Prologue -- Introduction -- Unique -- Formulation: An Introduction to Key Debates and a Framework for Developing a Systematic Approach -- Case formulation and its role in professional practice -- A framework for formulation: purpose, perspective, and process -- Working with Purpose, Perspective, and Process: Elaborating the Framework to Enhance Your Approach -- Defining the purpose of the enquiry -- Identifying the perspective that informs the journey -- Devising a process that is fit for purpose -- The Many Facets of Formulation: An Interdisciplinary Perspective -- Introducing our guest contributors -- Case formulation: the dilemmas posed by child sex offenders -- Every child does matter: preventing school exclusion through the Common Assessment Framework -- The role of formulation in cognitive-behaviour therapy: a concept hidden in plain view? -- Existential formulations of therapeutic practice -- What story are you in? Four elements of a narrative approach to formulation in coaching -- Fabricating fictions, telling tales -- Acting as narrative -- Understanding character: an actor's approach to formulation -- Implications for the Future -- Creating stories for complex times -- Conclusion -- Epilogue.