Case Study Summary

Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet is narrated from three points of view or perspectives. The novel starts with Burnet's preface, where he talks about his encounter with Collins Braithwaite, a captivating psychotherapist after a stranger with five notebooks contacted him. The notebooks belong to one of Braithwaite's patients, kept by her sister. Veronica was Braithwaite's patient who later committed suicide, and her sister investigated the therapist to make him accountable for his actions. According to Veronica's sister, Braithwaite is responsible for her sister's suicide. Burnet is handed the notebooks to write a book about the psychotherapist’s incompetence.

In the second part, the novel explains the unfolding events when Burnet gets five notebooks belonging to an unnamed woman who claims that Braithwaite is responsible for the death of her sister called, Veronica. To prove Braithwaite's unethical behavior, the woman disguised herself as Rebecca and became his patient. Rebecca recorded everything Braithwaite did. Rebecca attended all her psychotherapy sessions and noted everything Braithwaite did to her. All that time, Braithwaite was unaware that Rebecca was a disguised patient on a mission to investigate him.

Burnet struggled to understand the authenticity of the notes before writing a book about Braithwaite. The narrative moves back and forth, revolving around Rebecca's therapy sessions and detailed account of Braithwaite's career. The story is set in the 1960s in London and explores patients' experiences with their therapists and the assumptions of the outcomes. The story also focuses on sexual freedom and the role of women in deciding their destinies. Veronica's decision to disguise herself as Rebecca shows that women can make independent decisions to decide their destinies. For instance, she gives a detailed account of Braithwaite's incompetence to prove that her sister's suicide was not accidental. Consequently, Burnet’s Case Study is a craftily twisted fiction that presents sexual freedom in the 1960s in London.