Observations on the House-Tree-Person Drawing Test Before and After Surgery

A communication tool for cancer patients with pain: The art therapy technique of the Body Outline

“…The drawing of the body has been used for a long time in the field of clinical psychology as a projective test~Machover, 1949; Meyer et al, 1955!. The literature on the use of the body outline in art therapy as a therapeutic intervention is scarce, and it is mainly related to the life-size outline of the body.…”

The influence of situational and interpersonal variables in projective testing.

“…In another study which utilized hospitalized 5s, Meyer, Brown, and Levine (1955) found that H-T-P drawings secured before surgery indicated far more regression than was apparent either clinically or in the postoperative drawings. "The contrast between the pre-and postoperative drawings were often so arresting as to cast doubt upon their being the product of the same individual" (p. 431).…”

A Clinical Study of Psychiatric and Psychological Aspects of Mitral Surgery

“…Evaluation of the drawings is based upon the hypothesis that the patient's productions represent self-projections that enable the experienced examiner to draw valid conclusions concerning the patient's defenses, adaptations, and conflicts. 8 " 1 -15 ' 19 One hundred and fourteen sets of drawings, usually containing four pictures each, were obtained, ranging in number from 2 to 12 per jxitient-an average of 5.4 sets from each subject. Most patients revealed a disinclination to draw during the early postoperative days.…”

“…Most patients revealed a disinclination to draw during the early postoperative days. The method employed was similar to that described in a previous study of surgical patients, 19 save that in addition to being asked to draw a house, a tree, and a person, the subject was asked to depict his conception of the inside of the human body. 22 Although a wide variety of colored pencils was provided, the free use of" appropriate and varied color was uncommon, as we had observed previously.…”