The formulation below is based on the following scenario:
Note: Formulation is a psychotherapy term for a specific type of assessment. The Applied Learning Platform allows authors to use discipline-specific terms for an assessment. You can explore this formulation and the general framework for its construction in greater detail by selecting Examples in the Presenter component of the Platform.
Rochelle is a 41-year-old married white woman with two years of college. She has a 16-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son, both by men other than her current husband. Her firstborn child, a son, died five years ago in a motor vehicle accident at the age of 20. She tells you that the son was the product of a rape when she was 16 years old. Rochelle is currently living with her third husband, a man who works part-time and has chemical dependency problems. They jointly own a home with her husband’s sister who also lives with them and Rochelle’s two surviving children.
Rochelle is referred to you with complaints of depression, anxiety in most situations, difficulty sleeping, and chronic headaches. She has poorly controlled diabetes. She is tearful as she relates her suspicion that her husband is having an affair. She acknowledges that, in a rage, she scratched the length of his car with a key. She also mentions that her sister-in-law plans to move in with someone and will no longer be contributing to house payments. Rochelle has a history of suicidal ideation that did not lead to an attempt, and two psychiatric hospitalizations, both more than 10 years ago and both following threatened overdoses.
She reports that she was raised primarily by her grandmother and older sister, since her mother was with numerous men. Rochelle has few friends, but feels close to those she does have. She complains that she does not see them often because her husband likes her to stay at home. In her first session, Rochelle reports she is motivated for treatment, but does not come to her second appointment and does not call ahead to cancel.
Note: This is a partial formulation as evidenced by the buttons with a plus sign that indicate sections of the formulation are hidden from view.
