Hello Everyone,
I am providing an example of a formulation, as requested. Again this is an example that I hope can be helpful but this is not meant as something that you need to or should follow exactly. You have flexibility. In addition, this formulation is 300 words. You have up to 500 words for yours. So if you wish to provide more detail in your formulation you can. This example is taken from the characters in the book The Big Fish. I encourage you to take some time to watch the movie or read the book if you have not (though this does not need to be done before the end of the class!). This might be some nice self-care for yourself. I have taken a brief summary of the movie/book from the web. The summary is not in my own words.
In terms of the formulation, for further clarification, the formulation is a part of an assessment but can stand on it’s own. As Dean and Poorvu state in their article on p. 601 the formulation is a “brief conceptualization of the issues” from a variety of perspectives as pertinent. From class notes the formulation attempts to explain how and why the presenting problem has occurred. In the process of writing the formulation you are selecting and synthesizing the relevant material for your formulation.
Information about Edward and William Bloom: Taken from Movie and Book Big Fish by Daniel Wallace
United Press International journalist Will Bloom and his French freelance photojournalist wife Josephine Bloom, who is pregnant with their first child, leave their Paris base to return to Will’s hometown of Ashton, Alabama on the news that his father, Edward Bloom, stricken with cancer, will soon die, he being taken off chemotherapy treatment. Although connected indirectly through Will’s mother/Edward’s wife, Sandra Bloom, Will has been estranged from his father for three years since his and Josephine’s wedding. Will’s issue with his father is the fanciful tales Edward has told of his life all his life, not only to Will but the whole world. As a child when Edward was largely absent as a traveling salesman, Will believed those stories, but now realizes that he does not know his father, who, as he continues to tell these stories, he will never get to know unless Edward comes clean with the truth before he dies. On the brink of his own family life beginning, Will does not want to be the kind of father Edward has been to him. One of those stories from Edward’s childhood – that he saw his own death in the glass eye of a witch – led to him embracing life since he would not have to fear death knowing when and how it would eventually come. The question is whether Will will be able to reconcile Edward’s stories against his real life, either directly from Edward before he dies and/or from other sources, and thus allow Will to come to a new understanding of himself and his life, past, present and future.
—Huggo Taken from: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0319061/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl
Formulation:
William Bloom, 30, contacted me for counselling after learning that his father was diagnosed with cancer and he was faced with his father’s imminent death. William asserted that he is looking for a more intimate relationship – than he has previously had – with his father before his father dies. It seems that his father’s death and flying home to see his father again has precipitated his desire for some counselling and a desire to understand his father better. Another precipitating factor is that he is about to be starting a family himself. William has discussed some predisposing factors that have influenced his distant relationship with his father. William’s father Edward Bloom is a great storyteller; however, William has never been amused with this as he see’s his father’s storytelling as fibs and exaggeration. Edward Bloom travelled a lot for work when his son was younger and William felt he was away from the family and that he never truly got to know his father. William sits by his father’s bedside in an effort to get to know the ‘truth’ about his father’s life; however, his father’s recollection of his life with all its grand stories seems to perpetuate some of the difficulties between father and son. Also perpetuating some of the difficulties is that William feels his father lied to him when he was growing up telling him all these tales. Protective factors for William include his deep love for his father and his desire to understand and get to know his father better. Also protective is William’s beginning his own family and wanting to figure out how he will be a good father for his own child. Moving forward work with William will involve integrating his father’s stories with his real life while also understanding his father’s great accomplishments and failings.