Psych Vivas · Professional — formulation
Formulation skills — structured clinical viva
Fellowship viva on BPS/4P formulation technique, mechanisms, cultural exploration, BPS critique, and CASC presentation structure using a depression/alcohol case.
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Study tools
Target exams
FRANZCPMRCPsychABPNMD-DNB
Prompt
You are the psychiatry registrar. A 34-year-old woman presents with 4 months of major depression after redundancy. She drinks a bottle of wine most nights 'to sleep', lies in bed until midday, and has passive death wishes without a plan. She describes childhood emotional neglect, a critical mother, and a partner who wants to help but 'keeps saying snap out of it'. She is proud of being a good parent to a 8-year-old. Discuss your formulation framework, a 4P biopsychosocial formulation, cultural/identity issues you would explore, how formulation differs from diagnosis and from risk assessment, critiques of the BPS model, and how you would present this in under 90 seconds in a CASC.
Interpretation
Reveal interpretationShowHide
This viva tests professional clinical reasoning, not a single diagnosis fact. Markers want a structured framework (BPS and 4Ps), mechanisms, non-pejorative family formulation, protective factors (parenting identity), cultural/identity curiosity, clear distinction from diagnosis and risk tools, and fluent CASC timing.[1][2]
References6ShowHide
- [1]Macneil CA, Hasty MK, Conus P, et al. Is diagnosis enough to guide interventions in mental health? Using case formulation in clinical practice BMC Med, 2012.PMID 23016556
- [2]Owen G What is formulation in psychiatry? Psychol Med, 2023.PMID 36878884
- [3]Ghaemi SN The rise and fall of the biopsychosocial model Br J Psychiatry, 2009.PMID 19567886
- [4]Engel GL The need for a new medical model: a challenge for biomedicine Science, 1977.PMID 847460
- [5]Lewis-Fernández R, Aggarwal NK, Lam PC, et al. Feasibility, acceptability and clinical utility of the Cultural Formulation Interview: mixed-methods results from the DSM-5 international field trial Br J Psychiatry, 2017.PMID 28104738
- [6]Borrell-Carrió F, Suchman AL, Epstein RM The biopsychosocial model 25 years later: principles, practice, and scientific inquiry Ann Fam Med, 2004.PMID 15576544