e did not
dat e or remarry, lead an active socia l life a fte r her hu sband a bando ned th e fam ily
wh en the pati ent was 12. Mr. Z appears to m eet criteria for a di agn osis of Major
Depressive Episod e. His fami ly history is positive for chro nic de pression as well as
alcohol depend en ce, sui cid e and a n tisocia l beh avior sugges t ing t he possibility of a
gene t ic pr edisposition for major psychopathology, specifica lly for uni pola r depres-
sion. Mr. Z is in th e latt er sta ge of ad ult "se tt ling down " or th e beginn ing of mid- life,
bringing with it th e perception th at one has a limit ed fu t ure an d highl igh ting the
incr eased import an ce of st a bility and pr ogression occu pat ionally a nd enduring
intimat e and socia l relationship. Stressors suc h as marit al a nd fa m ily difficul ties as
well as being pas sed ove r for pr omotion could be not ewor th y na rcissistic injuries
which co uld furth er pr edispose M r. Z tow ard clinical depression .
II . Mr. Z a ppe a rs to have a ce n t ra l co nflict between a need to be perfect a nd in
con t rol, a nd a n und erl yin g im a ge of him self as weak , impe rfect , an d lon ely. He
recognizes in himself a mi ld d egree of an ger toward superiors an d peers, but has
never expressed thi s. H e int ernalized his m oth er's ex pectat ions , bu t harbors substa n-
16 J EFF ERSON J O URNAL OF PSYCHIATRY

tial a nge r a t her over-intrusive d emands a nd pushes asi de th e issu e of father. H e

fr equ ently look ed for suppor t from mal e t each ers but seld om foun d a mentor. H e
expe rie nce s a good d eal of self-doubt , but hid es this effec t ively a t work. Falling in love
a nd ea rly marriage was clearly a positive t ime, alt ho ugh he often has want ed to
con trol th e m arri age.
The patient's d epression ca n be underst ood in t erm s of his und erlying pr ofou nd
di sappointm ent in him self, his fear of failure in his mother 's eyes, inabilit y to ga in
a t te n tio n from th e boss, and fear of ex pos ure to his wife. The conflict between a need
to prove him self a nd his fea r of in ad equ acy, d ependency an d loss of control is ce ntral.
The ages of his child re n reinfor ce a fant asy th at to leave is a solution whi ch he
ex pe rie nce d wit h his father. Prima ry defenses in clude re pression, regression , introj ec-
tion , int ell ectuali zation a nd isol ation of a ffec t.
III. Int ervention with a n a n t ide pressa n t medica ti on such as f1uoxetine is t he
prefe rred initial treatm ent. H owever , it ca n be a nt icipa te d that Mr. Z will expe rie nce
di fficulty with co n t ro l, dependence on m ed ica ti on , a nd acc eptance of his illn ess. H e
may be gua rde d, scr upulous, qu erulou s, ove rco nsc ie n t ious a nd obstinat e. H e is lik ely
to become di stru stful of th e th erapi st a nd fear he is co nt ro lled , and und erl ying
conflicts a nd tran sference react ions will emerge as a part of medication manage-
m ent.
The patie nt may a tte m pt to elicit sup port from t he th erapi st espec ia lly if t he
th erapi st is m al e. Initi all y, he may be ing rati at ing and superfica lly com plia n t, bu t
soo n Mr. Z m ay e ngage t he th e rapi st in com petitive str uggles a nd may well see him
as un caring, as was t he sit uat ion wit h his fat her. H e nce, a d eva luation of t he
t hera pe u t ic p rocess m ay d evelop , wh e re a ny suggest ions or recomm endat ion s by t he
t he ra pist m ay be m e t with di sd ain . Thus, th e th e rapist will ne ed to be attuned to t he
pati ent 's need for a rel ation ship, and sim ultaneo us fea r of in t im acy. The th erap ist
m us t be ac t ive wit h th e patient , ye t resp ect both th e necessary distance an d
fu nda me n tal feelings of int ru sion whi ch t his patien t will experie nce.

BEHAVIORAL FO RMU LATION

I. A t th e age of 40 , Mr. Z is expe rie nc ing his firs t episode of major depressive
d isord er. There is prob abl e evide nce for a n Axis II dia g nosis of obs essive-compulsive
person ality di sord er. Mr. Z has ex pe rienced a profound change in his behavior over a
six-week pe ri od m anifest ed by mar ked ly reduced e nviro n me n tal int eractions with in a
ra nge of social stim uli (job, hobbies, fa mily), by cog nit ive distor tions (sadn ess, recent
t ho ug hts of d eath), a nd by alte re d ph ysiological be haviors (sleep , appetit e, ene rgy
level ). Th e two maj or clinica l hyp oth eses are t hat a change in work sta t us (failure to
be promot ed ) an d a loss of so u rce of person al reinfor ce me n t (d ecr eas ed mari tal
sa tisfactio n) were sufficie nt to elicit th e ex press ion of d epressive sym ptom s.
II . Bei ng passed over for pro motion a nd t he loss of personal reinforcem en t
a ppe ar to have precipi tat ed a n um ber of nega tive schemas . These are ampli fication s
of preexist ing learned behavior an d cog nit ive patterns (res tricted e m ot iona l res po n-
sivity, nega t ive cog nit ive se t, excessive expectations) as well as an inn at e gen eticall y
det e r m ined vulnerability to loss of e nviro nmen tal reinforcers (mat ernal grandfathe r
DEMYSTIFYING THE PSYCHIATRI C CASE FORM ULATIO N 17

comm itted suicide) and maladaptive familial patt erns of beh avio r, possibly secondary
to al exithym ia (alcoholism and sociopathy in famil y m embers).
III. Treatm ent planning would incl ude cog nit ive strat egies to recognize and
diminish negative sch emas or cog nitio ns and d evelop or incr ease posi t ive a ttributions
and int eractions. Rel axa t ion training and distraction procedures would be under-
tak en to h elp sec u re sound slee p and diminished nocturnal rum in at ion. T he central
th em e to treatm ent planning would be to help Mr. Z reestablish control over his own
th ink in g. H o m ewor k would be as sig ne d to reinforce th ese ac tivities after they had
been mod elled in th e office. Also included would be a n exe rc ise regime n with da ily
quotas. Sp ecific hypothes es would be fo rmulat ed a nd t est ed by havin g t he pa tient
gather and reco rd data (for exa m ple, improvem ent in mood following exercise or the
abi lit y to disru pt nocturnal rumination) .
The marital situation wou ld be explored furth er ba sed o n th e obse rva t ion tha t
th e recen t cha nge in his wife's responses is more lik ely to reinforce helpl essn ess and
maladaptive sic k ro le behavior than a heal t hy int eract ion a nd norm al sex life. If
appropriate, couples th erapy wou ld be suggest ed to modify th ese int eracti on s. In view
of t he biologica l features of illn ess, trea tment with m edi cation would be sugges ted
but acceptance wou ld d ep end on th e pati ent 's a t t ribu t ions a nd beli efs abou t t he
appropriat en ess of medi cation a nd it s possible efficacy. Th e pati ent 's high need for
con t rol might well cre a te a re luct an ce to tak e drugs although , if ini t iated, complia nce
wou ld probably be exce lle n t. Concurrent drug a nd beh avioral trea t me nt cou ld be
syn ergistic a nd ben eficial.
The imm ediat e prognosis would be exce lle n t, based on t he fact t ha t this is a first
e pisode in an individual with high levels of ac hieve me n t. Mr. Z's persona lit y sty le will
be co nd uc ive to strong colla bo ra t ion in th erap y based o n a need to mast ery. The
pr ognosis for th e marriag e would be less ce r tain, based o n th e wife's possible
pr eferen ce for her hu sband in his d epressed sta te .

BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL FORMULATION

I. Mr. Z is a 40-year-old m arried businessman whose d epressive-lik e sym ptoms

began short ly aft er being pas sed ove r for a promotion. Other st ressors a ppear to be
chron ic marital and sexu a l problems a nd th e fa ct that his two child re n a re nea rin g
th e ag e of inde pe nd e nce and th e age wh en he experi en ced a sig nifican t trau ma in his
own life, i.e ., t he desertion by his fath er wh en he was 12. Although th ere is a positive
fami ly history for alc oholism , suicide and sociop athy, Mr. Z denies o t he r psychia tric
symptoms or t reatment for himself. Mr . Z' s fami ly history of alcoholism, suicide, a nd
sociopathy makes it likely th at he has a genetic predispo sition for affect ive illn ess. He
a ppe a rs to have major conflicts over d ep enden cy a nd a u to no my. Becau se of his ea rlier
expe rie nce with significant loss, th e withdrawal of a tte n t ion a nd affec t ion by Mr. Z's
wife a nd th e growing ind ependence of his child re n represent sig nifica nt precipita ti ng
eve n ts. Mr. Z has cons ide rable difficulty expressing e mo t ions a nd affec tion . He is
con t rolling a nd perfecti onisti c. Hi s cog nit ive style is obsessive-compulsive. His
prim a ry d efenses are repression , regression , int roj ecti on , isolat ion of affect, a nd
int ell ectualization . Mr. Z's sociocult ural ba ckground has hel ped to instill in him a
18 J EFFERSON J O URN AL OF PSYCHIATRY

ba sic beli ef in the va lu e of hard work , stoicism a nd se lf-re lia nce wit h little dep en-
d en ce on ex tra-fa m ilial sources of su ppor t. From a you ng age , he has be e n reinfo rced
to sac rifice himself and to main tain th e rol e of provider a nd nurtu re r to o th ers who
have d epended upon him for suppo r t. Mr. Z is a lso di st ant from his fam ily of ori gin
and his cur re n t life ce n te rs a ro u nd his immediat e fam ily. Hi s ro le has been as a
provid er to a wife and child re n wh o have been d ep end ent up on hi m . M r. Z and his
wife have not been ab le to form a sa tisfac tory m arit al coa lit ion, th ey do few things
to gether, and th eir sexual relationship has det eriorat ed. Hi s wife had withdrawn
e mo tiona lly and sexu a lly from him until his recent problem s, whi ch promot ed her
attention a nd conce rn . Mr. Z has been ab le to ad apt fa irl y well ed ucat ionally and
occupationally, and is a su ccessful bu sin essman . Howeve r , he has limited social
re lat ionships, no clos e fri ends, and few independ ent recr eation al ac t ivities .
II. M r. Z's proba ble biolog ica l pred isposition to affective ins ta bility, coupl ed with
t he a bandonment by his fat her a nd fa m ilial and sociocultural reinforcem ent , res ulted
in t he development of a rigid , obs ess ive-compulsive person ality. Hi s rol e evo lved into
on e of stoic, hard-working, se lf-sac rifice in the servi ce of ot he rs wh o are d ep e nde nt
upon him a nd a d enial of his own d ep endency need s. While ada pt ive educationally
and occupationally, his personality st ruc t ure a nd ego defenses result ed in an isolated
lifestyle a nd th e inabilit y to acknowled ge his own feelings or to rel at e to o th ers with
warmth a nd a ffec t io n. The sym bo lic a ba ndon me n t by his wife a nd child re n reawak-
e ne d old d ependen cy co nflicts, threat ened his adapt ive ro le in life, overwhe lm ed his
rigid defen ses , a nd result ed in a nxie ty, regression , a nd depression.
III. A probl em list includ es I ) clinical depression ; 2) marital discord including
se xua l difficult ies; 3) an obsessive-co m pulsive style ; 4) limit ed social support sys te m
with fri ends; a nd 5) limit ed recr eation al ac tivit ies. In it ial t rea t m e nt will includ e an
a n t ide pres sa n t and support ive psych othe rapy evo lving to insigh t-o ri e nt ed treatm ent
as d epressive sym pto ms a ba te, possibl y in a group format. Couples the rapy including
wo r k on se x issu es co uld a lso be initiat ed afte r sym p to m ame lio ration . Finally, th e
patient will be aide d in incr easin g his suppor t sys te m a nd recreat ion al activities.
Sin ce this is a sing le, discr et e episode of depression in a pe rson with good
pr e-morbid fun ctioning, th e pr ognosis for a return to a baseline level is good. It is
lik ely that Mr. Z's d epressive sym p to ms will respond to m edi cati on . His ob sess ive
co m pu lsive personalit y disorder a nd unm e t dep enden cy need s are lon gst a nding
problems wit h a more gu ard ed prognosis th at depends on his a bility to engage in
effec tive psychot he rapy and to expa nd a nd modify his ran ge of con tacts a nd ac tivit ies.
Th e prognosis for his marria ge is a lso g ua rde d a nd d ep ends up on th e willingness of
his wife and himself to exa m ine th eir relationship, ex plore new avenu es of int erac-
tion , a nd modify th eir rol es. Marit al th erap y will lik ely be required to accomplish
th ese go a ls.

DISCUSSIO N

Althou gh t he re a re so me di fferen ces in em phasis in th e formu lat ions of th e case

of Mr. Z, a side -by-side co mparison shows sim ila rities in st r uc t u re , con te n t a nd
 DEMYSTIFYI NG THE PSYCHIATRIC CASE FO RMU LAT ION 19

process of th e four reports. Structurally, eac h ori entation includ es descriptive,

e tiologica l, a nd treatm ent-prognosti c functions.
An exa m ina t io n of th e cont ent in each section of th e four ori entations shows
differences in e m p hasis but also str iking similarities . Each orient a ti on recognizes th e
importance of data in a ll three of th e biological , psych ological , a nd social sphe res;
a r rives at a diagnosis co m pa tible with DSM-III-R; advoca tes int ervention with
m edi cation s as well as some typ e of psychotherapy; a nd a t tempts to pr edi ct th e
possible out com e of treatm ent.
An examination of process of th e four formul ation s lik ewise shows differen ces in
e m phasis as well as similariti es. Ea ch formulation moves in sequ en ce from a
sta te me n t of th e pertinent d ata, to an a tte m p t to ex pla in th e mea ning of th e da ta,
a nd finall y to recommend sp ecific t reatm ent bas ed up on th at u nderstanding. Each
formul ation a tte m p ts to id entify sym p to ms a nd to orches trat e t he ir treatm ent in a
m anner consis te n t with it s view of psych op atholo gy.
The writt en case formulation is becoming a re q uirem ent in clini cal pr acti ce.
This paper has a rg ue d th at a n effec t ive case formula ti o n has t hree com ponen ts:
diagnostic, e t iolog ica l and treatm en t-progn ostic, a nd th at the lit e ra t u re (4-9) sug-
gest th ese co m po ne nts a re co m mon in t he way cur re n t biological , psychodynamic,
cog nit ive-be havioral, and biopsychosocial formul ation s a re concept ualized and writ-
t en . Fin all y, side -by-side com pa riso n of th e four Mr. Z case fo r mu la tio ns illustrat e th e
utility of this form at. It is hop ed that th e prop osed for mat will dem ystify case
formulation s and aid psychi atry resid ents in co nce pt ualizing an d writing more
effec t ive psychia tric case formul ati on s.

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