The first
psychoanalytic case was
Sigmund Freud's
self-analysis. However, he discovered that
transference was a necessary
therapeutic component, and what
evolved was a truly
wacky entanglement of
transference and
counter-transference in his
relationship with his
friend and
colleague Fliess.
Fliess is best known today in the context of the role he played in Freud's life - but he was also the originator of at least two bizarre areas of study:
Biorhythms
Nasal cauterization. (Fliess was fascinated by the nose's erectile tissue, and hypothesized that neuroses with sexual origins could be treated nasally. I swear that I am not making this up).
For fascinating accounts of this period of Freud's career, see "The Biologist of the Mind" by Frank Sulloway, or "The Assault on Truth" by Jeffrey Masson.