The Biopsychosocial Formulation Manual

Based on George Engel's model, The Biopsychosocial Formulation Manual presents ways to help psychiatry residents and students effectively gather and organize patient data to arrive at a complete mental health history in a limited timeframe. While most current models only take one factor into account, Campbell and Rohrbaugh emphasize and analyze three essential components (biological, social, and psychological).

The process of identifying pertinent data for each component of the biopsychosocial formulation is explicated in detail. A separate section outlines how to use the biopsychosocial formulation to generate treatment recommendations. This volume includes a complete package for practicing the biopsychosocial method; this easy-to-use guide includes a data record sheet and a companion CD to facilitate organization and assessment, appealing to both the psychiatric professional and the trainee.

Review: Drs. Campbell and Rohrbaugh have written a highly readable, practical, balanced, thoughtful and helpful guide to biopsychosocial formulation. It is sure to become one of the classics in the field of clinical psychiatry education. - Dr. Anthony Rostain, MD, MA, Director of Education, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, USA Both authors are practicing and academic psychiatrists, and together they have designed a manual that offers a practical approach to organizing the wealth of data obtained from patients into some meaningful formulation.

They have created a unique format that ensures appropriate emphasis of all three components delineated in Engel's original model (biological, psychological, and social). Even the most experienced clinician may discover that there are gaps in his or her typical formulation of patient complaints and, therefore, may find the manual useful in assisting him or her in more productively using the data collected.

In my professional opinion, this book is one of those resources that should be in every trainee's and clinician's library. - Frank M. Dattilio, in PsycCritiques, Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books