Rorschach Human Movement and Psychotherapy: Relationship with the Therapist’s Emotional Responses

Abstract

The emotional responses of psychotherapists to their patients, known as countertransference, can yield valuable insights into the patient’s psychological functioning. Albeit from a different perspective, the Rorschach test also provides information about the patient’s psychological processes. In particular, the Rorschach human movement response (M) has been shown to be a useful measure of higher-level psychological functioning. In an attempt to bridge these two largely different perspectives, the aim of this study was to explore the association between M responses in the Rorschach protocols of psychotherapy patients and emotional responses exhibited by their therapists. To this end, a convenience sample of 149 outpatients were administered the Rorschach according to the Comprehensive System, and their therapists completed the Therapist Response Questionnaire. Through a series of regression models, controlling for response style, response complexity, and degree of psychopathology, M demonstrated a significant association with the therapists’ emotional responses. A lower number of M responses was associated with the therapists’ feelings of disengagement, and a higher number of M responses was associated with the therapists’ feelings of being more involved with the patient. Taken together, these results suggest a potential relationship between the number of M responses the respondent gives in the Rorschach and the subsequent development of the therapeutic alliance between the respondent and their therapist.