ABSTRACT
Formulation is as intrinsically joined and necessary to therapy as fuel is to a motor vehicle. Formulation of psychological problems at both the maintenance level (what keeps a problem going once started) and the developmental or historical level (what may have caused the problem) are what has allowed successful development and application of cognitive therapy over the years. In essence, it must be stressed that the techniques and tools of cognitive therapy should be implemented only in the context of an understanding (on behalf of both the therapist and patient) of why the problem developed, how it is maintained, and why a particular intervention may be effective.
