Case Studies Help Us Read Between the Lines of Manual-Driven Therapy

Abstract

Edwards’ (2010) article illuminates the benefits of systematic case series analysis in exploring metacompetencies such as therapist responsiveness.  These benefits are unique contributions of systematic case analyses since the situational and temporal contexts provided by cases are  lost in group comparison research such as randomized clinical trials.  For this reason, the two approaches triangulate well with each other, in the sense described by Edwards.  Aggregation of findings from multiple cases facilitates generalization.  Edward’s systematic case series of PTSD treatments demonstrates one important and pragmatic way in which this generalization can be accomplished.  I discuss Edward’s approach to studying therapist responsiveness in light of methodology, theory-building, training, and case formulation.