Case formulation assistant

Organise your clinical thinking
in under five minutes

A step-by-step guide to using the AI-powered case formulation tool — built for school counsellors working in the Indian context.

5Ps framework Indian school context No data stored
The framework
P
Presenting
P
Predisposing
P
Precipitating
P
Perpetuating
P
Protective
PresentingWhat the student is showing right now — observable behaviours, reported symptoms, what brought them to attention.
PredisposingBackground vulnerabilities — temperament, family history, early experiences that created fertile ground for the current difficulty.
PrecipitatingThe trigger or event that activated the current episode — the specific change that tipped things over.
PerpetuatingWhat is maintaining or worsening the problem — cognitive patterns, behavioural cycles, systemic factors.
ProtectiveThe student's strengths and resources — what will support recovery and give the intervention traction.

How to fill in the form

Work through each section in order. The quality of the output is directly proportional to the quality of what you put in.

1
Student profile

Fill in name or initials (never a full name), age, grade, gender, family structure, stream, and who referred the student.

These details are not just administrative — a Class X PCM boy in a joint family will receive a meaningfully different formulation than a Class VII girl referred by a parent. The AI uses every field.

2
Presenting concern

This is the most important field. Write what the student or referrer actually said, in plain language. Include observable behaviours, duration, and any direct quotes if you have them.

Then select all affected domains — tick everything that applies, even if it feels minor.

The richer this section is, the more specific the output. A one-line entry produces a generic formulation. A detailed paragraph produces a clinically specific one.
3
Background and history

Note any prior mental health contact, family mental health history, and key stressors — both recent and long-standing.

Use the cultural context pills to flag factors like high parental academic expectations, joint family conflict, or stigma around help-seeking. These are built into the tool's Indian school framing and will be integrated into the predisposing and perpetuating sections.

4
Protective factors

Select every strength you have observed, even small ones. Don't skip this section — the tool uses protective factors to shape both the formulation and the recommendations.

A student with strong peer friendships gets different intervention suggestions than one who is socially isolated. The protective section is also where hope lives in the formulation — it matters for the student's prognosis and your intervention leverage points.

5
Risk screening

For each of the four risk domains, select one level. Be honest and clinical — if suicidal ideation is present, mark it. The tool adjusts its risk summary and language accordingly.

Risk screening is not risk assessment. If active risk is present, follow your school's safeguarding protocol first. This tool is for formulation, not crisis management.
6
Your clinical observations

This free-text field is where your expertise comes in. Write what you noticed in the room — the student's affect, posture, what they avoided, what surprised you, any hypotheses forming in your mind.

The AI reads this section closely. A blank field produces a generic output. A thoughtful clinical paragraph produces something specific and useful.

Example: "Student was quiet initially, avoided eye contact, but opened up when asked about friends. Appeared sad rather than anxious. Spoke about feeling invisible at home. No thought disorder observed. Possible internalising pattern — consider whether parental separation is an unprocessed loss."
7
Generate

Hit the button. The tool calls an AI model trained to reason in the Indian school counselling context. It takes 10–20 seconds.

You'll receive a full formulation with all five Ps, a risk summary, a working hypothesis, five recommendations, and a next session focus.

Reading the output

The output is a draft, not a diagnosis. Here is what each section means and how to use it.

Presenting · Predisposing · Precipitating · Perpetuating · Protective
The five formulation paragraphs. Read them as a connected narrative, not five separate boxes. Check whether the story holds together — does the precipitating event logically follow from the predisposing vulnerabilities? Does the perpetuating section name the real maintaining factors, or has it missed something you know from the session?
Risk summary
A brief synthesis of the risk screening you entered, colour-coded green, amber, or red. This is a summary of what you told the tool — not an independent clinical risk assessment. If anything here surprises you, it is because the tool has inferred something from the combination of factors. Check whether that inference is clinically sound.
Working hypothesis
This is the most important output. Two to three sentences answering: what is fundamentally happening for this student psychologically? Compare it against your own hypothesis from the session. If they diverge, that divergence is worth exploring in supervision.
Recommendations
Five intervention suggestions. These are grounded in the student's specific profile, not generic advice. Filter them against what is realistic within your school's resources and your current therapeutic relationship with the student.
Next session focus
One or two sentences on the immediate therapeutic priority. Treat this as a suggested starting point — you may have clinical reasons to prioritise differently based on what emerged in the last session.

What this tool does not do

🗄️
It does not store data
Nothing is saved after you close or refresh the session. Each session starts fresh.
🩺
It does not diagnose
It formulates — which is the appropriate task for a school counsellor. Diagnosis requires clinical authority this tool does not claim.
🧑‍💻
It does not replace the interview
The tool organises what you already know. It cannot replace direct observation, a clinical interview, or psychometric assessment.
🚨
It does not manage crisis
If a student is in active risk, follow your school's safeguarding protocol immediately. Use this tool after the immediate situation is contained.
👥
It does not replace supervision
Complex or high-risk cases require supervisor input. This tool supports, not substitutes, clinical oversight.
✏️
Its output is a draft
Always read, edit, and annotate before adding to a case file. The output reflects the inputs you provided — garbage in, garbage out.

A note on confidentiality

Use initials or a code name — never a full name or any combination of details that would identify the student to a third party. Do not enter information beyond what is clinically necessary for the formulation. Treat the output the same way you would any case note: store it securely, and share only with those who have a professional need to know.