The Dynamic Formulation—A Critique of a Psychiatric Ritual
STEPHEN R. GOLDSMITH M.D.1, and
ARNOLD J. MANDELL M.D.2
1 Resident in psychiatry, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, Calif. 90024
2 Associate professor of psychiatry, University of California at Irvine
The authors, studying predictions of psychological state formed solely from dynamic formulations, found no correlation between correct predictions and length of professional psychiatric experience. They question the misuse of deductive reasoning and selection of statements in the formulations used in formal psychiatric examinations and suggest that the dynamic formulation may not be a useful predictor of diagnostic entities.
