Implicit Criteria Employed by Psychotherapists in Clinical Case Formulation

Abstract

From a perspective of common factors implicit criteria used by psychotherapists are explored at the moment of making clinical formulations. It is intended to show the relevance of these criteria for psychotherapeutic practice. The aim of this study was to identify and describe implicit criteria in the clinical formulation process. Methodology: qualitative approach; grounded theory. Participants: 9 psychotherapists with different levels of experience and theoretical approaches that worked with different populations. Procedure: open interviews, in depth transcription and elaboration of results with support of computer software Atlas.ti (5.0). Results: When formulating a clinical case psychotherapists use, together with their theoretical frameworks, a series of implicit criteria (personal identity, adjustment to the medium and intelligibility of the action) inherent to the psychotherapeutic process, originated in interpersonal aspects and organized in reasoning schemes. Conclusion: a novel perspective is proposed for the investigation of the psychotherapeutic process highlighting the social framework that underlies clinical practice.