Handbook of Psychotherapy Case Formulation: Second Edition

This indispensable practitioner guide and text serves as a comprehensive primer on case formulation within all of the major therapeutic approaches. Prominent experts offer step-by-step guidelines for developing strong formulations and putting them to use in day-to-day practice. The chapters follow a standard format to allow comparison across models. Coverage includes the conceptual and empirical underpinnings of each approach, the relationship of case formulation to therapeutic technique, issues in treating clients from different backgrounds and with different types of presenting problems, and training resources. Illustrative case material and user-friendly examples of completed formulations are featured throughout.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Christopher J. Graver, PhD(Madigan Army Medical Center)
Description:This second edition addresses the topic of case formulation with the addition of case examples and information regarding multicultural competence. This is an update of the original, published in 1997.
Purpose:This book is intended to fill a gap in psychotherapy training that involves case formulation. It aims to bring research-based and statistically reliable methods into the process of case formulation.
Audience:It appears to be aimed squarely at clinical and counseling psychologists, but other therapists and counselors would probably find it beneficial. The editor has experience in clinical as well as scholarly practice. The book brings together 22 other researchers and clinicians in the areas of psychology and psychiatry to share their experience and knowledge.
Features:A useful introduction to case formulation begins the book, and includes conceptual frameworks and common tensions. A chapter on multicultural awareness follows. After these introductory chapters, specific chapters cover case formulation from a variety of psychological approaches, including psychoanalysis, cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, and dialectical behavior therapy. Each chapter contains a history of the approach, specific tenets, steps involved in the approach, empirical support for the approach, and case examples. Sample questionnaires and interview formats are provided when appropriate, giving the book a very hands-on flavor.
Assessment:This book provides an excellent introduction to case formulation for novice therapists. Through case examples, a wide variety of conceptual approaches are delineated and multicultural competence addressed. Readers should keep in mind, however, that the book assumes some familiarity with therapeutic approaches and the therapy process. Nonetheless, the authors have succeeded in describing the normally automatic process of case conceptualization in a way that is straightforward and practical, making it a useful addition to clinical practice and supervision.

Tracy D. Eells, PhD, received his doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Program on Conscious and Unconscious Mental Processes at the University of California, San Francisco. He is currently Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He has a busy individual and group psychotherapy practice and teaches psychotherapy to psychiatry residents and clinical psychology graduate students. Dr. Eells has published several papers on psychotherapy case formulation and has conducted workshops on the topic for professionals. He is on the editorial boards of multiple psychotherapy journals and currently serves as Executive Officer of the Society for Psychotherapy Research.