The family drawing test is one of the best-known tests of child affectivity. Assess how the child or adolescent perceives relationships in their immediate environment. It’s an easy way to assess the quality of links, communication, and how children build their reality from their family relationships.
This evaluation test is more than six decades old and, created by psychiatrist Miles Porot in 1951, is one of the most common tools for assessing the personality of children age 5 to 16, so while there are currently professionals who still suspect the reliability of projection techniques, such as tree testing or family design testing , it can be said that its validity is widely proven.
“One of the best things that can happen in your life is having a happy childhood. -Agata Christie-
This test is used in conjunction with other more standardized resources, tests and interviews that, together, can provide us with sufficient information to provide more accurate diagnoses, we are certainly facing a very interesting clinical proposal, a resource that improves year after year and presents us with a simple and fast mechanism to better understand children’s feelings, family relationships and emotional maturity.
As we can already guess, drawing is and will remain this symbolic scenario in which the child reflects a good amount of information, drawings and games are two ideal resources for the psychodiagnosis of the child, so the family design test is established as an ideal resource. for each child psychologist or therapist. The objectives you will achieve with this instrument are:
On the other hand, it is necessary to remember that the most important part of this test is the emotional aspect, with this we are not only looking for a drawing. The professional should encourage a comfortable and fluid dialogue with the child as he draws. Line by line, line by line, the child should open up to their feelings, emotions and concerns while soaking in their own drawing.
The family design test is applied as follows
On the other hand, it is important that the psychologist takes into account the order in which the child creates the different elements of the drawing, it will also indicate the presence of stains, erases, doubts during drawing, lapels.
The family conception test was created in its early stages as part of a psychoanalytic approach. Therefore, for a few years, the analysis was carried out through an Oedipal dynamics or from the psychosexual development stages established by Freud. Currently, interpretation is more standardized. All statistics are used, but the personal situation of each child or adolescent is also evaluated.
Here are some guidelines for evaluating the family design test
Complete. Remember that the family design test is not used as the only resource to provide a diagnosis, in addition to interviews and other standardized tests, it will provide us with enough information to be more accurate and concrete in the evaluation.
This instrument, like any other projection test, is a direct door to the emotional world, where drawing is always our best channel. It is a scenario in which we feel free to reflect the underlying fears, concerns or problems.