Is diagnosis enough to guide interventions in mental health? Using case formulation in clinical practice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>While diagnosis has traditionally been viewed as an essential concept in medicine, particularly when selecting treatments, we suggest that the use of diagnosis alone may be limited, particularly within mental health. The concept of clinical case formulation advoc...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Macneil Craig A, Hasty Melissa K, Conus Philippe, Berk Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2012-09-01
Series:BMC Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/10/111
Description
Summary:<p>Abstract</p> <p>While diagnosis has traditionally been viewed as an essential concept in medicine, particularly when selecting treatments, we suggest that the use of diagnosis alone may be limited, particularly within mental health. The concept of clinical case formulation advocates for collaboratively working with patients to identify idiosyncratic aspects of their presentation and select interventions on this basis. Identifying individualized contributing factors, and how these could influence the person's presentation, in addition to attending to personal strengths, may allow the clinician a deeper understanding of a patient, result in a more personalized treatment approach, and potentially provide a better clinical outcome.</p>
ISSN:1741-7015