A structured shared map for understanding the client's difficulties through a CFT lens. It explains how early experience shaped the key fears, how those fears activate the threat system, what protective strategies emerged, and what their unintended consequences are. The central idea: "you are not at fault for your suffering". The formulation is a tool for de-shaming and containment.
Step-by-step guide
- Explore the background context: "What was your world like as you were growing up?"
- Identify the key fears: "What scares you most in relationships with others?"
- Explore the protective strategies: "What did you learn to do in order to cope?"
- Show the unintended consequences of the protective strategies
- Draw the diagram together with the client
- Link to the three circles: which system dominates?
When to use
- At the start of CFT — as a basis for planning the work
- With strong shame and self-blame ("why am I like this?")
- With recurring destructive patterns
- When working with chronic depression, PTSD, personality disorders
Key phrases
Look: your brain learned these strategies — to criticize yourself, to close off, to control — because at the time they were the best it could do. This is not your weakness.
Follow-up questions
Now let us look together at what came of this and where we can find new paths.
Alternative phrasings
Let us draw a diagram so we can see better how all this is connected.
Warnings
- ⚠️ Do not turn the formulation into a therapist's monologue — it is a joint inquiry
- ⚠️ Do not overload with detail in the first sessions — build it up gradually
- ⚠️ The formulation is a living document, it is corrected as the work progresses
Materials are informational and educational and summarize publicly available scientific sources. They are not medical or psychological advice, are not intended for self-diagnosis or self-treatment, and do not replace consultation with a qualified professional.