ABSTRACT
This chapter examines theoretical understandings of personality and how these are a fundamental contributor to valid formulations that capture the essence of what it means to be a person. It shows how personality explains from a biological, psychological and social perspective how a person relates to themselves, to others and to the world around them. The impact of personality on mental health is considered as well as how it can be integrated into a formulation to ensure that a comprehensive perspective of the client and their difficulties is captured, enhancing the validity and utility of the psychological formulation and strengthening the therapeutic relationship. This ensures that it is meaningful and contextualised for each individual client, which is at the core of psychological formulation, setting it apart from other practices. Specific psychological disorders are presented through the lens of personality factors. The chapter also brings to awareness that as personality factors do not relate solely to the client, dynamic factors between the practitioner and the client need to be addressed to understand what happens in the professional relationship. It explores how the assessment of personality is a dynamic and organic process, continually adapting and changing as the therapeutic relationship evolves and new knowledge arises in the various professional encounters.
