BEHAVIORAL INFORMATION
Maryanne arrived at the testing session in comfortable attire (jeans, a sweater and a scarf), and appeared to be a person of good hygiene. She is a lady of average height and weight, and wrote using her left hand. She talked politely, initiated conversations and was elaborate when answering questions. Maryanne did not appear anxious or nervous at any moment in the whole testing session; she was attentive and seemed to easily understand tasks and directions. There was no evidence that Maryanne had any delusions or hallucinations and her motivation for testing was good, therefore, the tests can be considered a valid assessment of her psychological functioning.
House-Tree-Person projective Test (HTPP)
Usually, the first drawing symbolizes the person’s ideal self (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2009, p. 399). Maryanne’s first drawing appears to be very cartoonish, very large, irregular shaped and is located at the upper left corner of the paper, it looks more of a child’s drawing. This drawing symbolizes authority, power struggles, narcissism, unrealistic striving and frustration. The large head symbolizes regression while the long legs are indicative of feelings of submissiveness, immaturity and stability. However in Maryanne’s case, it may symbolize unrecognized or unexpressed anger. The emphasis on individual hair and petal-like fingers may symbolize sexual concerns and immaturity respectively.
The tree drawing test represents a person’s view of the environment (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2009, p. 399). Maryanne’s tree is relatively small and appears distorted. A tiny tree symbolizes environmental pressures. In addition, it is symbolic of insecurity, withdrawal and discontent. Her tree has numerous crooked and broken lines, this denotes withdrawal. The lack of roots to the tree emphasizes feelings of insecurity. Maryanne said that the weather was stormy; this may be indicating that her environment is threatening.
The house drawing test represents a drawer’s unconscious rendition of her family relationship or structure (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2009, p.400). Maryanne drawings were overly minimal and simplistic. Her drawing symbolizes inadequacy and just like her other two drawings, her small house portrays feelings of withdrawal, discontent and insecurity. Her house had a chimney, which may be indicating that there may be warmth but the excessive smoke could be suggesting that there exist heated anger between the family members. Lack of windows may symbolize the need to keep secrets and close it off from outside intrusions. Maryanne said that the house needed flowers; this indicates that desires an embellishment in her life and her surroundings.
Reference
Kaplan, R. M., & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2009). Psychological testing: Principles, applications,
and issues. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
