Reading Room

Projective Techniques
in the Counseling Process

by Arthur J. Clark

page 2

The use of projective instruments assumes prerequisite psychological knowledge (Anastasi, 1988), with formal training and supervision (Drummond, 1992). Advanced course work is essential for some devices, including the Rorschach and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) (Hood Johnson, 1990), and computer-assisted and computer-adaptive testing (Drummond, 1988) is becoming more common. Training for counselors in projective techniques at the master's degree level is infrequent, with a clear majority of programs surveyed (Piotrowski Keller, 1984) offering no courses in projectives, although most of the training directors indicated that counseling students should be familiar with the Rorschach and the TAT. A recent study of community-based counselors suggests that licensed counselors are not frequent test users of either an objective or projective type (Bubenzer, Zimpfer, Mahrle, 1990). Counseling psychologists in private practice, community mental health centers, and counselors in hospital settings used projectives with relative frequency, but those in university and college counseling centers generally used objective assessments, with minimal employment of projectives (Watkins Campbell, 1989).

VALUE OF PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES IN COUNSELING

Although reservations about projective techniques may be recognized by researchers and practitioners (e.g., questionable psychometric qualities, a multitude of various types of devices, and considerable training required for most techniques), such issues are of less concern if projectives are used as informal, hypotheses-generating tools in counseling. This position will be amplified after examining how the skilled use of projective techniques may advance the counseling experience in ways that are both substantive and economical.

Enhancing the Counseling Relationship

As a component of the counseling process, projective techniques offer a means other than direct verbal disclosure for the client to express him-or herself. The projectives may be administered after a discussion about the purpose and application of the techniques. The client is asked to draw human figures, complete sentence stems, describe early memories, or partake in related approaches. The focus immediately shifts from the client's oral expression to the completion of a task, and interaction between the client and counselor occurs through an intermediate activity that elicits the involvement of the person. The instruments themselves are interesting to most individuals, and they offer a multimodal freedom of expression (Anastasi, 1988). While the client is completing the devices, the counselor is able to observe the person, make supportive comments, and offer encouragement. As a client responds to the ambiguous and relatively nonthreatening projective methods, his or her defensiveness often diminishes because of the participatory and absorbing nature of the tasks (Clark, 1991; Koruer, 1965). Pepinsky wrote about the projective effort by individuals: "The counselor has been able to employ these materials informally in the counseling interview, without making the client suspicious or hostile to what he might otherwise regard as an intrusion into his private world" (1947, p. 139).

Understanding the Client

As individually administered assessment devices, projectives allow for a relatively standardized observation period of the client while he or she completes the tasks (Cummings, 1986; Korner, 1965). Samples of behavior, such as the client's hostility, cooperation, impulsivity, and dependence may be noted by the counselor. The content of the client's projective responses may also be contrasted with his or her actions. As an example, an individual may verbally express positive feelings towards his or her mother that are contradicted with the sentence completion, "My mother . . . is a spiteful person." Personality dynamics are revealed through the indirect methods of projectives, as individual differences are ascertained through the unique constructions by the person. Potential information gained from the projectives includes the dynamics of client needs, values, conflicts, defenses, and capabilities (Murstein, 1965).

continued | back to top | back to reading room

about me | support | thoughts on suicide |