Because patients rarely present a classic textbook case, trying to fit together a treatment plan from the textbooks can be frustrating, especially when there's additional pressure for efficiency from managed-care policies. The three authors (two of them are associated with Drexel U. and one is in private practice) guide therapists through a model of clinical decision-making that takes variability into account to solve problems. They set out a process for determining short-term goals, long-term goals, treatment targets, and potential interventions for treatment targets for 11 common disorders and problems, including major depressive disorder, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress, borderline personality, and anger problems. Annotation © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Arthur M. Nezu, PhD, ABPP, is Professor of Psychology, Medicine, and Public Health at Drexel University.Christine Maguth Nezu, PhD, ABPP, is professor of psychology and associate professor of medicine at Drexel University. She has contributed to scores of scientific publications, has presented extensively at professional conferences around the world, and has participated on the editorial boards of leading psychology journals. Dr. Maguth Nezu is board certified in cognitive and behavioral psychology and is currently president-elect of the American Board of Professional Psychology. She serves on the board of directors of both the American Board of Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology and the American Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology. Her clinical research has been supported by federal, private, and state-funded agencies and she has served as a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health. She has been a practicing psychologist for over two decades.Elizabeth R. Lombardo, PhD, was a practicing physical therapist for the Baltimore Veteran's Affairs Medical Center and adjunct faculty member in physical therapy at the University of Maryland before pursing her career in psychology. Since obtaining her doctorate in clinical psychology, Dr. Lombardo has completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical health psychology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and is currently in private practice.

Tags: cognitive behavioral case formulation and treatment design