[The transdiagnostic approach of psychological distress in clinical practice].

BACKGROUND

Mental healthcare is undergoing a paradigm shift from traditional disorder-specific diagnostics toward a transdiagnostic framework for conceptualizing psychological distress. This framework facilitates an integrated understanding of underlying mechanisms that cut across conventional diagnostic boundaries.

AIM: To present a clinically applicable model of transdiagnostic clinical reasoning, elucidating its added value in routine practice and delineating its distinctions from disorder-focused approaches.

METHOD: A narrative synthesis of the literature was conducted to integrate current conceptual and empirical insights into a pragmatic framework for transdiagnostic case formulation and intervention planning.

RESULTS

Psychopathological presentations frequently co-occur, reflecting shared etiological and maintaining mechanisms that may be biological, psychological, and contextual in origin. A set of functional process domains is delineated to illustrate the clinical utility of a holistic formulation framework in the assessment and treatment of complex, comorbid presentations. The model emphasizes the centrality of relational co-creation—collaborative engagement between service users, significant others, and mental health professionals—as a vehicle for tailored, person-centred care.

CONCLUSION

Transdiagnostic clinical reasoning can be readily applied in current clinical practice. By focusing on underlying processes from a cross-diagnostic perspective, it enables a more integrative, mechanism-oriented, and individualized response to psychological distress, capturing its inherent complexity and heterogeneity.