Projective Techniques in the Counseling Process

Abstract

Projective techniques have a lengthy and vital history in personality assessment, but they have evoked a minimal degree of interest on the part of counselors. Psychometric limitations, lack of training opportunities, and the obscure qualities of the instruments have restricted their use among practitioners. The author proposes a method to stimulate the use of projectives as an integral part of the counseling process and provides justification for the expanded use of the technique as a counseling tool.

Empathy: Implications of Three Ways of Knowing in Counseling

“…The following case description, derived from a comprehensive psychological assessment (Clark, 1995(Clark, ,2001(Clark, ,2002, provides a counseling example of the three ways of knowing.…”

Using Projective Techniques in Education Research

“…Where projective techniques are introduced at an early stage in group discussions, the responses they generate can provide ideas and new perspectives for further discussion . Clark (1995) suggested that they could be used in the counselling process for similar reasons.…”

“…Market researchers tend to focus on the needs of the client and the needs and anxieties of respondents have rarely been subject to investigation. Clark (1995), working from a counselling perspective, identi es few dif culties and argues that clients' defensiveness often diminishes with projective techniques because of their ambiguous, absorbing and non-threatening nature. We consider that there is little to be gained from concealing the nature or purpose of projective techniques from respondents.…”

“…During the 1980s they were rediscovered by academic consumer researchers (Rook, 1988). A few recent applications of projective techniques are reported in the elds of education research (Matthews, 1996), counselling (Clark, 1995) and employee evaluation (Pratch & Jacobowitz, 1998). However, commercial market researchers remain the key users outside of clinical practice (Cooper & Shore, 1999).…”

Early Recollections: A Humanistic Assessment in Counseling

“…At the same time, although this approach uses both clinical experience and intuitive acumen, it becomes difficult to document findings or to adapt procedures for instructional purposes. One way to approach this dilemma is to consider early recollections as a counseling tool that yields specific hypotheses that may subsequently be supported or refuted by data from contextual sources, such as objective and projective measures; reports elicited from a parent, teacher, spouse, or other sigruficant person; and dream material (Anastasi & Urbina, 1997;Clark, 1994Clark, ,1995Clark, ,1999.…”