Introduction & Theoretical Background
A therapy blueprint is CBT tool which summarizes the work a therapist and patient have completed together. Patients can be encouraged to think of it as ‘the first session of the rest of your life’. Therapy blueprints are one way to help clients reflect on what they have learned during therapy. They act as a way of promoting resilience by reinforcing what has been learned. Therapy blueprints also act as a form of relapse prevention – by making new knowledge more accessible, clients are more able to cope effectively with future setbacks. The structure of a good therapy blueprint mirrors the process of therapy itself. Suggested areas for exploration include:
- Assessment: What were the problems? How did they develop?
- Formulation: What kept the problems going? Why did they not get better naturally? Were there any strategies with unintended consequences?
- Treatment: What new knowledge and skills did you develop? What techniques were practiced?
- Reflection on