Who would study psychology if they didn't have some kind of problem?

Chapter 98 House-Tree-Person Drawing Test

The House-Tree-Person (HTP) test, also known as the House-Tree-Person test, is abbreviated as HTP.

In this test, the counselor gives the client a pen, eraser, and paper, and asks the client to draw pictures on a blank sheet of paper with the themes of "house," "tree," and "person." Then, the counselor analyzes, evaluates, and interprets the pictures according to certain criteria in order to understand the client's inner world.

Like the sandplay therapy that Nan Zhuren is usually skilled at using, the House-Tree-Person (HTP) test is also one of the projective tests belonging to the psychoanalytic school, which aims to explore the unconscious of the client.

Using the House-Tree-Person diagram, clients can present their thoughts that they cannot describe in words, or even thoughts that they are not yet aware of, in the form of pictures, allowing the counselor to have a more intuitive understanding and judgment.

Of course, the House-Tree-Person Test also has the common problem of projective tests—compared to scale tests, projective tests cannot give objective and absolute scores, and different counselors will give different interpretations of the same picture due to their different levels and schools of thought.

The results of consultations are not very rigorous and can easily be quite varied and unpredictable.

However, this testing method is quite applicable to Li Minglu and Nan Zhuren now.

Li Minglu was the first to raise a question. He glanced at the wall clock: "...Ah, do we need to do another test? Will the time be..."

It seems he is indeed very familiar with the system of psychological counseling, and he can even time himself.

Nan Zhuren shook his head: "Don't worry, this is an extra test that I added myself. It won't take up any consultation time. Just consider it a favor to me."

Nan Zhuren said this to avoid putting Li Minglu under psychological pressure. In fact, this is the first advantage of the House-Tree-Person drawing test—saving time.

"No, no," Li Minglu quickly said, "I'm not worried about taking up consultation time or anything, I'm worried about going overtime and making you work overtime..."

Nan Zhuren smiled: "Don't worry, it won't happen."

This is the first reason.

Then Nan Zhuren continued to elaborate: "Secondly, you've already done so many scales. Although repeatedly doing the same scales can allow for detailed observation of your overall changes during the consultation process, I guess you've become quite proficient at it after doing so many, right?"

Li Minglu twitched the corners of his mouth and made a smiling expression to express his reaction to Nan Zhuren's words—although he himself probably didn't know how to react, so he chose the smile that best met social expectations.

Nan Zhuren noticed this but ignored it and continued, "So we need to do a fresh test and get a fresh result."

This is Nan Zhuren's second consideration—just as Nan Zhuren subconsciously controls the scores when he makes the scale, after Li Minglu repeatedly makes the same scale test, too many unexpected variables such as "proficiency" and "time span" have been introduced.

This will significantly reduce the reliability and validity of the scores measured by the Li Minglu Scale.

In this situation, introducing a new test, even if the test itself is simple, can yield more effective results.

"Finally, the psychological scales you did before were all targeted and purposeful. While the House-Tree-Person drawing also has thematic requirements, what you express is free."

Nan Zhuren emphasized, "I hope to see you create freely."

Li Minglu blinked and pursed his lips.

Li Minglu said that he hated drawing during his depressive episodes.

But at this moment, Nan Zhuren felt that Li Minglu's eyes had brightened a bit.

This emotional fluctuation is a valuable piece of information, a kind of unexpected bonus.

With a slight smile, Nan Zhuren proactively handed over paper and pen, saying, "Shall we begin?"

"it is good."

Li Minglu skillfully took the pen. He was momentarily lost in thought, pondering what to do.

Then his eyes quickly focused, and he began to use the pen to trace the area on the paper, using his fingers to divide the area.

In Nan Zhuren's eyes, Li Minglu first placed his pen in the very center of the paper, and then, using that as a starting point, sketched a house that occupied a quarter of the entire paper's area.

The house is surrounded by no superfluous patterns or textures, but the lines are quite smooth, giving it a simple and harmonious feel.

There is a large door, two windows, and a small chimney.

Smoke was billowing from the chimney.

After finishing the painting of the room, even though it only took a very short time, Li Minglu seemed to have exhausted his thoughts and fell into deep thought.

Then he looked up at Nan Zhuren: "Draw houses, trees, and people?"

Nan Zhuren nodded: "Yes."

Li Minglu thought for a while and stroked the pencil handle.

Then the tip of the pen landed on the right side of the house, and carefully drew a small tree.

The tree resembles some kind of ornamental tree, only a quarter the height of the house. Li Minglu depicted a great deal of detail in the bark and even the leaves, and added some roots floating on the soil.

In that instant, Nan Zhuren had a feeling that the details of the tree and the house were so rich that they seemed abrupt. Compared to the empty background, they were like a work by a famous painter and a child's work forcibly mixed together. They were not in the same style at all, and did not even seem to be on the same layer.

Li Minglu once again ran out of inspiration, looked up and asked, "After painting houses and trees, do you still need to paint people?"

When faced with Li Minglu's second question, Nan Zhuren remained concise: "Yes."

This time, Li Minglu didn't think for long. He simply drew a stick figure under the tree and that was it.

The stick figure's art style is quite consistent with the background's style.

But it also stands out even more starkly against the backdrop of the houses and trees nearby.

"It's finished," Li Minglu said.

Good guy.

In the "House-Tree-Person Drawing Test," Li Minglu actually only drew a house, a tree, and a person.

There are still large blank areas on the entire sheet of paper.

If we exclude the largest house, the trees and people together occupy less than one-tenth of the paper's area.

Nan Zhuren asked directly, "Isn't there anything else you want to draw?"

Li Minglu explained, "When I draw, I use formulas and references to enrich the details of the picture, making it look more complete and better... to sell."

"But you just said you would draw whatever comes to mind, and you mentioned houses, trees, and people. For the time being, all I could think of were houses, trees, and people."

Li Minglu looked up at Nan Zhuren, as if he had done something wrong, and tentatively asked, "How about I draw a little more to make this painting look better?"

(End of this chapter)