Assessment Using the Rorschach Inkblot Test

The Rorschach is perhaps the most famous psychological instrument of all time, yet its purpose and utility are often misunderstood. In this introductory guide, authors James Choca and Edward Rossini demonstrate the Rorschach’s value to modern psychology as an essential clinical tool for assessing clients’ thought processes.

Choca and Rossini translate their expertise into fundamental strategies for administering, scoring, and interpreting the test, as well as writing reports. They carefully examine the Rorschach’s many variables – both individually and in combination with one another—offering possible interpretations for various scores. In addition to surveying the two primary Rorschach scoring systems – the Comprehensive System (CS) and the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS)—the authors propose their own innovative system, the Basic Rorschach, which streamlines the assessment process by analyzing only the most clinically meaningful variables. A versatile, four-step framework bolstered by advanced interpretation strategies helps clinicians look beyond a client’s scores to more deeply understand the person behind them. The authors also propose a shorter, four-card Rorschach test that is more accessible in some situations, yet still clinically valid.