Existential Analysis 31.2: July 2020 One ‘P’ to Conquer Them All: An existential-phenomenological critique of the ‘5 Ps model’ of psychological formulation and its alternative Dale Judd Abstract The present paper will provide an overview of the concept of psychological formulation, by providing a critique of Weerasekera’s (1996) ‘5 Ps model’ and through presenting a phenomenological alternative, which addresses the inherent limitations of Weeraskera’s approach. Consideration is also given to the effects upon the therapeutic relationship and process of each model. Key Words Formulation, existential, phenomenology, noetic, relational, Being-in-the-world Introduction In order to place this discussion into some context, I will begin with an introductory ‘P’ – Prologue, which should also serve to highlight other key ‘P’s that will be addressed within this discussion: Privilege, Power and of course, Phenomenology. Having practiced as a Counselling Psychologist within the NHS for over twenty years in a range of Adult-Mental Health (AMH) service contexts (outpatient psychology, CMHT’s, acute psychiatric inpatient services, community psychiatric triage and a short-term therapies team), I have been witness to fundamental changes that have, on the whole, had a long-lasting (apparently irreversible) and detrimental effect upon the provision (and accessibility) of psychological therapies – including everything from the commissioning of services to how, and through which theoretical models, therapy is provided within the consulting-room – and for how long. Unfortunately, this has been symptomatic of other developments within the NHS and across the public sector generally – namely, hyper-rationality (the focus upon numerically based ‘evidence’ only), neoliberalism (the drive for ‘efficiency’ to legitimise deregulation and privatisation) bureaucratisation and managerialism (Dalal, 2018). A discussion of these themes is another topic altogether and beyond the scope of this paper. However, set within the context of these politically driven organisational developments – with initiatives such as IAPT services providing highly manualised, reductive Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) only – the ‘5