ABSTRACT
The personal formulation is a visual representation (a flow chart) of the principal features and the mechanisms (illustrated by arrows), which seem to be maintaining an individual’s eating disorder. As explained in this chapter, the personal formulation is built collaboratively with the therapist during the first session of enhanced cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT-E), but it is updated periodically throughout the programme when new information on the eating-disorder maintenance mechanisms becomes available. Hence, the personal formulation is the road map that guides the treatment toward recovery from the eating disorder. How and why the personal formulation is drawn up are discussed in this chapter.
