How should we teach psychiatric formulation? A systematic review of the evidence.

Abstract

We conducted a systematic review of literature on teaching psychiatric formulation with the aim of reflecting on the findings and proposing recommendations for enhancing formulation pedagogy within psychiatric education. We found categories of publication on formulation tools, educational strategies, and evaluation of outcomes with little continuity between them. Fourteen themes were identified that helped to understand the gaps in the evidence and the unresolved issues of conceptualization. Our review revealed a striking paradox: despite widespread agreement on the centrality of formulation as a core clinical competency in psychiatry, how to teach it remains fragmented, methodologically weak, and conceptually inconsistent. Based on the findings we propose eight recommendations to aid advance in the research of teaching psychiatric formulation.