Reviewer: Elizabeth D. DeIuliis, OTD, OTR/L, CLA, FNAP, FAOTA (Duquesne University)
Description: This book is designed in a progressive fashion to first introduce the concept of formulation, followed by strategies and approaches of how to integrate this method into the occupational therapy process, specifically focusing on collaborative goals setting and intervention planning. The authors provide numerous case vignettes, which are very helpful resources to illustrate the process across practice settings and populations. Readers will benefit from gaining a solid foundation in the Model of Human Occupation as a conceptual framework.
Purpose: The purpose of the book is to provide a practical guide for occupational therapy practitioners to formulate occupational goals and intervention plans heavily using the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO). The emphasis of the book is on the core skill of formulation, which represents an iterative and ongoing process within mental health practice and guides interventions and clinical decision making. Readers who are not familiar with the concept of formulation might see parallels to narrative clinical reasoning.
Audience: The authors aim to provide a practical resource for occupational therapy students and practitioners to guide the occupational therapy process, specifically synthesizing information gleaned from the evaluation to formulate a client-centered intervention plan. Based upon the authors' passions, the readers will see a strong correlation to the Model of Human Occupation Screening Tool (MOHOST). While the book proposes to be useful for occupational therapy students and practitioners, the theoretical constructs and terminology used might be too complex for a novice occupational therapy practitioner or an occupational therapy student, unless the student is enrolled in an occupational therapy education program where MOHO is a primary element within the instructional design of the curriculum and program philosophy. Both authors are recognized and passionate occupational therapists from the United Kingdom. As first author, Sue Parkinson is also the lead author of the Model of Human Occupation Screening Tool (MOHOST) and author of an occupational intervention program called Recovery through Activity, which helps makes sense why the book has a robust essence from MOHO. Rob Brooks leads the occupational therapy program at Leeds Beckett University and has a scholarship agenda focused on enabling occupational participation for children, young people, and their families in England.
Features: The book is organized into three main sections for a total of nine chapters. Section 1 lays a foundation surrounding the concept of formulation. As the authors depict, formulation is a concept that originates in psychotherapy and is also well integrated into mental health practice. The authors introduce how formulation is inherent in clinical reasoning used throughout occupational therapy practice and which also primed the inception of the Model of Human Occupation and related assessment tools such as the MOHOST. In laymen terms, the readers learn that formulation provides a pathway for clinicians to think critically and make decisions via three main processes, which are identified as collaboration, contextualization, and conceptualization. The authors articulate that when used effectively, formulation optimizes the therapeutic relationship, fosters a client-centered approach, and guides interprofessional communication, which are noted cornerstones of occupational therapy. Personal reflections, schematics, word clouds, and figures are provided, which are helpful to illuminate more complex subject matter. Section 2, using MOHO as a conceptual framework, emphasizes how to translate the formulation into goal setting and intervention planning. Stories from practice and the author tip boxes provide tangible examples for the occupational therapy practitioner reader to apply concepts into their practice, such as suggested interview question stems to elicit client storytelling and suggested keywords/descriptors to include in clinical documentation. Most readers will be familiar with the widely known acronym SMART used by the authors, which represents a process to guide the development of goals to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timed. The authors provide several descriptors to guide the readers to understand different ways to create occupation-based individual goals. The authors are applauded for section 3, which entails numerous detailed clinical scenarios, representing cases across the lifespan and a wide range of practice settings, including both traditional and role emerging. Each of the 20 examples start with a unique case scenario and then build out the occupational identity, occupational competence, and synthesis of occupational issues, culminating with exemplar goals and intervention plans aligned with the case. Due to the wide range of examples provided, practitioners who are comfortable with MOHO as a theoretical model and work in physical and mental health, as well as with children and elder adults, will most likely find these examples useful. Various figures, tables, schematics, and word clouds are used throughout the book. There are also author note boxes, which are described to offer specific examples of application to practice. Industry-acceptable evidence is used throughout the book, including textbooks and peer-reviewed evidence inside and outside of the occupational therapy profession.
Assessment: While peer-reviewed articles in occupational therapy on formulation in occupational therapy practice have been published, the authors have created a unique book that did not previously exist. While the book is in a specific niche, it will be meaningful for practitioners who gravitate to the Model of Human Occupation and are committed to expanding their own occupational philosophy to be more client-centered and collaborative.
