• The Case Formulation Approach To Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
The case formulation approach to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) places emphasis on each individual client’s needs, as opposed to generalized and standard methods of treatment. This approach serves to help therapist make informed, evidence-based decisions to accommodate each client’s unique situation. It can be difficult to apply empirically supported treatment (EST) protocol to patients with comorbid disorders and patients in a variety of other situations. The protocols tend not to be useful in complex situations, such as when patients are not cooperative, are difficult to build rapport with, or patients who are unresponsive to EST protocols. When clients present with multiple disorders, it is important to address the most problematic disorder
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Data can be collected by various means, such as self-report from the client, the client’s family, from interviewing the client, notes from other treatment providers. The central purpose to case formulations are to identify what factors or influences are causing the client dysfunction. There are several specific things to identify when developing a case formulation, which are the client’s diagnosis, symptoms, specific issues, driving mechanisms, precipitance of the issue, as well as the origins of the mechanisms (p. 5). When conducting the case formulation, it is important to establish an idiographic mechanism hypothesis. Starting out with a generalized nomothetic mechanism hypothesis, the therapist must individualize the hypothesis to create the idiographic mechanism hypothesis. The distinction between the idiographic and nomothetic hypotheses is that the idiographic factors in the specific client’s symptoms, schemas, automatic thoughts, maladaptive behaviors, and emotions (p. 6). In treatment panning, treatment targets that are maintaining the client’s maladaptive cognitions or behaviors are established. Those specific maintaining conditions are then addressed specifically in the treatment plan. In order to prevent nonadherence to the treatment plan, they should be tailored to each specific client and their unique situation; the more individualized, the more likely a client will adhere to the
Data can be collected by various means, such as self-report from the client, the client’s family, from interviewing the client, notes from other treatment providers. The central purpose to case formulations are to identify what factors or influences are causing the client dysfunction. There are several specific things to identify when developing a case formulation, which are the client’s diagnosis, symptoms, specific issues, driving mechanisms, precipitance of the issue, as well as the origins of the mechanisms (p. 5). When conducting the case formulation, it is important to establish an idiographic mechanism hypothesis. Starting out with a generalized nomothetic mechanism hypothesis, the therapist must individualize the hypothesis to create the idiographic mechanism hypothesis. The distinction between the idiographic and nomothetic hypotheses is that the idiographic factors in the specific client’s symptoms, schemas, automatic thoughts, maladaptive behaviors, and emotions (p. 6). In treatment panning, treatment targets that are maintaining the client’s maladaptive cognitions or behaviors are established. Those specific maintaining conditions are then addressed specifically in the treatment plan. In order to prevent nonadherence to the treatment plan, they should be tailored to each specific client and their unique situation; the more individualized, the more likely a client will adhere to the