Understanding Case Study Designs in Therapy

Case study designs are really important when it comes to how we collect information in therapy. They help us decide what type of information we will gather and how deep we will go in our research. Here are some key points to think about:

1. Types of Case Studies:

   • Exploratory Case Studies: These studies often use talking and open-ended questions to find new information. About 67% of these studies analyze patterns in what people say.
   • Explanatory Case Studies: These mix different methods. They combine numbers (like surveys) and words (like interviews) to see how things are connected. Around 72% of these studies use both types to get a fuller picture.
   • Descriptive Case Studies: These focus mainly on words by observing directly or asking people how they feel. About 80% of the information collected in this type comes from these methods.

2. Participant Characteristics:

   • How we gather information also depends on who we are talking to. For example, younger clients might like online surveys better (used in 57% of studies), while older clients may prefer talking face-to-face (64% engage this way).

3. Therapeutic Context:

   • Different kinds of therapy (like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT, and psychodynamic therapy) require different ways to collect information. Studies show that CBT case studies often use standard measures (75% of the time), while psychodynamic case studies might rely more on stories (60% of the time).

In short, the way we design case studies can really shape how we gather information. This helps us gain better insights into therapy.