Theoretical Models in Clinical Psychology
Part A
The clinical formulation is a skill in clinical psychology of deriving sense from a person’s problems relating to their social circumstances, their relations with other persons, regular events and the knowledge made from those activities. It can be simple and can also be complicated. The formulation is concerned with opinions and fiction created by a therapist and affected by various factors, some controlled and some not (McLeod & McLeod, 2015). Diagnosis involves the identification of disease from a patient basing on signs and symptoms their medical history without any laboratory examination or therapeutic procedures. Both clinical formulation and diagnosis rely on mental health (Zehr, 2015). The two modes of treatment offer almost the same final results, and the two procedures differ by the means at which the results. The clinical formulation is an intense medical procedure that relies on facts and hypothesis. Diagnosis, on the other hand, draws its strength from the immediate cause of a disorder, and then the therapist makes a final judgment without considering the side effects.
The clinical formulation is a collaborative process between the clinician and the client. It is considered more effective as compared to diagnosis. There is evidence observed from two sound sources. The patient explains personal life stories, experiences, and the results of their different relationships and the psychiatric also converges the knowledge obtained from researches, clinical theories and experiences (Dobson, & Dobson, 2018). The clinician can have a clear understanding of the patient’s problem; the clinician can evaluate the problem and identify the causes and possible remedies that can be employed to deal with the problem. If the problem is not grown, in that it is at its early stages, then the solution is likely to be identified with ease. An effective decision is considering both the patients and the clinician’s knowledge (Vanheule, 2017). The patients’ cooperation in terms of honesty and determination to deal with the problem, combined with clinicians’ knowledge determines the effectiveness of the treatment.
The clinical formulation has high acceptability among patients and also the psychologists. Compared to diagnosis, which requires experts to make judgments and does not base on deficits, formulations pay more attention to the patients’ ability to survive in more difficult and challenging situations in life. Formulation deals with all forms of distress. Drafting considers that all complicated cases regardless of the rate, will at some point have a successful solution (Boateng, & Catanzano, 2015). The formulas consider the diagnosis since it consists of the evaluation process of the cause of the situation at hand. It is therefore accepted by most patients since some diagnoses are accompanied by side effects from the prescriptions given. Formulation mostly is a procedure, but the results are usually dependable and successful.
The clinical formulation is more credible. There is a high rate of transparency in the clinical formulation as compared to diagnosis. It has a clear and consistent formula for approaching a situation and making conclusions (Mora-Rios, Ortega-Ortega, & Natera, 2016). The clinician does not take the case at hand and concludes immediately. He or she evaluates the problem and identifies the cause.
Moreover, he assigns the patient with particular tasks as part of the healing process. The patient needs some precautions to help avoid the increase in the rate of the problem addressed. After healing the patient is still accompanied with instructions to follow. In diagnosis, a patient may just be given some drugs for medication gets, even without being told what the problem is or might be.
The clinical formulation is predictive. The formulation process allows the caregiver to identify the state of the patient at a given time. The formulation allows the clinician to converge interest in a different area. The clinician can know that the problem either lies or does not lie in a given area. The clinician, therefore, can convert attention from one particular area to another area of interest. The conclusion is usually not made until the patient is fully recovered. Formulation, therefore, allows the management of therapy procedures and practices for the efficient healing of the patient (Harrison, & Fazel, 2017). The clinician can predict that the healing process will be successful by observing the changes that are occurring on the patients’ health.
Both psychological formulation and diagnosis are two distinct fields of medical practices that serve almost the same purpose. In contrast, the two processes use almost different procedures to arrive at their final results. Diagnosis is more ancient than the clinical formulation. Diagnosis has faced significant criticism in the recent past because most people who undergo diagnosis tend to experience isolation and stigmatization from healthy people. On the other hand, the clinical formulation is inclusive, and it helps the patients cope up with their disorders by involving them in activities that are not discriminative (Hayes, 2016). Secondly, psychological formulation dwells in the creation of a hypothesis that gives room to the therapist to construct all possible factors that may have led to a person experiencing a disorder before making judgments. On the other hand, diagnosis involves serious scrutiny that will enable the therapist to come up with an expert analysis that used to derive possible answers to the cause of a disorder.
Thirdly, psychological formulation involves the mining of information from the patient’s historical past and trying to link up two possible factors as to be the cause of a disorder (Portney, 2020). In contrast, diagnosis seeks to know the immediate cause of a disease. Then it tends to look for possible remedies drawing speculation from past cases. Besides, clinical formulation creates a platform where a patient’s difficulties are the subject of medication. The therapist ensures that all the information regarding the patient is all summed up and used to derive various treatment plants. Diagnosis, on the other hand, is majorly concerned with the existence of a disorder, and it does not propose a target that should be achieved by the end of the diagnosis procedure.
Part B
Psychological therapy is a healing exercise that gives a patient room to deal with their difficulties in a safe setting. The therapist aims to aid a patient to understand their feelings concerning their experiences. Therapies are provided in a non-judgmental and supportive environment and allow every person to share their experiences that led them to feel traumatized. Therefore, it is essential for a person suffering from a particular trauma to seek for a therapy session. There are different types of therapies that a person can attend. The treatments include Behavior therapy, Cognitive therapy, Humanistic therapy, and Holistic or Integrative therapy (Gillan, Kosinski, Whelan, Phelps, & Daw, 2016). All these forms of treatments have similar end goals, and it is prudent for a person to identify the kind of therapy that suits the problem at hand.
John is a shy person. The shyness is rooted in his nerves, and this has made him make irrational judgments that have lowered his dignity. John is unable to deliver a speech to his colleagues, and it makes him feel stupid that he ends up boycotting his work. It clear that John needs a live therapy session. I propose that he undergoes behavior therapy since shyness is a behavior that can be corrected. The next step that should follow the identification of the therapy is to set up a clinical formulation that will ensure that the shyness problem is solved. The clinical formulation is a technical process that involves several steps for the operation of therapy to be successful. The steps that determine the success of a clinical formulation are, assessment, working hypothesis, experiments to gauge the pre case clinical formulation and action plan (Beck, Davis, & Freeman, (Eds.). 2015). All these steps are critical in understanding disorders a person is undergoing and hence it advisable to get the most out of each level.
As a therapist, it is an obligation to know that John is a patient that needs urgent attention. Therefore, a thorough assessment to be carried out. The evaluation should determine the existence of specific disorders, problems and symptoms (Michalak, Schultze, Heidenreich, & Schramm, 2015). The prdifficultieshould include excessive worry, low moods, relationship difficulties and extreme anxiety. All these problems are the leading causes that make a person lose confidence and are detrimental to the dignity of a person. The therapist should then inform John that all the problems mentioned are healthy and treatable. The therapist should also engage John directly and be sincere with him to build a rapport. The rapport will ensure that there are mutual trust and confidence.
Secondly, the therapist should now formulate a hypothesis based on the factors derived from the assessment. A reasonable assumption should entail all the elements that made John develop a shyness problem. The therapist is now able to reflect on the situation affecting John and can come up with strategies that will help John cope up with his condition. The therapist also should know the most recent factors that provoked the latest series of disorders. The elements act as solid background that the therapist will use to build the maintaining factors and protective factors (Collins, Reith, Emberson, Armitage, Baigent, Blackwell, & Evans, 2016). The protective factors act as an advantage to John in case he encounters similar factors that lead to him experiencing symptoms of severe shyness. With the experiences from various patients, the therapist should also ensure that john is at ease and that the therapist should put away all the factors that may rejuvenate the shyness disorder. In the end, all the elements that make John experience severe shyness should come to him as a test.
The next step that should follow the hypothesis is the setting up of experiments to confirm the authenticity of the initial clinical case formulation. The process of testing the case formulation is crucial because it helps the therapist to verify whether the hypotheses about the agents that led to the symptoms and problems of John (Fayol, 2016). I.e., the therapist may employ the use of public speaking to gauge the progress that john is making toward getting to pushing nervousness away. From the test, the therapist will know whether John is embracing the skills that he is learning or that the therapist should change the mode of therapy or all together come up with different approaches to that are more advanced. A mock test is also fundamental when it comes to the patient because it serves as a platform that presents real-world that the person is going to face once the therapy session is over.
Once the therapy session gets over, it is wise to follow the course with action plans. The therapist should maintain a close relationship with John. The therapist ensures continuity by maintaining close cooperation, and it will help be readily available to assist John whenever faced with other difficulties that may awaken the anxiety problem. Moreover, John should engage in physical exercises like athletics, soccer and gym. Physical exercise is an activity that is prudent for the proper functioning of our bodies (Segal & Teasdale, 2018). Exercise helps us regulate our body calories, and it makes us active. John will get exposed to a less stressful situation; hence anxiety will fade away.
Psychological therapy is an essential medical exercise that any person suffering from any disorder should undergo. Therapies help a person to understand that they are just experiencing some diseases that are not having permanent repercussions in their lives. I believe that behavior therapy is the ideal therapy that John ought to undergo because extreme shyness is part of behavior that is awakened by certain factors whenever a person gets faced with stressful situations. Therefore, I believe that with the treatment that I have outlined, and then John will be able to recover from extreme shyness and embrace a social life that will make him confident. Lastly, John should face his fears and be able to present his disorder case to his boss. The boss will henceforth understand John’s concerns.
References
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