The story begins with a person entering the room—for example, "Sarah," a high-achieving professional crippled by sudden panic attacks. While a standard medical model might simply label this "Generalized Anxiety Disorder," a psychoanalytic formulation looks for the . The Investigation: Searching for Patterns
To cope, she uses intellectualization (over-explaining her problems to avoid feeling them) or projection (thinking her boss is angry with her when she is actually angry with herself). The Turning Point: The Formulation (The Map) Psychoanalytic Case Formulation
Sarah realizes her fear of success is actually an old fear of her mother. The story begins with a person entering the
The therapist doesn't use a checklist; they listen for "echoes". In Sarah's case, the story unfolds through several lenses: the story unfolds through several lenses: