TY - JOUR

T1 - Using a Clinical Formulation to Understand Psychological Distress in People Affected by Huntington’s Disease

T2 - A Descriptive, Evidence-Based Model

AU - Dale, Maria

AU - Wood, Ashleigh

AU - Zarotti, Nicolò

AU - Eccles, Fiona

AU - Gunn, Sarah

AU - Kiani, Reza

AU - Mobley, Amanda

AU - Robertson, Noelle

AU - Simpson, Jane

PY - 2022/7/27

Y1 - 2022/7/27

N2 - Huntington’s disease (HD) is an inherited, life-limiting neurodegenerative condition. People with HD experience changes in cognitive, motor and emotional functioning, and can also, mainly at later stages, exhibit behaviours that professionals and carers might find distressing such as hitting others, throwing objects, swearing or making inappropriate comments. While clinical formulation (an individualised approach used by mental health professionals to describe an individual’s difficulties) is a helpful tool to conceptualise patients’ wellbeing, a specific formulation framework has not yet been developed for HD. However, evidence has shown that formulation can help guide clinical interventions and increase consistency of approach across multi-disciplinary teams, refine risk management, and improve staff or carers’ empathic skills and understanding of complex presentations. As a consequence, this paper proposes a new clinical formulation model for understanding distress among people with HD, based on a biopsychosocial framework. More specifically, this includes key elements centring on an individual’s past experience and personal narratives, as well as anticipatory cognitions and emotions about the future. In-depth discussions regarding the components of the model and their importance in HD formulations are included, and a fictional yet representative case example is presented to illustrate their application within the context of personalised care.

AB - Huntington’s disease (HD) is an inherited, life-limiting neurodegenerative condition. People with HD experience changes in cognitive, motor and emotional functioning, and can also, mainly at later stages, exhibit behaviours that professionals and carers might find distressing such as hitting others, throwing objects, swearing or making inappropriate comments. While clinical formulation (an individualised approach used by mental health professionals to describe an individual’s difficulties) is a helpful tool to conceptualise patients’ wellbeing, a specific formulation framework has not yet been developed for HD. However, evidence has shown that formulation can help guide clinical interventions and increase consistency of approach across multi-disciplinary teams, refine risk management, and improve staff or carers’ empathic skills and understanding of complex presentations. As a consequence, this paper proposes a new clinical formulation model for understanding distress among people with HD, based on a biopsychosocial framework. More specifically, this includes key elements centring on an individual’s past experience and personal narratives, as well as anticipatory cognitions and emotions about the future. In-depth discussions regarding the components of the model and their importance in HD formulations are included, and a fictional yet representative case example is presented to illustrate their application within the context of personalised care.

KW - Huntington’s disease

KW - formulation

KW - challenging behaviour

KW - biopsychosocial

KW - psychological distress

U2 - 10.3390/jpm12081222

DO - 10.3390/jpm12081222

M3 - Journal article

VL - 12

JO - Journal of Personalized Medicine

JF - Journal of Personalized Medicine

SN - 2075-4426

IS - 8

M1 - 1222

ER -