Tools to Craft a Cultural Formulation

Sarah H Arshad; Jaclyn Chua; Stacy-Ann Wayne; Jamesha Lewis Bryant; Cheryl S Al-Mateen

doi:10.1016/j.chc.2022.05.001

Tools to Craft a Cultural Formulation

Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2022 Oct;31(4):583-601. doi: 10.1016/j.chc.2022.05.001.

Authors

Sarah H Arshad¹, Jaclyn Chua², Stacy-Ann Wayne³, Jamesha Lewis Bryant⁴, Cheryl S Al-Mateen⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, DCAPBS, Floor 12, 3500 Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: Sarah.h.arshad@gmail.com.
² Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, DCAPBS, Floor 12, 3500 Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
³ Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
⁴ Post Graduate Year 2, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, USA.

PMID: 36182212
DOI: 10.1016/j.chc.2022.05.001

Abstract

Clinicians should strive to understand every patient from their own perspective. The authors present tools to help patients narrate their own experiences and elaborate on the context of their symptoms, allowing clinicians to appreciate the cultural influences on a patient and how that affects their symptomatology. This knowledge can then be crafted into a nuanced cultural formulation of the patient, with the goals of not only better understanding the patient's specific, intersectional context but also guiding treatment planning. As a result, the patient is evaluated in a holistic manner, and their specific needs are central in their care.

Keywords: Cultural formulation interview; Cultural identity; Culture; Outline for cultural formulation.

Publication types

Review