Some historical and theoretical remarks about psychodynamic assessment: Commentary on chapter "case formulation as an outcome and not an opening move in relational and psychodynamic models"

The difference of attitude, with respect to case formulation, is tied to many factors, like the general setting of therapy and the theorists' epistemological attitude, which can be more or less realist, or, on the contrary, more or less hermeneuticist or constructionist. Single theorists' beliefs about the effect of case formulation are also important. They are, linked to the beliefs about when or even if it is possible to verbalize a case formulation to the patient. The different ideas about the conception of transference should also be considered, since they have a direct influence on therapy and the opportunity, timing, and effects of its interpretation. Some remarks that might be correct in comparing a standard psychoanalytic approach and a standard CBT approach are not necessarily valuable in the same way for all the models within the psychodynamic and cognitive-behavior paradigms respectively.