How do our patients come to be the way they are? What forces shape their conscious and unconscious thoughts and feelings? How can we use this information to best help them? Constructing psychodynamic formulations is one of the best ways for mental health professionals to answer questions like these. It can help clinicians in all mental health setting understand their patients, set treatment goals, choose therapeutic strategies, construct meaningful interventions and conduct treatment. Despite the centrality of psychodynamic formulation to our work with patients, few students are taught how to construct them in a clear systematic way. This book offers students and practitioners from all fields of mental health a clear, practical, operationalized method for constructing psychodynamic formulations, with an emphasis on the following steps: DESCRIBING problems and patterns REVIEWING the developmental history LINKING problems and patterns to history using organizing ideas about development. The unique, up-to-date perspective of this book integrates psychodynamic theories with ideas about the role of genetics, trauma, and early cognitive and emotional difficulties on development to help clinicians develop effective formulations. Psychodynamic Formulation is written in the same clear, concise style of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: A Clinical Manual (Wiley 2011). It is reader friendly, full of useful examples, eminently practical, suitable for either classroom or individual use, and applicable for all mental health professionals. It can stand alone or be used as a companion volume to the Clinical Manual.

How do our patients come to be the way they are?What forces shape their conscious and unconscious thoughtsand feelings?How can we use this information to best helpthem?Constructing psychodynamic formulations is one of the best waysfor mental health professionals to answer questions like these. Itcan help clinicians in all mental health setting understand theirpatients, set treatment goals, choose therapeutic strategiesconstruct meaningful interventions and conduct treatment.Despite the centrality of psychodynamic formulation to our workwith patients, few students are taught how to construct themin a clear systematic way. This book offers students andpractitioners from all fields of mental health a clear, practicaloperationalized method for constructing psychodynamic formulationswith an emphasis on the following steps:* DESCRIBING problems and patterns* REVIEWING the developmental history* LINKING problems and patterns to history using organizing ideasabout development.The unique, up-to-date perspective of this book integratespsychodynamic theories with ideas about the role of geneticstrauma, and early cognitive and emotional difficulties ondevelopment to help clinicians develop effective formulations.Psychodynamic Formulation is written in the same clearconcise style of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: A ClinicalManual (Wiley 2011). It is reader friendly, full ofuseful examples, eminently practical, suitable for either classroomor individual use, and applicable for all mental healthprofessionals. It can stand alone or be used as a companion volumeto the Clinical Manual.

Acknowledgments ixIntroduction xiPART ONE Introduction to the Psychodynamic Formulation11 What is a Psychodynamic Formulation? 32 How do We Use Psychodynamic Formulations? 83 How do We Construct a Psychodynamic Formulation? 12PART TWO DESCRIBE 174 Self 235 Relationships 326 Adapting 417 Cognition 528 Work and Play 61Putting it Together - A Description of Problems andPatterns 69PART THREE REVIEW 759 What We're Born with - Genetics and PrenatalDevelopment 8110 The Earliest Years 9011 Middle Childhood 10112 Later Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood 113Putting it Together - A Developmental History 123PART FOUR LINK 13513 Trauma 14314 Early Cognitive and Emotional Difficulties 15215 Conflict and Defense 16316 Relationships with Others 17317 The Development of the Self 18218 Attachment 191Putting it Together-A Psychodynamic Formulation 201PART FIVE Psychodynamic Formulations in Clinical Practice21319 Psychodynamic Formulations in Acute Care Settings 21520 Psychodynamic Formulation in Pharmacologic Treatment 22221 Psychodynamic Formulation in Long-Term PsychodynamicPsychotherapy: Revising Over Time 23022 Sharing Formulations with Our Patients 238Epilogue 247Appendix - How to Use Psychodynamic Formulation: A Guidefor Educators 249Recommended Reading 253Index 259