The article reviews the literature concerning the applicability of case studies in psychotherapy research: a) it presents the characteristics of case studies as a research strategy, b) addresses the importance of single-case designs in the study of the therapeutic process, c) discusses strategies to increase the reliability and validity of case studies, and d) provides examples of case studies from the current generation of empirical research in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. In general, the article highlights the potential of single-case intensive and systematic delineations for research into the subjective and complex processes inherent to therapeutic encounters.
Case studies; Mathodology; Psycotherapy