On the Rorschach Protocol

The Rorschach is a test that requires a careful analysis of the ‘location’ of the responses, as provided by the subject, but this information unfortunately was not available for this protocol. In addition, the ‘Inquiry’, which allows us to understand the thinking and other processes behind the response, was also absent from this protocol. This means that the interpretation of the protocol which follows is incomplete and can only be considered as a set of hypotheses about the personality functioning of this man.

Interpretation of the Scoring and Responses

This man appeared to engage reasonably well with the Rorschach where he was forthcoming in providing responses, in fact providing more responses than the average individual. He is someone who appeared able to recognize the ‘right’ or ‘correct’ way to do things and so was likely to have acted in a ‘conventional’ manner in his day-to-day life when he was convinced that this would be in his best interests, but nevertheless appearing to retain a preference for doing things his own way.

The Rorschach findings suggest that this man had a tendency to think about his experiences in a rather inflexible manner, where he was likely to stick to his convictions and resist changing his beliefs, even in the light of new information. Usually, an individual such as this is less likely to engage in therapy or psychoanalysis over the medium to longer term. However, it is apparent from the Rorschach findings that this man was deeply troubled and conflicted, which may explain why he sought psychotherapeutic help.

From the very first response (“like a bird without head”), a theme emerges which pervades the entire protocol, which suggested that possibly he feels that he is losing his mind, that he cannot think, function properly, or where there is something that he cannot bear to think or to let himself know about. For example, for his next response, he says: “Could also be a woman - without head”. For the next card, his second re