Formulation in Psychology and Psychotherapy

by Lucy Johnstone (Editor), Rudi Dallos

The first edition of Formulation in Psychology and Psychotherapy caught the wave of growing interest in formulation in a clinical context. This completely updated and revised edition summarises recent practice, research, developments and debates while retaining the features that made the first a leading text in the field. It contains new chapters on personal construct formulation, formulation in health settings, and the innovative practice of using formulation in teams. The book sees formulation as a dynamic process which explores personal meaning collaboratively and reflectively, taking account of relational and social contexts. Two case studies, one adult and one child, illustrate the use of formulation from the perspectives of expert clinicians from six different theoretical positions. The book encourages the reader to take a constructively critical perspective on the many philosophical, professional and ethical debates raised by the process of formulating people’s problems. Among the issues explored This readable and comprehensive guide to the field provides a clear, up to date and thought-provoking overview of formulation from a number of perspectives, essential for clinicians working in all areas of mental health and social care, psychology, therapy and counselling.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Ioana Filipaş · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 'must read' book for psychology students - and why not - for anyone interested in different frameworks around constructing meaning. This idea of 'making sense' is not limited to being interested in clinical psychology, but is central to being human, as creatures driven by the ability of making sense of our experiences.

Overall a really got summary and critical analysis of formulation in the light of different therapeutic approaches to case studies, while also acknowledging the benefits these can bring in comparison to the medical/diagnosis model.

P.s. would definitely recommend reading this while taking notes and taking some time to digest the content.

[Dafni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book explores the process of formulation in clinical psychology and psychotherapy from a range of different perspectives including the major schools of thought: psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioural and systemic. I quite liked the view on integrative formulation combining clues from all therapeutic approaches.

The most thought-provoking chapter was ‘Social Inequalities’ written by Lynn McClelland, highlighting that we should always consider social factors and cultural context in the making of a formulation. Factors such as socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, migration, acculturation, disconnection from cultural heritage, and social cohesion might play a significant role in the mental health difficulties one is facing. Thus, formulation and intervention should be informed by contextual and multi-dimensional view.

Key messages to take home:
- Formulation is a collaborative process, with the individual & team
- As professionals we should always be open to re-formulate
- Reflect and be aware of the harm/distress it might cause to the individual
- Ensure our formulations are culturally sensitive, non-judgmental, take into account wider social/political factors
- Always consider possible role of trauma and abuse

“The potential criticisms and limitations of formulation echo the potential criticisms and limitations of therapy itself.”

[Iona Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[Nickita Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides an in-depth exploration of formulation within psychological practice. The authors offer a nuanced overview of different theoretical approaches, including cognitive-behavioural, psychodynamic, systemic, and narrative perspectives, allowing readers to appreciate the diversity and flexibility of formulation. One of the book’s key strengths lies in its emphasis on collaboration and the co-construction of meaning between client and practitioner, which reflects the core values of counselling psychology. Johnstone and Dallos also critically examine the limitations of diagnostic models, highlighting the importance of understanding distress within social, cultural, and relational contexts. This critical stance encourages reflective and ethical practice, prompting practitioners to remain aware of issues of power, labelling, and individualisation. While the book is dense in parts, its clear structure and use of case examples make it both accessible and practically relevant. Overall, it is an essential resource for trainee counselling psychologists, offering both theoretical depth and practical guidance for developing formulation skills that are integrative, reflective, and person-centred.

[Rehnuma Choudhury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this at the beginning of the year and remember thinking at the time that it was useful for understanding modality-specific formulation processes, but not all too useful as a guidebook for day to day formulation of different presentations in different clinical situations, which is what I was hoping to learn more about.

The psychodynamic chapter, while helpful in illustrating how formulation might work within the discipline, did not do much to help me to understand how to actually formulate problems psychodynamically as the formulations themselves seemed overly dependent on clinician interpretation without a solid framework to use. I get that formulation is mainly a CBT thing - but I was also hoping to gain a general idea of how to conceptualise different presentations.

Maybe what I really needed was a book on formulation frameworks / strategies - but in any case, this book wasn't it.

[Yinxue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed in how dull and un-informative this is for clinical practice.

[Harriet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, great book on formulation for any psychologist in practice. Reading this has shaped my work. Favourite chapter was the one on team formulation.

[Margo · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Doing work for work outside of work*

To formulate or not to formulate, that is the question.

To me it’s one of those matter-of-fact things that happen naturally without much conscious deliberation. Whether it turns out to be correct and useful is a question for another time, but just like the „therapist nod” the formulation cogs start turning whenever the opportunity arises.

I found it particularly useful that authors used the same 2 scenarios for every formulation rather than different, perhaps more fitting ones. This showed very neatly that any of the approaches can be utilised in any context and it will make SOME, but not necessarily ALL or even A LOT of sense. Making sense, however, sometimes feels like making your way through gorse bushes. And that’s fine. That’s why we have all these tools for.