About this resource
A good formulation helps clients make sense of their difficulties and see why a treatment plan fits. This template organises information into five widely used areas: what is happening now, background factors, what triggered things, what keeps them going and the strengths and supports that protect the person. It is designed to be completed with the client in plain language.
Purpose
To support a shared, plain-language understanding of a client's difficulties that guides treatment planning.
Who it is for
Primary profession: Psychologists. Also relevant for counsellors and therapists.
Client or participant group: Adolescents and adults in psychological treatment, with the formulation developed collaboratively with the client.
Practice setting: Assessment and early treatment sessions in private practice, community mental health and other psychological services.
Suggested uses
- Building a shared formulation in early sessions
- Explaining a treatment rationale
- Revisiting the formulation when progress stalls
- Supervision and case discussion
Instructions for practitioners
- Gather assessment information using the approaches appropriate to your practice.
- Complete the map with the client, using their words wherever possible.
- Check that the formulation makes sense to the client and adjust it together.
- Link maintaining factors to treatment targets.
- Revisit and update the formulation over the course of treatment.
Instructions for clients or participants
- Help fill in each area in your own words.
- Tell your psychologist if anything does not feel right.
- Keep a copy if it helps you.
Accessibility considerations
Use plain language and diagrams. Complete over several sessions if needed, and offer a simplified copy to the client.
Scope and limitations
A clinical organising template for qualified practitioners. It is not a diagnostic tool, assessment instrument or validated measure, and it does not replace comprehensive assessment.
Research basis
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has a strong research base for anxiety, depression and many related problems; this resource uses CBT techniques to support, not replace, a structured treatment plan.
- Beck, J. S. (2021). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
- Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Review of Meta-analyses. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(5), 427–440. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-012-9476-1
What is included
A 3-page printable A4 PDF, including a practitioner notes page with the research basis (version 1.0).
Originality
Original Practitioner Plus content: wording, activity structure, layout and icons were created for this resource. No third-party worksheets, illustrations or text were reproduced. Organised around the widely used five-area (5 Ps) formulation structure: presenting, predisposing, precipitating, perpetuating and protective factors.
