Thematic Apperception Test Analysis

Responses to projective material on the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) indicate issues that may be impacting Christopher. Of particular concern was that many of his stories started to lack any form of structure or organization as he continued to tell them. They also became very disjointed and confusing, which appeared as if he was struggling to integrate the card into a story. For some cards he would start telling his story right away, but for many cards he would “think out loud” and figure out what story he can integrate from the story. In one card, he starts by stating, “Are all these pictures in black and white? It’s kind of weird. It’s like changing on me, it’s like one part, and a second part, and another part (pointing at everything in the picture)”. On another card he begins with, “(Laughter)

On another card, he also describes a boy who went out at night, after his parents told him not to, and was believed to be missing. When the boy returned home, his parents were excited and happy again, but the boy knew that he would still need to be grounded. This also displays his ability to distinguish and understand when you do something wrong there will be consequences to face. These themes also display that Chris has a clear understanding of what is expected of him now, and even in the future. It appears he has rules to follow and knows what to do when given clear, structured directions. This may indicate that when he is not given structured directions he is not sure which direction to go. Since his stories are disjointed and hard to piece together, it indicates that he may struggle with anything that is not clear cut or directive for him. Although structure is needed, it would be beneficial to Chris if he was also involved in less structured activities as well, in order to develop greater personal skills in a way that organized activities