Clinical psychology is mainly a psychological speciality that focuses on comprehensive mental and behavioural healthcare for individuals, groups, families, couples, agencies, and communities (Pote et al., 2021). Within it are two integral processes, diagnosis and formulation, that are utilized to discern the needs of clients with mental health challenges and to determine possible interventions (Bailey, 2020). Diagnosis entails the identification and classification of specific disorders tied to established or standardized criteria. Formulation, on the other hand, focuses largely on providing a holistic approach that factors in the unique experiences of individuals, their respective personalities, and, lastly, context. In both diagnosis and formulation, there are advantages and disadvantages to both methods or processes that can impact individuals, families, and teams that form part of the treatment process. The essay will delve into both processes, outlining their advantages and disadvantages and their respective implications for individuals, families, and teams.
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Approach
Mental health challenges have gained substantive traction in previous years, and it has become increasingly imperative to address them as early as possible (Chadwick & Billings, 2022). The formulation offers a broad or holistic approach to tackling mental health issues. It encompasses an individual in their entirety, be it their personality, environment, or the context within which they are facing their current problem or challenge (Jones, 2021). Formulation is like creating a road map to use in navigating the needs of a client. It treats each case as unique, offering different therapeutic approaches to the clients in need. For starters, it seeks to clarify the presenting problems a client seeks to address in therapy. It could be aspects such as panic attacks, anxiety, and feelings of emptiness, among others (Haynes et al., 2020). When exploring the presenting problems, formulation aids in factoring the mental health diagnosis of a client within treating their therapy as individualized and nuanced. Through such methods, formulation can aid in providing a tailor-made approach to suit the client’s needs and wants.
Diagnosis, on the other hand, focuses largely on prescribed avenues for dealing with challenges faced by clients. (Horan et al., 2022). There are standard criteria set out to tackle each mental challenge presented by a client. The advantage that comes with it is that there is already a precedent set out for the standardized intervention provided. Through a standardized approach, it becomes increasingly possible to provide mitigating or intervention that has been proven to work, and one can manage one’s expectations and those of the client (Jones & Brown, 2019). It is equally feasible to ascertain the duration with which the prescribed remedy will work.
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Structure and Inclusivity
The formulation offers a more holistic understanding of individuals and incorporates their personal history, strengths, and life experiences (Berry & Hartwell, 2023). Through such an approach, the client is provided with an intervention that encompasses all facets of their day-to-day life coupled with the factors within their environment that affect their temperament. Such an approach provides for an intervention that is highly likely to be effective well into the long run (Harper & Cromby, 2022). Additionally, it gives the client perspective as to what their triggers are and how to mitigate or avoid them in the future. From the diagnostic approach, the standardized interventions provided encompass all individuals and have little or no bias. The interventions are scientifically tested and verified, which then provides a high probability for success and leaves little room for bias.
Another positive attribute of the diagnostic approach to dealing with mental challenges is that it offers substantive follow-through with its structured approach. Through this particular form of clinical psychology, the client is provided with a structured avenue of dealing with the challenges presented, which in turn results in a formulated method of tracking changes as and when they occur (Jones & Brown, 2019). The client, together with the psychologist, is provided with their respective duties or obligations throughout the entire process. Instead, everything is documented and structured. Diagnosis provides clients with clea
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