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Lauren M. Weisberg, Psy.D., is a 2019 graduate of the Psy.D. Program in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University, New England

Dissertation Committee:

  • Gargi Roysircar, EdD, Committee Chair
  • Robert Hubbell, PsyD, Committee Member
  • Alan Lee, PsyD, Committee Member

Keywords

Performance-based Assessment, Rorschach, R-PAS, Multicultural, Language, Culturally Diverse, Case Study Method

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2019

Abstract

The Rorschach Inkblot Test (“Rorschach”) has historically been viewed as a culturally sensitive assessment instrument because it utilizes nonverbal stimulus cards (Meyer, Viglione, Mihura, Erard, & Erdberg, 2011). As a result, it has been considered a more appropriate assessment tool for bilingual and multilingual patients than assessments which rely heavily on verbal language. However, there are no evidence-based practice recommendations for Rorschach assessment of bi- and multilingual patients, despite the incredible linguistic diversity in the United States and the widespread use of the Rorschach. This dissertation includes a case study of a multilingual French–Israeli immigrant who was admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit after friends found her with a suicide note. She was subsequently given a psychological assessment battery, including the R-PAS, for diagnostic clarification. The case study was analyzed using a social justice interpretive framework. The case study highlights the issues that arise when administering the Rorschach to bi- and multilingual patients. The case study protocol was scored using the R-PAS. The R-PAS profile illustrates some of the linguistic issues that arise in assessing someone in a non-preferred language, such as word-finding difficulty and challenges differentiating which variables are due to psychopathology and which are due to linguistic issues. The study also provides an overview of the relevant Rorschach literature, including information on the Rorschach Inkblot Test itself (both the CS and the R-PAS), criticisms of the Rorschach, teaching the Rorschach, and a discussion of the case study’s Rorschach assessment results.

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Lauren M. Weisberg

ORCID Scholar ID# 0000-0002-8451-1857

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