ABSTRACT
As noted in a previous chapter, a clinical formulation is one of the four dimensions of a case conceptualization. It provides an explanation of the client’s presentation, and offers a rationale for the client’s symptoms, concerns, level of functioning, and maladaptive relational pattern. It answers the “why” question. The cultural formulation likewise provides an explanation for the client’s presentation but from a different perspective than the clinical formulation. It describes impact of cultural factors on the client and answers the “what role does culture play” question. The cultural formulation provides a cultural explanation of the client’s presentation as well as the impact of cultural factors of the client’s personality and level of functioning. This chapter focuses on both these dimensions of the case conceptualization. It describes the clinical formulation and its key elements, and illustrates these with case material. Then, it describes the cultural formulation and its key elements, and illustrates these with case material. As a prelude to this discussion, we will briefl y describe explanations and explanatory power and the reasoning processes involved in constructing case conceptualizations.
