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Understanding and Using the Rorschach Inkblot Test to Assess Post-Traumatic Conditions

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Abstract

Partially, in response to recent and current military conflicts, many forensic and clinical researchers and practitioners have devoted increasing interest to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the individual variations in response to trauma. Such efforts have produced a considerable amount of research and opinion supporting the assessment of post-traumatic conditions with the Rorschach Inkblot Test. Based on PTSD and Rorschach research and an appreciation as the Rorschach as a performance test, five interpretive considerations are presented (1) cognitive constriction, (2) trauma-related imagery, (3) trauma-related cognitive disturbances, (4) stress response, and (5) dissociation. These five provide a conceptual starting point for the understanding and application of the test to post-traumatic conditions. Implications for the clinical and forensic evaluation of post-traumatic conditions and for research are presented.

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Notes

  1. Appreciation for such individual variability has led us to frequently use the terms “post-traumatic reactions” or “post-traumatic conditions,” rather than PTSD.

  2. Should the R-PAS variable name be different from the CS variable, it is included in brackets.

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  1. California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Donald J. Viglione, Benjamin Towns & Dawn Lindshield

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  1. Donald J. Viglione
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Correspondence to Donald J. Viglione.

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Viglione, D.J., Towns, B. & Lindshield, D. Understanding and Using the Rorschach Inkblot Test to Assess Post-Traumatic Conditions. Psychol. Inj. and Law 5, 135–144 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12207-012-9128-5

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