Guidelines for Making the Most of Your Case Study
Some general guidelines
Students often get stuck at the first hurdle because they perceive a case study only as an exam, or
assessment which they must pass to go on to the next stage. This might well be a fact, but it is also a
fact without any accompanying helpful information. Understand this …. A case study is a learning
tool! Think of it as like a counselling session in extremely slow motion! When you slow something
down you can see it much more clearly and in greater detail; you will be able to analyse your work,
your process and conclusions more accurately than you ever can in a session.
Plan your work! I don’t remember who said this but it always struck a chord with me: “people don’t
plan to fail, they just fail to plan”.
Dissect your case study into manageable chunks of work; probably no more than 2 hours a day, or at a
sitting. Make a list of what you have to do and give each item/chunk a priority and a time limit to
spend on it. Put each chunk in your diary! Then just do it, no matter what. However, also build in some
flexibility, some slippage time in your diary (call it catch-up time if you like; if you don’t need it, great,
do something more exciting instead); if you get excited, on a roll, and have more time, do that. If you
feel under the weather, take time out in your slippage time. It is important to listen to yourself and pace
yourself accordingly, without making yourself wrong! Ask yourself what is the worst thing that could
happen if you don’t get it in by the deadline this time.
Get an academic supervisor, someone who is on the list of markers, to help you with the academic
quality of your work. You might only need to see them once, twice at most, but you will be setting
yourself up for success if you do. Obviously, that person will have to be off your list of possible
markers, so choose wisely!
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Word counts usually include quotes but exclude the front sheet and the bibliography.
If your guidelines have bullet points they usually indicate suggestions about what you can
cover; it’s not usually mandatory to cover each and every topic! Have a discreet section for
each bullet point, but whatever you decide it must be detailed!
It is best to write the story first and then weave the philosophy and theory through it; you
would give a better explanation your practice this way. The best studies describe the story or
what happened and then describe the theory afterwards. You don’t have to mention all theory
terms just for the sake of it.
Ensure that the heart of your study is detailed and descriptive. You need to describe your
work, your rationale for responses in a way that a non-therapist could understand it; don’t
assume anything about the knowledge, qualifications or experience of the marker. Your
descriptions need to be explicit, plus using the terms or ‘jargon’.
Common mistakes
 No empathy for the reader. Make things explicit; don’t assume the reader knows what you
mean by any of your terminology, e.g. congruence, etc. Assume they know nothing. This
applies to understanding of theory and understanding of ethics. Say why you made your
decision/s (all of them). Be very detailed.
 Theory/jargon/terminology: define them all explicitly the first time you use them, e.g. a quote
from the main people/writers who inform your practice, and then say it in your own words and
show how it applies in your work. This shows that you have read recommended texts (and
maybe others too?); markers can see what you’ve read in your work.
 Details and descriptions: how? Why? Where? When? What? Who? Consequences. Show in
detail how you relate theory – practice – philosophy. You don’t have to mention all theory
terms just for the sake of it.
 The way that you present your work, put it together, neatness, bound, quality of paper, (folder)
shows that you respect your work and your client.
 Spelling and grammar: read your study out loud to yourself. This often shows where it doesn’t
make sense. Better yet, get someone else to read it, preferably someone who knows nothing
about your profession and the theory/jargon/terminology that you use to describe the
processes!
 Choose your case study client carefully.
o Long time with them
o Choose one you feel energetic about
o No need to resolve all issues it’s about showing competence, not success of theory
o Length of relationships; not 200 sessions! Minimum of 12. Over that it’s difficult to
marshall an abundance of information and précis the process.
o Take the relationship as a whole, a beginning, middle and end (even if it’s end is
where you are now with your client); e.g. “as I write this we are still working and
this is what I’m learning …”
I hope you find this helpful.
GOOD LUCK!