Abstract
Although a clinical case formulation can help focus treatment, little is known about the reliability and convergent validity of independently generated, cognitive–behavioral or cognitive–interpersonal formulations. Using videotapes of a semi-structured interview, pairs of clinicians independently formulated 2–3 cognitive–behavioral–interpersonal scenarios (CBISs) on each of 4 women with mood or comorbid mood and anxiety disorders. Ten licensed psychologists then rated each CBIS on 15 dimensions involving cognition, affect, symptoms, and interpersonal functioning. Reliability of the mean ratings (aggregated over the 10 raters) was >.83 for all dimensions. The set of CBISs formulated by a clinician for a patient generally demonstrated good convergent (same patient/different formulator) and discriminant (different patient/same or different formulator) validity on three factor-analytically derived general dimensions of depression, anxiety, and interpersonal functioning. Within each of three patients, pairs of formulators generally agreed on the situational components of the CBISs and demonstrated adequate to very good convergent validity of corresponding CBIS content. These results contribute to accumulating evidence for the reliability and validity of clinical scenarios as an idiographic, situation-level case formulation. Such formulations can help identify multiple cognitive, behavioral, or interpersonal intervention points in the causal chain leading to distress or dysfunction.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Addis, M. E., Wade, W. A., & Hatgis, C. (1999). Barriers to dissemination of evidence-based practices: Addressing practitioners' concerns about manual-based psychotherapies. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 6, 430-441.
Barton, S. B. (2000). New possibilities in cognitive therapy for depression? Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 28, 1-4.
Beck, A. T., Emery, G., & Greenberg, R. L. (1985). Anxiety disorders and phobias: A cognitive perspective. New York: Basic Books.
Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford.
Beck, J. S. (1995). Cognitive therapy: Basics and beyond. New York: Guilford.
Benjamin, L. S. (1974). Structural analysis of social behavior. Psychological Review, 81, 392-425.
Benjamin, L. S. (1996). An interpersonal theory of personality disorders. In J. Clarkin & M. Lenzenweger (Eds.), Major theories of personality disorder (pp. 141-220). New York: Guilford.
Campbell, D., & Fiske, D. (1959). Convergent and discriminant validation by the multitrait-multimethod matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56, 81-105.
Clark, D. A., & Beck, A. T. (1999). Scientific foundations of cognitive theory and therapy of depression. New York: Wiley.
DeRubeis, R. J., & Crits-Christoph, P. (1998). Empirically supported individual and group psychological treatments for adult mental disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66(1), 37-52.
Eckhardt, C. I., Barbour, K. A., & Davison, G. C. (1998). Articulated thoughts of martially violent and nonviolent men during anger arousal. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 259-269.
Eckhardt, C. I., & Dye, M. L. (2000). The cognitive characteristics of martially violent men: Theory and evidence. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 24, 139-158.
Eells, T. D. (Ed.). (1997). Handbook of psychotherapy case formulation. New York: Guilford.
First, M. B., Gibbon, M., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. W. (1996). Structured Clinical Interviewfor the Diagnostic and statistical manual IV: Axis I, Research Edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
Gorsuch, R. L. (1983). Factor analysis (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Green, K. M., & Mumma, G. H. (2000, August). Intraindividual test of the cognitive model in depressed anxious adults. Poster presented at the 2000 annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
Grove, W. M., Zald, D. H., Lebow, B. S., Snitz, B. E., & Nelson, C. (2000). Clinical versus mechanical prediction: A meta-analysis. Psychological Assessment, 12, 19-30.
Hayes, S. C., Nelson, R. O., & Jarrett, R. B. (1987). The treatment utility of assessment: A functional approach to evaluating assessment quality. American Psychologist, 42, 963-974.
Haynes, S. N., Kaholokula, J. K., & Nelson, K. (1999). The idiographic application of nomothetic, empirically based treatments. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 6, 456-461.
Haynes, S. N., & O'Brien, W. H. (2000). Principles and practice of behavioral assessment. New York: Kluwer/Plenum.
Henry, W. P. (1996). Structural analysis of social behavior as a common metric for programmatic psychopathology and psychotherapy research. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 1263-1275.
Luborsky, L., & Crits-Christoph, P. (1998). Understanding transference: The core conflictual relationship theme. (2nd ed.).Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Matarazzo, J. (1983). The reliability of psychiatric and psychological diagnosis. Clinical Psychology Review, 3, 103-145.
McCullough, J. P. (2000). Treatment for chronic depression: Cognitive behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy (CBASP). New York: Guilford.
Mumma, G. H. (1998). Improving cognitive case formulation and treatment planning in clinical practice and research. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 12, 251-274.
Mumma, G. H. (2001). Increasing accuracy in clinical decision making: Towards an integration of nomothetic-aggregate and intraindividual-idiographic approaches. The Behavior Therapist, 24, 77-94.
Muran, J. C., Samstag, L. W., Segal, Z., & Winston, A. (1998). Interpersonal scenarios: An idiographic measure of self-schemas. Psychotherapy Research, 8, 321-333.
Muran, J. C., & Segal, Z. V. (1992). The development of an idiographic measure of self-schemas: An illustration of the construction and use of self-scenarios. Psychotherapy, 29, 524-535.
Muran, J. C., Segal, Z. V., & Samstag, L. W. (1994). Self-scenarios as a repeated measures outcome measurement of self-schemas in short-term cognitive therapy. Behavior Therapy, 25, 255-274.
Nezu, A. M., Nezu, C. M., Friedman, S. H., & Haynes, S. N. (1997). Case formulation in behavior therapy: Problem solving and functional analytic strategies. In T. D. Eells (Ed.), Handbook of psychotherapy case formulation (pp. 368-401). New York: Guilford.
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Persons, J. B. (1989). Cognitive therapy in practice: A case formulation approach. New York: Norton.
Persons, J. B., & Bertagnolli, A. (1999). Interrater reliability of cognitive-behavioral case formulations of depression: A replication. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 23, 271-283.
Persons, J. B., Mooney, K. A., & Padesky, P. A. (1995). Interrater reliability of cognitive-behavioral case formulations. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 19, 21-34.
Persons, J. B., & Tompkins, M. A. (1997). Cognitive-behavioral case formulation. In T. D. Eells (Ed.), Handbook of psychotherapy case formulation (pp. 314-339). New York: Guilford.
Riskind, J. H., & Williams, N. L. (1999). Cognitive case conceptualization and treatment of anxiety disorders: Implications of the looming vulnerability model. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 13, 295-315.
Safran, J. D., & Segal, Z. V. (1990). Interpersonal process in cognitive therapy. New York: Basic.
Safran, J. D., Vallis, T. M., Segal, Z.V., & Shaw, B. F. (1986). Assessment of core cognitive processes in cognitive therapy. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 10, 509-526.
Silberschatz, G., Fretter, P., & Curtis, J. (1986). How do interpretations influence the process of psychotherapy? Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 646-652.
Task Force on the Promotion and Dissemination of Psychological Procedures. (1995, September). Report to the Division 12 Board, American Psychological Association.
Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. (1998). Roster. Austin, TX: Author.
Timberlake, W. (1995). Reconceptualizing reinforcement: A causalsystem approach to reinforcement and behavior change. In W. O'Donohue & L. Krasner (Eds.), Theories of behavior therapy (pp. 59-96). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., Weber, K., Assenheimer, J. S., Strauss, M. E., & McCormick, R. A. (1995). Testing a tripartite model: II. Exploring the symptom structure of anxiety and depression in student, adult, and patient samples. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 15-25.
Weiss, J., Sampson, H., & the Mount Zion Psychotherapy Research Group. (1986). The psychoanalytic process: Theory, clinical observation & empirical research. New York: Guilford.
Wolpe, J., & Turkat, I. D. (1985). Behavioral formulation of clinical cases. In I. D. Turkat (Ed.), Behavioral case formulation (pp. 5-36). New York: Plenum.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mumma, G.H., Smith, J.L. Cognitive–Behavioral-Interpersonal Scenarios: Interformulator Reliability and Convergent Validity. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment 23, 203–221 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012738802126
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012738802126