Occupational Formulation

Using occupational formulation should firstly benefit the person that the occupational therapist and the MDT is working with however, there are additional benefits to the occupational formulation process. A good formulation will also enhance the therapeutic relationship, assist the occupational therapist and inform the wider team.

 

The formulation process supports the occupational therapist in clarifying their hypothesis (BPS, 2011) while remaining open to different viewpoints and appreciating the person's motivations (SBIS, 2017). Through completing a formulation we will often find that we have developed a deeper understanding of that the person, their view point, their values, their sense of their abilities, their occupational identity and maybe even a sense of their aspirations. This in turn will give us better understanding of how the occupational issues should be targeted and how we should plan our interventions (Richmond, 2017). 

 

Through writing the occupational formulation, we can explain the focus of our clinical intervention by linking occupational theory to the person and the information that we have garnered about them. It is a tool for communicating clinical judgment and illustrating that decisions are based on the information garnered from the assessment process and reasoned through with clinical reasoning and supported by evidenced based practise.

 

It enables us to organise large amounts of complex information (Kuyken, 2006) and therefore provides the clinician with a tool to keep track of the key occupational issues and present occupational therapy goals therefore, the direction of therapy is maintained and progress continually made via planning of the most effective interventions. 

 

Formulation can also provide a framework for clinical supervision, and/or to assert the unique professional perspective of the occupational therapist. This in turn can strengthen practise by helping occupational therapists feeling valued and boosting confidence.