Eli5: Why do/did (not sure if it’s still in practice) therapists hold up black and white splatter looking images and ask the client “what do you see?” What could their answer say about that person?

Question

Eli5: Why do/did (not sure if it’s still in practice) therapists hold up black and white splatter looking images and ask the client “what do you see?” What could their answer say about that person?

In: Other

Answer 1

It’s called the Rorschach Test and is still sometimes used today. It’s designed to – supposedly – reveal aspects of a subject’s unconscious desires, fears, etc. by getting the rational mind out of the way and allowing the unconscious to “interpret” what they see in the images. I don’t think most therapists put too much stock in the idea anymore but perhaps some do.