Commentary on formulations of a case of problematic behavior in an older adult

Abstract

This chapter provides a commentary on two previous author's analysis of a case study of hoarding behavior and interpersonal issues. Providing a commentary on two formulations of a clinical case by fellow mental health professionals is fraught with danger. The first is that the commentators inevitably bring with them their own, and potentially idiosyncratic, definitions of formulation and their own underlying theoretical and philosophical assumptions about the nature of explanation and causation in psychological science and clinical practice. The original formulators (Dunne and Barrett) may well reject the definitions and assumptions of the commentators. So, it is a good time, therefore, to lay such cards on the table. The two formulations reviewed in this chapter are strongly influenced by the psychodynamic tradition and some might argue that applying the kinds of criteria for validity and reliability from a cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) framework might reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the kinds of claim to truth being made by assertions in psychodynamic paradigms. There are some who have argued that constructs in psychoanalytic discourse belong more to a hermeneutic paradigm where practitioners are much more interested in meaning than in causal processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)(chapter)