Abstract
In her recent paper, Jane Simms (Simms, 2011) asks if case formulation and the person-centred approach are an uncomfortable fit. The answer she suggests to this is, no, but only so long as the case formulation is ‘conducted in a way that respects clients choice, autonomy and expertise’ (p.35). This answer may on the face of it appear to accord with person-centre values, however I fear her approach does not fully acknowledge some of quite fundamental tensions between the philosophical position assumed within the person-centred approach and more ‘problem-focused’ clinical practices (e.g. Mearns, 2004) within which case formulation plays a central role. Indeed I would go further to argue that the model of person-centred case formulation she offers errs toward the latter and thus moves away from some of the central tenets of person-centred theory and practice.
Publisher
British Psychological Society
Subject
Psychiatry and Mental health,Applied Psychology,Clinical Psychology
Reference14 articles.
1. Dudley, R. & Kuyken, W. (2006). Formulation in cognitive-behavioural therapy: ‘There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so’. In L. Johnstone & R. Dallos (Eds.), Formulation in psychology and psychotherapy. Hove: Routledge.
2. Health Professions Council (2009). Standards of proficiency – practitioner psychologists. www.hpc-uk.org.
3. Johnstone, L. & Dallos, R. (2006). Introduction to Formulation. In L. Johnstone & R. Dallos (Eds.), Formulation in psychology and psychotherapy. Hove: Routledge.
4. Problem-centred is not person-centred;Mearns;Person-Centred and Experiential Psychotherapies,2004
5. Mearns, D. & Thorne, B. (2000). Person-centred therapy today: New frontiers in theory and practice. London: Sage.