Constructing a Joint Clinical Case Formulation and Treatment Plan with Families

Abstract

Following a comprehensive assessment, clinical formulation and treatment planning are key elements required in providing sound treatment. A direct link from the comprehensive assessment, the clinical formulation provides an overall summary of the presenting concerns reported and experienced by the family. Following the completion of the clinical formulation, the treatment plan then helps to organize and direct the therapist's approach to addressing concerns of the caregiver. This chapter provides an overview of case formulation and treatment planning, as well as an understanding of the significance culture plays in developing a joint case formulation and treatment plan with a caregiver. Further, it presents a brief overview of interventions, both therapy and pharmacological, which can be considered with young children as part of the case formulation and treatment planning process. The chapter highlights the importance of constructing a joint treatment plan with the child's caregivers. It reviews ways in which to share feedback about each of the sections of the evaluation and obtain consensus and "buy-in" from the caregiver about the nature of the child's difficulties and the appropriate treatments. It discusses how to handle parental resistance and defensiveness, as well as parental grief and/or denial. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)