Cognitive Case Conceptualization: A Guidebook for Practitioners

For cognitive therapy to be successful, therapists must identify the key factors that contribute to their clients’ problems. Effective cognitive case conceptualization necessarily precedes appropriate targeting and intervention selection. It requires the integration of the results of a comprehensive assessment into a strong conceptual foundation.

Solidly grounded in recent research, and focusing particular attention on important new theoretical developments, this book first offers a comprehensive overview of the contemporary cognitive model of therapy. It then lays out detailed, easy-to-follow procedures for assessing within a cognitive framework, developing effective individualized cognitive case conceptualizations, and implementing state-of-the-art interventions based on them. A step-by-step guide for concisely summarizing and representing the salient features of a client’s presentation is included. Extensive case histories bring to life the entire process of cognitive therapy–assessment, conceptualization, and intervention–for several clients with a variety of complex clinical problems: panic disorder with agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and chronic or recurrent major depressive disorder.

Cognitive Case Conceptualization will become an indispensable desk reference for many experienced clinicians as well as trainees.