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

Authors

  • Tracy D. Eells Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14713/pcsp.v6i4.1050

Keywords:

case studies, case study series, metacompetencies, therapist responsiveness, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), randomized clinical trials (RCTs)

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.

Author Biography

Tracy D. Eells, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville

Tan Fishman, Ph.D. Editor-in-Chief, Pragmatic Case Studies in Psychotherapy Professor of Clinical and Organizational Psychology Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology Rutgers University Mailing address: 57 Jaffray Court Irvington, NY 10533 914-693-8549 fax: 603-917-2567 email: dfish96198@aol.com

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Published

12/22/2010

How to Cite

Eells, T. D. (2010). Case Studies Help Us Read Between the Lines of Manual-Driven Therapy. Pragmatic Case Studies in Psychotherapy, 6(4). https://doi.org/10.14713/pcsp.v6i4.1050

Issue

Section

Commentaries on Original Articles