Uso da técnica projetiva do desenho da casa-árvore-pessoa (HTP) na atuação do profissional psicólogo(a)

Abstract

The practice of Psychological Assessment allows the psychologist to use instruments to assist the investigation of psychological phenomena. The Drawing of the House-Tree-Person (HTP) test is currently the only graphic projective method, with a favorable opinion by SATEPSI, that psychologists can use in their professional practice. The test provides, through projective analysis, the identification of personality elements obtained in the clinical context. In this sense, the present research investigated how the professional psychologists who make use of the HTP in their practice of Psychological Assessment perceive their way of using the instrument. The study included 191 psychologists from the five Brazilian regions, who answered an online questionnaire composed of questions about personal data, professional training, and test management, as well as questions aboutthedifficulties, advantages and disadvantages in using the test. Descriptive analyses of frequency, mean and standard deviation and content analysis were performed in the open questions. The results revealed the predominance of female participants 83%, with a mean age of 38.2 years, coming from private institutions, mostly specialists, working in the clinical area. Regarding the HTP, the participants reported applying the test to the public of children, adolescents, and adults (20%), with the objective of evaluating aspects of the personality, motivated by the results obtained with the test (74.9%). 96.9% make use of the manual and the correct material, for the application of the two phases (achromatic and chromatic). Regarding the difficulties related to the management of the test, it was identified that 31.9% of the respondents reported the lack of theoretical and practical improvement of the professionals who use them, in addition to the need to correct failures in items of the test and the manual (9.9%) and the demand for updates (9.4%). Regarding the advantages of the test, 82.2% mentioned the condition that the test meets thepopulation and 74.9% is easy to apply. The disadvantage listed by the participants was related todifficulties in the test items (application, correction, interpretation) (27.2%). These results proved to be useful to promote the discussion about the training of professional psychologists regarding the management and use of this psychological test, in addition to evidencing the need for further studies related to the instrument in Brazil.