About The Course
This comprehensive on-demand curriculum led by Dr Sanil Rege in Advanced Psychiatric Formulation brings together two masterclasses designed for consultant psychiatrists, registrars, and experienced mental health professionals. It offers a stepwise, integrative approach to psychiatric case formulation, moving beyond symptom checklists toward patient-centred, hypothesis-driven care.
Who Is This Course For?
This course is Ideal for:
- Consultant psychiatrists refining diagnostic models and strategic treatment frameworks
- Psychiatry registrars preparing for long case and written exams or managing diagnostic complexity
- General Practitioners (GPs) involved in psychiatric care
- Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (MHNPs) and Psychologists
- Experienced mental health professionals seeking to enhance clinical reasoning and implement mechanism-informed care
Part 1 builds foundational skills in diagnostic formulation, while Part 2 translates those insights into personalised management strategies using neuroscience, psychodynamics, and functional domains.
Together, they equip clinicians with the tools to refine diagnostic reasoning, avoid common pitfalls, and implement mechanism-informed interventions.
Through narrative-rich content and structured models, participants will enhance clinical reasoning, improve formulation techniques, and deliver more effective, individualised care. This masterclass equips psychiatrists with structured yet intuitive skills to enhance clinical decisions and patient outcomes.
Accreditation Information:
- Psychiatry Accreditation: This course is available for self-accreditation with the RANZCP and other relevant psychiatric and mental health organisations.
- Upon completion, participants will receive 7.5 CPD hours (EA 7.5) and a certificate of completion, which can be used to claim CPD.
What You'll Learn
- Implement a structured, hypothesis-driven approach to psychiatric formulation beyond DSM/ICD classifications.
- Apply phenomenological, neurobiological, psychodynamic, and sociocultural perspectives to develop multidimensional case formulations.
- Use diagnostic hierarchies and functional domain models to refine differential diagnoses and optimise clinical decision-making.
- Extract key clinical indicators from patient narratives to support comprehensive, pattern-based assessment.
- Develop advanced clinical narratives that link diagnostic insights with strategic treatment planning.
- Apply the PACES™ framework (Perception, Activity, Cognition, Emotion, Sleep) to bridge diagnosis, formulation, and personalised intervention.
- Apply the strategic six-domain management model to guide interventions across mood, cognition, activity, perception, sleep, and relational functioning.
- Use the PACES™ framework (Perception, Activity, Cognition, Emotion, Sleep) to connect diagnosis, formulation, and personalised treatment planning.
- Translate formulations into mechanism-guided, patient-centred treatment strategies informed by hierarchical and network-based models.
- Integrate psychopharmacological principles across a range of medications, including receptor dynamics, treatment sequencing, and symptom-based targeting.
- Incorporate psychological models, such as cognitive, schema, emotion regulation, and psychodynamic frameworks, into management strategies.
- Formulate interventions by synthesising biological, psychological, and developmental perspectives to address complex and treatment-resistant presentations.
- Understand how psychodynamic processes influence medication response, resistance, and the therapeutic alliance.
- Construct integrated formulations that incorporate biological, psychological, relational, and cultural factors.
Course Programme
13 Modules | 73 Units | 7.5 hours total length
- William Osler’s Approach
- Psychiatry is an exploratory art rather than a reductionist exercise
- Moving beyond DSM/ICD constructs to a hypothesis-driven, dynamic approach
- Phenomenology
- Daniel Kahneman’s System 1 & System 2 Thinking
- The role of reward prediction errors (RPEs) and Bayesian brain models in psychiatric learning
- A stepwise, Sherlock Holmes-style approach to psychiatric diagnosis.
- The Diagnostic Hierarchy
- The Diagnostic Formulation - Bio-Psycho-Socio-Cultural-Diet-Lifestyle Model
- Recognising implicit patterns in narratives
- Heuristic Traps in Psychiatry
- Why AI cannot replace psychiatric formulation – the human factor in diagnostics.
- Phenomenology in Action: The PACES™ model
- Predictive Coding & Bayesian Psychiatry – How the brain constructs meaning from fragmented information.
- The Three-Layered Approach to Diagnosis
- Diagnostic Flexibility in Psychiatry
- The Iterative Formulation Model – Deconstruct, Understand, Integrate, Strategize, Revise, Repeat.
- 5P Model vs. Advanced Formulation Models
- Clinical Decision-Making as a Bayesian Process
- Case Studies and Formulation Narratives
- Therapeutic Targets Based on Formulation
- Developing an Individualised Treatment Plan Based on Formulation
- Limitations of guideline-based, reductionist approaches
- Modern psychiatry as a field requiring strategic, adaptive, and probabilistic reasoning
- Chess as an analogy for psychiatric strategy – embracing uncertainty, recognising configurations, and planning moves in response to complexity
- Broad-to-narrow diagnostic screening
- Diagnostic hierarchy: organic, substance-related, syndromic, dimensional
- Clinical formulation as a decision-making framework
- Diagnostic constructs bridging semantic and procedural knowledge
- PACES™ model: Perception, Activity, Cognition, Emotion, Sleep
- Six-domain strategy linking formulation to management
- Symptom clusters and functional overlap beyond categorical diagnosis
- Neuroscience-guided prescribing across receptor systems and functional domains
- Application of the PACES™ model to align pharmacological strategies with clinical dimensions
- Rational sequencing of antidepressants, mood stabilisers, antipsychotics, and psychostimulants
- Clinical reasoning in complex scenarios: resistance, activation syndromes, metabolic burden, and polypharmacy
- Recognising the influence of substances, medication effects, and withdrawal on mental states
- Integrating pharmacological choices with psychological formulation and therapeutic context
- Safety planning, informed by current risk, past behaviour, and relational context, to guide setting and support decisions
- Neural network dysfunction across psychiatric syndromes-salience, executive control (ECN), and default mode (DMN) networks
- Frontostriatal-limbic dysregulation in Affective Disorders, OCD, ADHD, BPD, and related conditions
- Network-based formulation to guide pharmacological and psychotherapeutic strategies
- Differentiating neurobiological drivers from psychological adaptations in clinical presentations
- Dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic mechanisms in psychosis—presynaptic dysfunction, receptor dynamics, and aberrant salience
- Extension of dopamine-based models to Tourette’s, OCD, and ADHD and BPD
- Principles of antipsychotic use—partial agonists, poly-receptor strategies, and individualised application
- Integration of psychological models (e.g. affect regulation, reward prediction errors) into medication decision-making
- Mood disorders: cognitive–affective residuals, neuroinflammation, endocrine factors, and neuroplastic shifts
- Bipolar spectrum: frontostriatal dysfunction, motivational dysregulation, risk of affective switching
- Anxiety phenotypes: network-level dysregulation, arousal states, and impaired inhibitory control
- OCD and rumination: disrupted prediction error, looping thoughts, and safety behaviours
- PTSD: hyperarousal, dissociation, stress-system fatigue, and phase-based treatment integration
- ADHD: dysfunction across PACES domains, dopaminergic strain, developmental vulnerabilities
- ADHD–BPD overlap: emotion regulation difficulties, attachment dynamics, and learning history
- Eating disorders and chronic pain: salience–arousal disturbances, interoceptive and reward circuit involvement
- Sleep dysregulation: circadian shifts, hyperarousal, and impact on emotion and cognition
- Broad focus on transdiagnostic circuits and symptom networks
- Formulation-guided sequencing of psychological and pharmacological strategies
- Psychodynamics of prescribing: transference, countertransference, and the “medication life”
- Treatment resistance: relational breakdowns, unconscious processes, and therapeutic rupture
- Emotional development: early caregiving, implicit memory, and regulation of affect
- Emotional language: symbolic expression of needs, shame, and unmet expectations
- Safety and change: the role of predictability, curiosity, and emotional containment
- Personality development: neurodevelopmental impact on emotional scaffolding
- BPD formulation: interpersonal distress, identity disruption, and affective dysregulation
- Complex trauma: integrating neurobiology, psychodynamics, and pharmacology for self-harm and emotional pain
- Application of formulation-to-management pathways in complex presentations
- Consideration of vascular and subcortical influences on treatment response
- Use of diagnostic hierarchy and domain-based intervention planning
- Strategic pharmacological targeting across mood, cognition, activity, and sleep
- Monitoring of symptom change to guide clinical decision-making
- Tracking functional outcomes across biological and psychological parameters
- Iterative strategy refinement through ongoing formulation updates
Course Description
Advanced Psychiatric Formulation and Strategic Management Series
In an era where psychiatric diagnosis and management increasingly require nuanced reasoning beyond checklist criteria, this comprehensive on-demand curriculum delivers an advanced, integrative framework for real-world clinical complexity. The Advanced Psychiatric Formulation and Strategic Management Series includes two in-depth masterclasses—Part 1 and Part 2—designed to deepen clinical formulation skills and translate diagnostic clarity into personalised, evidence-based psychiatric management.
Led by Dr Sanil Rege, the series is ideal for consultant psychiatrists, psychiatry registrars preparing for long cases and exams, and experienced mental health professionals seeking to expand their diagnostic precision and treatment capabilities.
Grounded in clinical neuroscience, psychodynamics, and phenomenology, this series provides a powerful synthesis of theory and practice to guide you through the art of Advanced Psychiatric Formulation.
Part 1 – The Art of Diagnostic Formulation in Psychiatry – From Patient History To Diagnostic Perspectives
Part 1 of the masterclass series offers a structured and hypothesis-driven model of Advanced Psychiatric Formulation, moving beyond categorical DSM/ICD checklists.
Participants will learn to integrate phenomenological, neurobiological, and psychodynamic principles into clinical reasoning while refining differential diagnoses using a diagnostic hierarchy.
The course equips participants to build multidimensional narratives that link formulation with management planning. You will gain practical tools to enhance diagnostic precision, recognise core psychopathological processes, and apply integrative thinking to complex cases.
Through a modular structure—including PACES™ interviewing, the 5Ps model, and Bayesian diagnostic reasoning—you’ll refine your approach to clinical synthesis and diagnostic hypothesis testing. Case-based examples demonstrate the application of these concepts across a wide range of psychiatric presentations, enhancing formulation-to-management continuity.
Part 2 – The Art of Strategic Problem Solving in Psychiatry – From Diagnostic Formulation to Management
Building on the foundations laid in Part 1, this course shifts from diagnostic formulation to strategic, mechanism-based intervention. Participants apply the PACES™ framework and a six-domain model to address dysfunction across mood, cognition, perception, sleep, activity, and relationships.
Part 2 explores dynamic treatment planning grounded in neurobiology, pharmacodynamics, and psychodynamics.
Modules cover neuroscience-based prescribing, network-level dysfunctions, and targeted interventions for complex conditions including mood disorders, ADHD, trauma, and personality pathology.
Clinicians learn to integrate biological, psychological, and developmental formulations into personalised management strategies.
The course also addresses psychodynamic factors in prescribing, emotional regulation, and therapeutic alliance. Strategic application is emphasised through evolving case scenarios, reinforcing functional tracking and iterative formulation.
Designed for psychiatrists managing diagnostic ambiguity or treatment resistance, this course equips participants with advanced tools for personalised, evidence-based psychiatric care.
By completing this curriculum, participants will learn how to:
- Implement a structured, hypothesis-driven approach to psychiatric case formulation beyond DSM/ICD categories
- Apply phenomenological, neurobiological, and psychodynamic principles to understand complex clinical presentations
- Utilise the diagnostic hierarchy to refine differential diagnoses and support clinical decision-making
- Identify and interpret key clinical indicators from patient narratives to inform comprehensive formulation
- Develop multidimensional case formulations that integrate biological, cognitive, psychodynamic, and sociocultural models
- Translate formulation insights into mechanism-informed, patient-centred management strategies
- Apply the PACES™ and six-domain frameworks to bridge diagnostic understanding and function-oriented care
- Integrate emotional regulation, developmental, and personality-informed strategies into treatment planning
- Design personalised, function-based management plans using pharmacological, psychological, and psychosocial interventions
- Synthesise advanced narrative formulations to support evidence-based psychiatric management in complex cases
Advance your clinical reasoning and management expertise with this two-part curriculum in Advanced Psychiatric Formulation—a vital resource for modern mental health professionals seeking deeper diagnostic insight and therapeutic impact.
Upon completion of this course, participants will receive a course completion certificate and 7.5 CPD hours towards educational activities. This course supports Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in accordance with the CAPE Framework. It aligns with the domains of Addressing Health Inequities, Professionalism, and Ethics.
While our Academy members enjoy exclusive access to a range of courses and webinars—including this one—through their annual membership, we’re pleased to offer the option to purchase this course individually!
- Purchase Part 1 – The Art of Diagnostic Formulation in Psychiatry for $167
- Purchase Part 2 – The Art of Strategic Problem Solving in Psychiatry for $167
- Or save with the full curriculum, which includes both Part 1 and Part 2 for a discounted rate of $297
👉 Click here to purchase the full curriculum
For details, scroll down to the Pricing section below.
Master advanced psychiatric formulation and management in this two-part series, integrating neuroscience, psychodynamics, and functional domains to enhance evidence-based psychiatric management in complex, real-world clinical presentations.
Course Information
- 7.5 Hours
- 7.5 CPD
Inclusions
- 6.5+ Hours of Video lecture
- Case-based learning
- Certificate of Completion
Material Downloads
- certificate
Instructor
Dr. Sanil Rege MBBS, MRCPsych, FRANZCP
With extensive teaching experience through his various psychiatry course initiatives, Sanil is widely acknowledged as an enthusiastic and motivational training facilitator who promotes interaction and collaboration.
As the Academic Lead of Psych Scene and Chief Editor of Psych Scene Hub, he aspires to make a difference in mental health by empowering healthcare professionals to advance their skills and career through the provision of specialised training and education.
Dr Rege is also the founder of Vita Healthcare, a private clinic in Mount Eliza specialising in adult mental healthcare, with over 20 years of clinical experience and 13 years of private practice experience treating disorders across the spectrum. He currently works in the community across inpatient, consultation-liaison and addiction psychiatry spaces.
