CPD

Use of individual formulation in mental health practice

Lauren Ashton Cox , Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Specialist in Psychosis, Halton and Warrington Early Intervention in Psychosis Service, St John’s Unit, North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Cheshire, England, and National Institute for Health Research pre-doctoral fellow

Why you should read this article:

• To understand the role of individual formulation in mental health practice
• To recognise how formulation can be used to understand, plan and implement service user care
• To learn about two transdiagnostic models of formulation that you could use in your practice

Formulation is a collaborative process that promotes shared understanding of a service user’s narrative to ensure their care is meaningful. This article provides an overview of individual formulation in mental health practice. It explores the interaction between formulation and interventions, and how mental health practitioners can work with service users by using formulation to plan and implement care. The article also presents two models of formulation – the five-area and 5Ps models – and explains how these can be used across a wide range of clinical presentations to understand a service user’s immediate problems and longer-term challenges, thus supporting the selection of appropriate evidence-based interventions.

Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2020.e1515

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

@LaurenAshtonCo2

Correspondence

lauren.cox@NWBH.nhs.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Cox LA (2020) Use of individual formulation in mental health practice. Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2020.e1515

Published online: 01 December 2020

Keywords :

care plans - mental health - mental health service users - mental health therapies - nursing care - patient assessment - patients - professional - psychological interventions - psychology