Case Study of Lisa: A Business Professional Experiencing Performance Development
This case study presents the contextualisation, case formulation, and proposed
strategies for a 29-year-old female business and tax professional in a corporate workplace
setting. The client was classified as experiencing Performance Development (PD-II) by the
Multilevel Classification System for Sport Psychology (MCS-SP), developed by Gardner and
Moore (2004).
The MCS-SP was used in the current study as it provides a guide to an in-depth
evaluation of client’s needs, approaches for case conceptualisation, and devises the most
appropriate types of professional service necessary for the client (Gardner & Moore, 2004).
This thorough evaluation would bring about interventions based on the client’s overall
psychosocial and performance needs (Cogan, 2000, as cited in Gardner & Moore, 2004),
therefore the practitioner could tailor interventions around the client’s unique characteristics.
An added advantage of the MCS-SP is the requirement for a comprehensive
preintervention assessment that attempts to rule out more serious issues prior to evaluating
performance-related concerns and commencing the process of intervention. This is in contrast
with other approaches that begins with a focus on performance issues, only moving on to
personal or clinical concerns if or when they surface during the intervention process (Gardner
& Moore, 2004). It could also be empowering to the clients when they were allowed room for
discussion of more personal matters. It was observed by Gardner and Moore (2004) that
making any assumption on potentially more significant concerns could be harmful and
detrimental to the client’s well-being and the therapeutic relationship between the practitioner
and the client.
The consulting philosophy used for this case study is Certaintism. One of the
practitioner’s beliefs and values is to be objective where possible, especially in measurements
and tests. It is important to have well-supported theories to allow the practitioner to make
accurate and correct decisions with certainty (Keegan, 2016). The intake interview is led by
the practitioner, informed by theory, as opposed to being client-led (Keegan, 2016). The
interview should adhere to a guideline so as to reduce practitioner bias. The practitioner will
do the diagnosis and prescription, in which afterwards establish the strategies for
intervention. The practitioner also believes in prescribing and teaching the client on the usage
of specific mental skills, and to guide the client in the development of mental skills (Keegan,
2016).
Case Contextualisation
In accordance with the code of ethics outlined by Singapore Psychological Society,
the client’s privacy and confidentiality will be protected by referring to her as “Lisa” and
modifying all identifying information. Lisa is a 29-year-old female Tax Executive at a
Singapore-based Australia tax firm. She is a shy and soft-spoken lady, of average physical
