This book offers a brief overview of a psychodynamic approach to clinical case formulation. It is divided into five sections in which each of the components of the framework is introduced, with a final section covering the application of the formulation to clinical scenarios outside of a typical individual therapy setting. The formulation framework is broken down into an initial description of the patient’s difficulties, the exploration of the personal and developmental history and finally efforts to link past experiences to current difficulties through the use of theories of attachment and object relations, among others. This overview of psychodynamic theories of development and defence against trauma will be of value to psychiatric trainees, with topics reviewed and presented in a concise manner. The final chapters, exploring the application of the formulation in emergency settings or psychopharmacology consultations, are perhaps the most useful.

Although written in the USA, the book is of relevance to the practising psychiatrist in the UK as well, given the ongoing debates surrounding efficacy and the place of depth psychotherapies in modern clinical practice. The role of formulation informing clinical practice and treatment has recently been represented in the popular press with the publication of a series of explorations by the psychoanalytic therapist and thinker, Darian Leader. His books have been well received, attracting supportive reviews by prominent figures such as Hilary Mantel and, along with the spirited debate generated by two recent critiques of psychiatric practice, indicate that the public appetite for debate around the role of psychiatry in society has not diminished.

While Cabaniss and colleagues can do little to address the ongoing debate, providing no new evidence or arguments either way, they do provide a clear, succinct summary of psychodynamic theory and demonstrate, through the use of illustrative clinical vignettes, the application of the described framework. While psychiatrists practising in the UK may be jealous of the occasional recommendation for twice-weekly therapy over a 3-year period, the closing chapters illustrating the application of psychodynamic formulation in the acute care setting are informative and support a series of articles on similar topics recently published in the College’s CPD journal, Advances in Psychiatric Treatment.