ABSTRACT
While many art therapists and psychologists considered the HTP test as unreliable for revealing or measuring the complexities of the unconscious, projective drawings like the House-Tree-Person task can be an excellent therapeutic tool for the assessment and counselling process as shown in this chapter. The House-Tree-Person task is still used effectively today, often as a way for the therapist to add to the assessment of the client, allowing the client to talk generally about themselves and make unconscious material conscious. Both personality theories and projectives originate in the psychoanalytic and psychodynamic tradition. It is believed that the house, the tree and the person serve as a canvas for aspects of the inner world and personality strengths and weaknesses. This chapter describes in detail how we can work with clients using projective techniques like a house, a tree or a person. The reader is encouraged to participate through drawings and self-reflection.
