Case Formulation with Children and Adolescents

Katharina Manassis, MD, FRCPC, is Staff Psychiatrist and Senior Associate Scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, where she founded and continues to work in the Anxiety Disorders Program for children and youth. The Program focuses on the development and scientific evaluation of cognitive-behavioral treatments. Dr. Manassis is also Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and a member of the Human Development and Applied Psychology Department at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. These appointments allow her to supervise graduate students, residents, and fellows in the treatment and study of childhood anxiety. Dr. Manassis leads several funded research studies to better understand and treat childhood anxiety disorders. She has written over 70 papers in professional journals in this field and is the author of two widely read books for parents, Keys to Parenting Your Anxious Child and Helping Your Teenager Beat Depression, as well as books for child mental health professionals, including Problem Solving in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy.

Highly practical and accessible, this book shows how to synthesize complex information about child and adolescent mental health problems into clinically useful, dynamic case formulations. Strategies and tools are provided for analyzing the biological, psychological, social, cultural, spiritual, and developmental factors that may be contributing to the difficulties of clients ages 4-18. Numerous case examples illustrate the steps in crafting a comprehensive formulation and using it to plan effective, individualized treatment. Strategies for overcoming frequently encountered pitfalls in case formulation are highlighted throughout.

Introduction1. Benefits of Case Formulation and a Conceptual Framework2. Gathering Relevant Information: Key Assessment Strategies3. Biological Aspects of the Formulation4. Psychological Aspects of the Formulation5. Social Aspects of the Formulation6. Spiritual and Cultural Aspects of the Formulation7. The Process of Case Formulation and Considerations for Preschoolers8. Case Formulation for School-Age Children9. Case Formulation for Adolescents10. Communicating the Case Formulation and Its Treatment Implications11. Using the Formulation to Inform the Treatment Plan12. Formulation Challenges and the Need to Monitor Progress