No abstract

This special edition of Rorschachiana is a celebration of the centenary of the publication in 1921 of Hermann Rorschach's book Psychodiagnostics. Authors were invited to submit review articles that summarize the research in particular areas of study. The aim is to offer an update on the White Paper from the Society of Personality Assessment that was published in 2005 in response to criticisms of the Rorschach that called for a moratorium on the use of the test in clinical practice. Based on a review of the scientific literature, the White Paper concluded "the Rorschach possesses documented reliability and validity similar to other generally accepted test instruments used in the assessment of personality and psychopathology and that its responsible use in personality assessment is appropriate and justified" (Society for Personality Assessment, 2005, p. 221).The question to authors was, "What does the scientific literature from 2005 to the present tell us now about the reliability and validity of the Rorschach as a tool for the assessment of personality?" Then, in order to broaden the discussion and reach out to the wider psychological community, each article was sent to another psychologist with specialist knowledge on the topic. The discussants were invited to comment on how the Rorschach literature informed their area of practice.Nancy Kaser-Boyd gives us an update on the research into how the patient's experience of trauma is manifested on the Rorschach (Kaser-Boyd, 2021). She discusses the two main symptom clusters of avoidance and intrusions and links these to "constricted" and "flooded" protocols. There are sections on torture, interpersonal abuse, and combat trauma. She also considers the research on malingering. The discussant for this article is Steven Gold and he writes convincingly about the value of the patient's experience being given full rein in the test (Gold, 2021).In a very different vein, Koji Jimura, Tomoki Asari, and Noriko Nakamura plunge into neurophysiological studies of brain functioning during the administration of the Rorschach and provide fascinating links between individual differences in particular Rorschach scores and patterns of brain activity, looking at the human movement response, achromatic determinants, form quality, chromatic responses, oral dependent responses, and complexity (Jimura et al., 2021).

Abstract. This study provides Rorschach data for 88 adults aged 18–65 years from the general population in England. The sample was matched as closely as possible with census data on the variables of gender, age, marital status, ethnicity, geographical location, occupation, and level of education. The Rorschach was administered according to the Comprehensive System by five experienced psychologists. Participants also completed a measure of psychological distress called the CORE. Interscorer reliability was found to be excellent for all variables apart from the six cognitive special scores, for which it was fair. Rorschach data are presented for Comprehensive System variables and compared with Exner’s (2007) sample of 450 nonpatient adults in the United States and with the international reference sample ( Meyer, Erdberg, & Shaffer, 2007 ).

Cet article, proposé par le Bureau exécutif de la Société Britannique du Rorschach, retrace l’histoire de ce test souvent controversé dans ce pays et offre un aperçu de son utilisation aujourd’hui. 2021 marque le centenaire de la publication de l’ouvrage Psychodiagnostic d’Hermann Rorschach, qui présente ses travaux et comprend 10 planches devenues la base de son célèbre test. Malheureusement, Rorschach meurt prématurément l’année suivante, mais son test, la «  Queen of tests  » (« reine des tests », selon l’expression de Damion Searls) a survécu, suscitant l’intérêt et la controverse en cours de route. C’est cette histoire mouvementée qui se trouve développée dans le contexte britannique.

The process by which one becomes a qualified clinical psychologist in the United Kingdom (U.K.) is described so that American (United States) clinical psychologists visiting the U.K. may better understand the context in which their British counterparts work. The process begins with the admissions criteria of training programs and ends with one's acceptance as a fully qualified, independent clinical psychologist. Educational and health care issues are described as factors relevant in shaping the structure of clinical psychology programs. Advantages and disadvantages of the British system are discussed in the light of continuing political changes, and some suggestions for improvements are made. KARI S. CARSTAIRS is a clinical psychology graduate student at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia. A United States citizen by birth, she received most of her early education in England, and she obtained her undergraduate degree in experimental psychology in 1982 from the University of Oxford. She has worked in a variety of clinical settings in both countries, with a particular interest in psychodynamic psychotherapy.