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BOOK REVIEW
Willem Kuyken, Christine A. Padesky, and Robert Dudley:
Collaborative Case Conceptualization: Working Effectively
with Clients in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Guilford, 2008, 366 pp, $ 40.00
Robert D. Friedberg
Published online: 23 February 2010
ÓSpringer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010
He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor
who boards ship without a rudder and compass and
never knows where he may cast.
Leonardo Da Vinci
Case conceptualization is the theoretically based founda-
tion for clinical practice. However, the ugly truth of
clinical practice is that many clinicians eschew case
conceptualization and essentially board Da Vinci’s figura-
tive ship with neither a compass nor a rudder. They suffer
drift with various winds and tides frequently blowing them
off course. Teaching and training experiences tell me that
many clinicians avoid case conceptualization because they
may believe it is a time consuming, arcane intellectual
exercise that has limited practicality. Thankfully, in
Collaborative Case Conceptualization, Kuyken, Padesky,
and Dudley have authored a book which makes case
conceptualization immediately accessible to clinicians.
The super-ordinate concept is collaboration. Indeed,
the joint effort toward psychological understanding of
individuals’ emotional and interpersonal difficulties is
empowering to clients. Knowledge is interactional in this
model. Clients actively participate as co-engineers of the
conceptualization. In the authors’ astute paradigm, case
conceptualization is transparent to the client and psycho-
logical formulation is demystified. Amplifying client’s
strengths and building resiliency factors in the case con-
ceptualization is another overriding theme. The process of
case conceptualization is seamlessly integrated with on-
going cognitive behavioral therapy. There is no artificial
boundary between conceptualizing the case and interven-
tion strategy. Most impressively, Kuyken and colleagues
demonstrate a keen cultural alertness when conceptualizing
problems and intervening with clients.
The book is beautifully written and cogently organized.
Kuyken and colleagues brilliantly detail a layered approach
to case conceptualization. They begin with conceptualiza-
tion on a descriptive level, progress to a cross sectional
formulation, and conclude with a longitudinal explanatory
working model. Sections and key points flow logically and
in an orderly manner. The scholarly and empirical foun-
dations of the approach are comprehensively included.
Nonetheless, the writing style is engaging and accessible.
There are many metaphors, cultural references, and literary
allusions.
Readers can tell they are in the presence of gifted cli-
nicians and teachers when reading the book. There is a
palpable intimacy in the words, case examples, and
teaching tools embedded in Collaborative Case Conceptu-
alization. For instance, Kuyken and colleagues construct
help boxes entitled, ‘‘Inside the Therapist’s head’’ which
clue the readers into the therapists’ thinking about the case.
The authors sprinkle inspired teaching metaphors in the
text, such as the Procrustean Bed, the Crucible and the Sufi
story of Nasruddin to spark readers’ attention and recall.
The many clinical examples come to life with engaging
dialogues. The authors share many clinical metaphors with
the readers such as the compost and the flower, learning to
live in the light, and the orchid, and the dandelion. The
diagrams and illustrations are extremely helpful and
informative. There is a chapter guiding supervisors on the
effective way to teach collaborative case conceptualization.
Finally, Kuyken and colleagues even include a very useful
history form in the appendix.
R. D. Friedberg (&)
Penn State Milton Hershey Medical Center/College of Medicine,
Hershy, USA
e-mail: rfriedberg@psu.edu
123
J Contemp Psychother (2010) 40:181–182
DOI 10.1007/s10879-010-9140-6
This book appeals to a wide audience. Graduate stu-
dents, novice therapists, and seasoned clinicians alike will
all profit from the book’s invaluable and stimulating con-
tent. Additionally, the text is likely to be embraced by
professionals from multiple disciplines including psychol-
ogy, psychiatry, social work, mental health counseling,
nursing, and virtually any other group that wants to
improve their case conceptualization skills. I anticipate this
book will become well-worn by its owners as they return to
it repeatedly to refresh their thinking on case conceptual-
ization in cognitive behavioral therapy.
As a clinician-educator in an academic medical center, I
read a lot. However, there are precious few texts that make
the reader feel genuinely smarter, more clinically astute,
and professionally able after reading them. Fortunately,
Collaborative Case Conceptualization is one of them.
Kuyken, Padesky, and Dudley have penned a book that is
destined to become a modern classic. I recommend clear-
ing a space in your bookshelf immediately for this com-
pelling book and giving it a treasured place in your
professional library.
182 J Contemp Psychother (2010) 40:181–182
123
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