Family drawing decoding. Assessment of the overall structure

This drawing test can be done with children over 5 years old. This test is based on the realization that children in their own way evaluate the behavior of their parents, relationships in the family and their place in it. For many parents, the results of this test can be quite unexpected, because adults and children evaluate the same thing differently.

Instruction.

The child is given a standard sheet of paper, a set of colored pencils (it is better not to give a simple pencil) and they ask: "Please draw your family." Perplexed questions: “Who is this?”, “What is this?”, “I don’t want to” - indicate that the child has not yet formed the concept of “family”, or about the presence of anxiety associated with family relationships. In such cases, you can ask the child to draw a family of animals.

Consider the following points:
Track the child's usual mood. This task should not be given after family conflicts, quarrels, shocks. Otherwise, you will get a situational picture that corresponds to the perception only in this moment.
Do not stand over the child during the task. Informatively, such a pattern will be distorted by your control. It is better if you ask one of your good friends to conduct this test.
Do not discuss the results in front of the child - this is a test for you, for your reflection and better understanding of your child's emotional problems.
When drawing, be sure to keep track of the order in which characters and objects are depicted (it is important who he began to draw first, last, and not just how it looks in the drawing).

Interpretation rules.
Rule 1
There can be nothing random in a drawing. After all, a child does not draw objects from nature, but expresses his emotions and feelings about people close to him and significant objects. Reservations like: "But I just forgot to draw my brother" or "My sister did not work out" should lose their meaning for you. If one of the family members is missing in the picture, this may mean:
1. The presence of the unconscious negative feelings to this person, which the child, however, perceives as forbidden. For example, strong jealousy for a younger brother or sister. The child, as it were, argues: “I should love my brother, but he annoys me, and this is bad. Therefore, I won’t draw anything at all.”
2. The complete absence of emotional contact with the person forgotten in the drawing. This person, as it were, simply does not exist in the emotional world of the child.

Rule 2
If the author himself is absent in the figure, then you can build hypotheses in two directions:
1. Either these are difficulties of self-expression in relations with loved ones: "I am not noticed here", "It is difficult for me to find my place."
2. Either: "I do not seek to find my place or way of expression here," "I'm fine without them."

Rule 3
The size of the depicted character or object expresses its subjective significance for the child, i.e. what place does the relationship with this character or object occupy at the moment in the soul of the child.
For example, if in the picture a cat or a grandmother is larger than the linear dimensions of mom and dad, then now relations with parents are in the background for the child.

Rule 4
After the child finishes the drawing, be sure to ask him "who is who" in the drawing, even if it seems to you that you already understood everything. This is necessary, because even if the number of characters is equal to the number of family members, one of the real family members may be absent, and instead of him there may be another fictional character, such as Santa Claus or a Fairy.

Rule 5
Fictional characters symbolize the unsatisfied needs of the child, he satisfies them in his fantasy, in imaginary relationships. If you met with such a character, then ask the child in detail about him - so you will find out what the child lacks in life. Of course, this does not mean that you will be able to immediately give the child what is missing and that it is you who are to blame for the dissatisfaction of his desires. For example, the image of a fairy can symbolize a typically childish need for unhindered, uninterrupted, magical satisfaction of all his needs. The impossibility of such satisfaction the child has yet to accept for himself in order to learn to rely on his own strength.

Rule 6
Consider carefully who is higher on the sheet and who is lower. The highest in the figure is the character who, according to the child, has the most power in the family, although he may be the smallest in linear size.
Below all is the one whose power in the family is minimal.
For example, if a TV or a six-month-old sister is shown above all on the sheet, it means that in the mind of the child it is they who "control" the rest of the family.

Rule 7
The distance between the characters (linear distance) is uniquely related to the psychological distance. In other words, who is psychologically closest to the child, that he will depict closer to himself. The same applies to other characters: whom the child perceives as close to each other, he will draw those next to each other.

Rule 8
If a child draws himself very small in paper space, then he has at the moment low self-esteem.

Rule 9
Characters in direct contact with each other in the drawing, for example, with their hands, are in equally close psychological contact. Characters who are not in contact with each other do not have such contact, according to the child.

Rule 10
The character or object that causes the author of the drawing the greatest anxiety is depicted either with increased pencil pressure, or is heavily shaded, or its outline is outlined several times. But it also happens that such a character is surrounded by a very thin trembling line. The child, as it were, does not dare to portray him. We recommend that you use pencils for drawing (this way pressure is better visible), paper without rulers and cells. The rules for interpreting children's drawings also apply to adult drawings.

Rule 11
The head is an important and most valuable part of the body. Mind, courage - in the head. The child considers the most intelligent member of his family to be the person whom he endowed with the largest head. Eyes are not only for looking around, eyes, from the point of view of a child, are given in order to cry with them. Crying is a child's first natural way of expressing emotions. Therefore, the eyes are an organ for expressing sadness and asking for emotional support. Characters with large dilated eyes are perceived by the child as anxious, restless, wanting to be helped.

Rule 12
The ears are the "organ" of perception of criticism and any opinion of another person about oneself. The characters with the biggest ears should be the most obedient. The character, depicted without ears at all, does not listen to anyone, ignores everything that is said about him.

Rule 13
Why does a person need a mouth? To eat and talk? But only? Even in order to express aggression: scream, bite, swear, be offended. Therefore, the mouth is also the "organ" of the attack.
A character with a large or shaded mouth is perceived as a source of threat (not necessarily only through a scream). If there is either no mouth at all, or it is depicted as a dot or dash, this means that he hides his feelings, cannot express them in words or influence others.

Rule 14
Neck - symbolizes the ability for rational self-control of the head over feelings. The character who has it is able to control their feelings.
If the child does not have a neck in the picture, then it seems to him that adults require him to be more able to control himself, to restrain emotions. But adult characters most often have a neck - they can not restrain themselves, they can do what they want, they, according to the child, have already been brought up.
A child who thinks so wants to grow up as soon as possible, he is characterized by unbridled actions precisely when he decides that he has already become an adult (crisis periods).

Rule 15
The function of hands is to cling, join, interact with surrounding people and objects, i.e. to be able to do something, to change.
The more fingers on the hands, the more the child feels the character's ability to be strong, able to do something (if on the left hand - in the sphere of communication with loved ones, in the family, if on the right hand - in the world outside the family, in kindergarten, yard, school, etc.); if there are fewer fingers, then the child feels internal weakness, inability to act.
The more significant and powerful the child perceives the character, the more hands he has.

Rule 16
Legs are for walking, movement in an expanding living space, they are for support in reality and for freedom of movement. How more area support at the feet, the more firmly and confidently the character stands on the ground.
Right leg symbolizes support in extra-family reality, and the left symbolizes support in the world of close emotional contacts.
Legs "hanging in the air", according to the child, do not have independent support in life. If the characters are depicted in one row, then mentally draw a horizontal line along the lowest point of the legs. And you will see who has the stronger support.

Rule 17
The sun in the figure is a symbol of protection and warmth, a source of energy. People and objects between the child and the Sun - this is what prevents him from feeling protected, using energy and warmth.
Image a large number small items - fixation on the rules, order, a tendency to contain emotions in oneself. The image of a large number of closed details (wardrobes, buttons, windows) symbolizes prohibitions for the child, secrets to which he is not allowed.

The rules given by the famous psychologist V.K. Loseva, which are recommended for interpreting a family drawing, are enough for you to discover unexpected aspects of your family's life that your child notices.

Target : diagnostics of intra-family relations.

Material : a standard sheet of paper (A4 format), a set of colored pencils, an eraser.

Instruction : "Please draw your family." All clarifying questions should be answered without any instructions, for example: “You can draw as you want.”

Progress : With an individual examination, the time to complete the task usually lasts about 30 minutes (with a group test, the time is often limited to 15-30 minutes).

When children excuse themselves by saying that they cannot draw, it is necessary to reassure them, to say that the beauty of the drawing is not important here.

While drawing, pretend that you are doing your own thing (for example, writing something), but imperceptibly for the child, watch how he draws, what he draws, where he draws ... Write down all the spontaneous statements of the child, watch his facial expressions, gestures, as well as fix the drawing sequence, pauses for more than 15 seconds. and erasing details.

After the drawing is completed, a conversation is held with the child. The following questions are usually asked:

Tell me, who's pictured here?

Where they are?

What are they doing?

Are they fun or bored (sad)? Why?

Which of the drawn people is the happiest? Why?

Who is the most unfortunate among them? Why?

The last two questions are designed to encourage the child to openly discuss feelings. If he does not answer them or answers formally, you should not insist on an explicit answer.

During the interview, the researcher should try to find out from the child the meaning of the drawing: feelings for individual family members, why he did not draw any of the family members (if this happened).

Direct questions should be avoided, do not insist on an answer, as this can initiate anxiety, defensive reactions.

Often, questions of a projective nature turn out to be productive (for example: “If a person were drawn instead of a bird, then who would it be?”, “Who would win the competition between your brother and you?”, “Whom will mom invite to go with her to ...?” etc.).

You can ask the child to choose a solution for 6 situations: three of them should cause negative feelings for family members, 3 - positive:

Imagine that you have two tickets to the circus. Who would you take with you?

Imagine that your whole family goes to visit, but one of you has to stay at home. Who is he?

You build a house out of the designer (cut out a dress for a doll), and you are unlucky (it doesn’t work out). Who will you call for help?

You have … tickets (one less than family members) to the theatre. Who will stay at home? (Why?)

Imagine that you are on a deserted island. With whom would you like to live there?

You received an interesting game as a gift. The whole family sat down to play. But you are one person more than necessary. Who won't play?

To analyze the children's drawing of the family, you also need to know:

The age of the examined child.

The composition of his family, the age of brothers and sisters.

Information about the behavior of the child in the family, kindergarten and school.

In practice, for the convenience of analyzing and evaluating the results of the “Family Drawing” test, various tabular methods are used, grouped by symptom complexes.

Give your child a sheet of paper and a set of colored pencils (black, blue, brown, red, yellow, green). Pencil set can contain more than 6 colors.

Have your child draw your family. And pretend that you are busy with something else and you are not up to drawing. Let the child feel at least the illusion of freedom. Your gaze involuntarily makes the child "weigh" everything in the picture in favor of you. Let the child draw, being only alone with himself. In the meantime, "working", you need to imperceptibly for the child to observe how he draws, what he draws, where he draws.

After finishing drawing, clarify some details with leading questions. Then analyze the data of the drawing test according to the scheme below.

If you learn how to correctly interpret these data, you will be able not only to identify the nuances, but also their shades, the whole gamut of feelings experienced by the child in his family. Everything that your child carefully hides, everything that he hides somewhere in the depths and is not able to tell you aloud, everything that “boils” and “boils” in him, everything that torments and worries him daily, suddenly, unexpectedly, like a genie from a bottle, it "bursts" out and freezes with a "dumb cry" on paper. And, freezing, silently screaming, he begs you for help. And this "cry" should be heard by each of the parents. After all, it would hardly occur to us, parents, that very often we are the culprits of all the troubles of the child.

Drawing analysis

Analyzing the drawing, it is necessary to pay attention to a number of details: the sequence of the task, the plot of the drawing, how the family members are located, how the family members are grouped, the degree of proximity and the degree of their remoteness from each other, the location of the child among them, whom the child begins to draw the family, on whom he finishes, whom he "forgot" to depict, whom he "added", who is taller and who is shorter, who is dressed like, who is drawn with a contour, who is drawn to the details, to the color scheme, etc.

Let us dwell on some features of the analysis of the figure.

1. The sequence of the task.
As a rule, after receiving the installation, the child immediately begins to draw all family members and only then the details that complement the drawing. If, for some unknown reason, an artist suddenly focuses his attention on anything other than his family, "forgetting" to draw his relatives and himself, or draws people after depicting minor objects and objects, you need to think about why he does this and what lies behind all this. What is the reason for his indifference to his loved ones? Why does he delay the time of depicting them? Most often, the "casket" is opened by leading questions and clarifying shades of family relationships, and other methods. As a rule, the absence of family members in the drawing or the delay in their depiction is one of the symptoms of the child's mental discomfort in the family and a sign of conflicting family relationships in which the artist is also involved.

2. The plot of the picture.
Most of the time, the plot is very simple. The child depicts his family in the form of a group photo, in which all family members are present or someone is not. All those present are on the ground, stand on the floor or, for some reason, having lost their support, hang in the air. Sometimes in the picture, in addition to people, flowers bloom, grass turns green, bushes and trees grow. Some children place their relatives in own house among furniture and familiar things. It is not uncommon for someone to be at home, and someone on the street. In addition to the frozen-monumental group portraits, there are also drawings in which all family members are busy with business and, of course, the most important thing is the child. These drawings are usually overflowing with expression and dynamism.

As mentioned above, sometimes children simply refuse to draw or confine themselves to some, especially seemingly abstract plot, where there is no family (see Fig. 1 below). But this is only at first glance. Drawing of a family "without a family" - a child's cry of protest and the distress signal given by him in this way - SOS. In the drawing we propose, a ten-year-old girl, jealous of her relatives for the younger children in the family, hid all family members in a house behind thick walls. She placed herself, like Carlson, somewhere on the roof (a detailed interpretation of the figure will be given below). When your child draws a "no family" family, drop the chores and solve the charade. Think - why? Build bridges. Otherwise, you may "miss" something significant in your child and lose the "key" to him.

If a child’s drawing of a family is associated with something pleasant, with warm, tender memories, it illuminates all family members or one of them with a bright sun - a symbol of affection, kindness and love. If over group portrait families are dark clouds or it is pouring rain, then most likely this is due to the discomfort of the child.

3. The sequence of location of family members.
Usually, the first child depicts either the most beloved family member, or, in his opinion, the most significant and authoritative in the house. If the child considers himself the most significant, he, without hiding this, draws his figure first. The sequence of arrangement of other family members and their serial numbers indicate the attitude of the child towards them, or rather, their role in the family in the eyes of the child or their attitude, in the opinion of the painter, towards him. The higher the serial number of the depicted family member, the lower his authority with the child. Usually the most recent relative drawn has the lowest authority. Therefore, if a child intuitively feels rejected and unnecessary by his parents, then he portrays himself after everyone else.

4. Sizes of figures of family members.
The more authoritative in the eyes of the child is the member of the family portrayed by him, the higher his figure and the greater the size. Quite often, young children do not even have enough paper to accommodate the entire figure completely, entirely. With a low authority of a relative, the size of his figure, as a rule, is much less than the real one in comparison with the rest of the family members. Therefore, neglected and rejected children usually portray themselves as barely noticeable, undersized, tiny little boys with a finger or Thumbelina (see Fig. 2 below), emphasizing with all this their uselessness and insignificance. In contrast to the "rejected" idols of the family do not spare space for depicting their figures, drawing themselves on a par with mom or dad and even above them (see Figure 3 below).

5. The amount of space
And its dimensions between the image of individual family members indicate either their emotional disunity, or their emotional closeness. The farther the figures are located from each other, the greater their emotional disunity, as a rule, reflecting a conflict situation in the family. In some of the drawings, children emphasize the sense of disunity of loved ones by including in the free space between family members some extraneous objects that further divide people. To reduce disunity, the child often fills in the gaps, in his opinion, with things and objects that unite close relatives, or draws among family members unfamiliar faces.

With emotional closeness, all relatives in the family are drawn almost close to each other and are practically not separated. The closer the child portrays himself in relation to any member of the family, the higher his degree of attachment to this relative. The further a child is from a family member, the less his attachment to that member. When a child considers himself rejected, he is separated by a significant space from others.

6. The location of the child in the figure
- a source of important information about his position in the family. When he is in the center, between mom and dad, or draws himself first at the head of the family, this means that he feels needed and necessary in the house. As a rule, the child places himself next to the one to whom he is most attached. If we see in the figure that the child depicted himself after all his brothers and sisters, away from his parents, then this is most often just a sign of his jealousy for other children living in the family, in relation to his beloved mother or father, and maybe both together , and, distancing himself from everyone else, the artist tells us that he considers himself superfluous and unnecessary in the house.

7. When a child for some reason "forgets" to suddenly draw himself.
Look for a good reason in your family relationships. They are usually not quite exemplary and, obviously, painful for the child. The child's image of a family without himself is a signal of conflict between him and someone in your house or the whole family as a whole, and in this regard, the child does not have a sense of community with other people close to him. With his drawing in this way, the artist expresses his reaction of protest against the rejection of him in the family. Intuitively guessing that he has been rejected by you for a long time, that you have almost “forgotten” him, taking care of others in the family, the child “revenges” you on paper, not realizing that by refusing to draw himself, he betrays his secrets, involuntarily splashing out the bubbling in him discomfort.

8. When a child for some reason "forgets" suddenly draw one of the parents or other real members of his family.
Most likely, none other than the "forgotten" relative of the child is the source of his discomfort, worries and torment. Deliberately "forgetting" to include such a loved one in his family, the child, as it were, shows us the way out of the conflict situation and to defuse the negative family atmosphere. Quite often, in this way, the artist “eliminates” competitors, trying to extinguish, even for a moment, the jealousy that boils in him for other children or for parents of his own sex. The child "revenges" especially stubbornly and does not draw on paper that family member who constantly suppresses and humiliates him in the house. Therefore, usually the question: "Where is this family member?" - the child, continuing to "revenge" him, responds with solid fables, absurdities and absurdities, such as the fact that this relative takes out the trash, washes the floor, stands in the corner .. In short, in this way the child, albeit naively, but dreams of taking revenge , at least mentally humiliating a loved one who constantly humiliates him really every day.

9. When a child for some reason "complements" his family
With non-existent relatives or strangers, then by this he tries to fill the vacuum in the feelings that were not received in the family, or use them instead of a buffer that softens the feeling of his inferiority in the circle of relatives. Often, children fill this vacuum with those individuals who, in their opinion, are able to establish close contacts with them and enable them to somehow satisfy their needs for communication. Therefore, the child, "modeling" the composition of his family, involuntarily offers us its improved, improved and chosen option by him, and not by anyone else.

In addition to strangers, the artist often "complements" his family with the animal world: we see birds, animals, but most of all, cats and dogs, devoted and necessary to man. And if in these "additions" there is no identification with a real member of the child's family, and if cats and dogs ... are simply fictional, the artist does not actually have them, but he dreams that they would be and replace his relatives and friends, then it means that the child yearns to be needed by someone. From birth, he needs to be loved and that he, in return, also loved someone passionately. And if you did not satisfy him with your love, then he intuitively looks for love on the side. Therefore, think more seriously about the purpose for which your child, who seems to be not deprived of anything, stubbornly stamps the ghosts of cats and dogs that do not exist and do not live in the house, which even you did not promise him to get. Think seriously. And regard this as a symptom that tells you about the lack of necessary communication and the lack of tenderness and affection that your child feels. Think about it: are you to blame for this deficit?

10. When for some reason, instead of a family, a child draws only one of himself"forgetting" to draw everyone else, this most often indicates that he does not feel like a full-fledged member of his family and feels that there is simply not enough space for him in it.

Quite often, in the drawings of oneself, the rejection of the child by family members can be seen through the emotional background and gloomy colors. The loneliness of a rejected person at an age when children are still not able to do without their parents is a formidable sign of an unfavorable situation in the family for your child. Sometimes the artist, when depicting a family, specifically singles out only one himself in order to emphasize his significance for the rest. This is most often done by family idols or children who do not hide their egocentrism. Such a child differs from those rejected by involuntary self-admiration, which is usually seen in the coloring and detailing of clothing or in secondary background objects that create a festive mood.

11. To conduct a more detailed analysis, consider in detail, how a child draws faces and other parts of the body. The drawing of the head is especially informative. When you see that the author for some reason skips the parts of the face known to him or generally depicts the face "without a face", that is, apart from the contour of the face, there is nothing on it (no eyes, no mouth, no nose ...), then this is most often an expression of the artist's protest against the family member depicted by him in this way, because of which the child, obviously, is constantly overwhelmed with negative emotions.

When an artist depicts his face in this way, a face without eyes, without a mouth, without a nose, then this is a sign of his alienation in the family and a violation of communication with many people.

When only one eye is visible in the drawing from all parts of the face, then most likely the child informs you that this family member is watching and watching him all the time, not allowing any of his misdeeds, childish pranks and pampering. And this relative "I see everything" is the source of most conflict situations for the child. A drawing of a close "I hear everything" can be similar, in which the author is absorbed in the image of ears that exceed the size of Cheburashka's ears. When a child singles out only the mouth from all parts, then, most likely, the "owner of the mouth", like a press, puts pressure on the artist, "educating" him with endless notations, moralizing within the framework of his own morality, and cultivates fear in him.

When you see that in the drawing the artist focuses most of all on the head and thoroughly draws all parts of the face, preferring the face to everything else, then, most obviously, the child shows you once again how significant the closest relative depicted by him in this way is significant for him. And if your child portrays himself this way, then this is just admiring himself or one of the signs that indicates how seriously he is concerned about his appearance. Often, in this way, the artist brightens up his own physical "defect". And if a girl draws her face like this, then most often she simply imitates her mother, who, because of coquetry, constantly tints her lips, powders her nose, and smoothes her hair before her eyes.

In addition to the head, drawn hands can also give you great information. When their length immediately catches the eye, then most likely they belong to one of the close family members of the child who is aggressive towards him. The author sometimes depicts such a relative without arms at all, trying, at least symbolically, but to extinguish aggression.

When we see the child himself armless in the picture, then, most likely, in this way the artist wants to inform us that he is completely powerless and does not have the right to vote in the family.

When a child in a drawing emphasizes the length of not strangers, but his own hands or draws them raised up, then by this he shows his aggressiveness or his desire to be aggressive in order to somehow establish himself in the family.

12. The color scheme of the picture
This is a kind of indicator of the palette of feelings radiated by a child when remembering loved ones whom he portrays. Features and nuances of children's emotional attitude to individual members of their family or to the family as a whole, the romance of their attachments and carefully concealed dislike, doubts, anxieties and hopes seem to be "coded" in the color that each character is decorated with. And you, the parents, need to find the cipher to the code in order to come to the rescue in time, generously stretching out your whole hand, desperately clutching at a thin straw, for one reason or another, drooping under the pressure of hard everyday life and everyday troubles, your child.

As a rule, everything that is loved and liked by the child is drawn by him in warm, affectionate colors. Their affection and romantic feelings for one of those present in the picture, the children, without knowing it themselves, “stick out” with a bright, juicy color that involuntarily attracts your gaze. Usually, the one who the child likes is dressed up by him in a special festive outfit, which in its coloring resembles a rainbow or clothes. fairy princess dreamed in a magical dream.

And even if your child does not use the whole gamut of colors available to him, he still, wishing it or not, but singles out at least one extraordinary stroke that catches your eye of his beloved relative among all the others.

Mothers are especially beautiful. Children express their love for them by designing for them such models of fantastic clothes, the patents for which, probably, fashion magazines would buy from them. In addition to dresses, skirts, blouses, where there are ruffles, embroideries, frills, many mothers have earrings in their ears, beads on their necks and hairpins in their hair. Almost all mothers are in fashionable shoes and with unusual hairstyles. And if you look at the color of their hair, then most often you will say: this does not happen - since when the hair is orange, yellow and even blue. This does not happen in life, but it happens in a drawing when a child is in a flood of tender feelings that spill out in this way.

Beloved dads also have something to wear. And very often their outfits are practically not inferior to their mother's. The child also brightly dresses up all other relatives who are not indifferent to him, drawing the smallest details of their clothes. When a child in the family is happy, he is also festively dressed up and radiates warm tones.

The cold tones depicted by the child are like the red color on a traffic light signaling "stop". Stop for a minute. Consider what this means. Ask yourself mentally: "Why?"

Cold tones, as a rule, are witnesses of a conflict relationship between a child and a member of his family drawn by him with these tones. The black color is especially informative, the usual black color, most often carrying information about the child's emotional rejection of the relative in the picture whom he depicted to them. And this rejection can be overt or covert. About a clear rejection, in addition to color, a number of details will tell you. You will have to guess about the hidden, unraveling the labyrinths of the child's feelings.

If, for some reason, a relative whom the child loves is suddenly painted in black, then, most likely, in this way, the painter involuntarily splashes out on paper everything that secretly worries, excites, torments him in relation to the member of his family depicted by him. And no matter how in these cases the artist tries to assure you that he painted from memory, almost from life, and his father really has a favorite shirt - “black”, and his mother also prefers “black” to all colors, and her sister really braids are "black", you need to carefully check and understand the reason for his "realism". Especially when in the same picture other relatives are fabulously dressed and their hair is fabulously painted.

As a rule, the reason for realism is that, adoring mom or dad, the child, no matter how much he wants, but cannot and is not able to come to terms with the fact that dad drinks, rowdy, is a source of scandals, and mom, busy with endless affairs, does not notice the devoted love of the child. The sister is just jealous. And suddenly she gets more tenderness and affection ...

A signal of distress and trouble for your child can also serve as contour drawing by him of individual members of his family or the whole family as a whole, even when the artist depicts the contours in different colors, and not with a simple pencil.

Emotional attitude of the child in the family

Let's see by what means, details, nuances the artist tells you about his role in his own family and about the relations that have developed in it between other family members.

1. Emotional Attachment child to one of the parents, as a rule, is depicted so that the child is close to this parent or next to him. The amount of space between them is minimal. Often their hands are stretched out to each other, emphasizing the complete agreement between the parent and the child who adores him. Almost always, the artist tries to draw the beloved parent as one of the first in the drawing. The figure of this parent is usually taller than all other figures, or at least exceeds the height of the child, thereby, as it were, giving the young artist a kind of security that is understandable to him alone, necessary for life. To make the parent look even more impressive, children often place him on a pedestal specially invented by them.

The parent, adored by the child, is not only carefully depicted by him, but also dressed up in the most magical outfits, which, in terms of brightness of colors, are much brighter than the most bright clothes artist. There are times when the outfit of the artist and the best mom in the world or the most beautiful dad in the world are identical. During the first romantic love to parents, usually girls draw themselves next to dads, and boys - closer to moms. During the period of the child's imitation of the parents of the same sex, this pattern changes and the girls are already close to their mothers, and the boys are close to their fathers. Moreover, the parent, adored by the child, is not drawn with contours and strokes, but emerges literally to the details.

When for some reason a child, suddenly drawing himself next to his adored parent, involuntarily leaves an empty gap between this “row”, then, most likely, this gap is a reflection of an invisible barrier between two loving people. Most often, this barrier is the character traits of the parent, pushing the child away from himself and forcing the young artist to keep a certain distance, like on a leash, when communicating with the parent.

The child usually expresses his dissatisfaction in black or at least one gloomy stroke. Take a look at the drawing of a teenage girl (see figure 4 below). Here, the black color of the adored dad's trousers testifies to the child's worries about the fact that dad began to drink alcohol.

When the affection of the child is mutual, he is happy, reaching all the peaks of bliss.

When a child's love is unrequited, it is an unsmoldering source of mental discomfort for a young artist. Therefore, analyzing the drawing and "figuring out" who the child needs the most, you try to take a step towards him. Let him feel how necessary he is.

2. Rejection of the child in the family (emotional rejection). When a child feels superfluous and unnecessary, outcast in his family, he either simply does not want and does not want to draw his family, or draws it, forgetting to draw himself. In some cases, the artist places his small and nondescript figure away from everyone, thus emphasizing his loneliness among relatives. Quite often, between a distant child and members of his family, there are some unnecessary objects that increase the disunity of the drawn people. Often, children suddenly fill an empty gap with those relatives who do not exist, or who really exist, but are very distant. The role of a buffer is also often played by cats and dogs.

When a child feels superfluous and unnecessary in his family, his figure is the smallest, his clothes are gloomy and inconspicuous. Such a child often simply depicts himself with contours and strokes, without dwelling on the details, drawing himself at the end of the plot. In those cases when a child, in spite of everything, is nevertheless attached to one of the parents or to both at once, he paints them in warm tones, not stinting on gentle colors. And these warm tones, in contrast to the cold tones that the artist depicts, are witnesses to the abyss that has already formed or has begun to form between the child and his family.

In figure 5 (see below), a six-year-old girl, offended by the coldness of her parents and considering herself unnecessary to them, drew them festively and beautifully, deliberately "forgetting" to draw herself next to them. At the request of the experimenter, she then nevertheless finished drawing her figure, depicting it with a contour and a black pencil, reducing the actual size. Then, after thinking for a moment, she suddenly brightened herself with joy and drew grass. And all of her appearance in the picture now he was saying to everyone: look, look how small I am. I still need to be loved. And if the parents do not understand this, let at least the sun replace them.

As a rule, rejected children usually "forget" to draw the member of their family who, in their opinion, rejects them.

3. Conflict situation in the family. It is known that the younger and more sensitive the child, the more often he considers himself the culprit of conflicts in his family, regarding them as retribution for pampering, disobedience and children's sins. The child, feeling guilty, is rejected in his own eyes, so his drawings almost always resemble similar drawings with emotional rejection of children in the family. Most often, the artist "forgets" to draw that of the relatives, because of whom, as he believes, the conflict arose. And if, nevertheless, the child draws that person, in order to draw attention to him, he depicts him above or below everyone standing nearby, in cold, mournful colors. Often, in a conflict situation in a family, all relatives are drawn only with contours, and their disunity is visible in the fact that they are all separated from each other by unnecessary objects, empty gaps, as if they do not exist all together, but each with himself.

When a child suddenly “forgets” to draw himself during conflicts, then by doing this he seems to punish himself. When a child, unexpectedly for you, depicts himself next to those relatives for whom he does not have warm feelings, then in this way he most often wants to reduce, neutralize, and maybe completely hush up the conflict.

4. Jealousy towards one of the parents in the family. When a child feels jealousy for one of the parents, he tries to disguise it by suddenly “forgetting” to draw the “unnecessary” parent or, drawing him, pushes him into the background by all means. As a rule, the "interfering" parent is much shorter than everyone else, nondescript and sloppy dressed. Often a child has the patience only to depict him at least with contours. The “interfering” parent in the figure is most often “inactive”, while the beloved is busy with a common task with the child.

5. Jealousy for brothers and sisters. The harder it is for a child to cope with a sudden feeling of rivalry towards other children in the family, the more clearly he betrays this feeling, despite the disguise. Usually the younger one is jealous of the older one, and the older one is jealous of younger child in the house. But the hardest thing is for the average: his love for his parents is shared with him by two at once - both the youngest and the oldest. It is even more difficult for little jealous people in large families. Often a brother is jealous of mom and dad for his sister, a sister is jealous of her brother. In short, in any family with several children, there is always a soil on which jealousy grows. And you, parents, must remember this in order to uproot even its first sprouts.

Usually the child who is jealous is drawn close to the parents or close to them. Often a drawing begins with this child in order to draw your attention to the "pet"; a jealous person either carefully, literally to the details, outlines his entire figure, increasing his height and dressing him up in catchy clothes, once again emphasizing how the “darling” lives well in the family, or, forgetting about all the precautions and “cracking down” on his “tormentor” "at least on paper, depicts him with contours in mourning colors to make it clear to you how the "favorite" is unpleasant to the artist himself. If jealousy is so strong that your child is unable to cope with himself, he inadvertently suddenly "forgets" to include his brother, then his sister, or both at once, in his family circle, although he remembers their existence in the house. There is another option .. To attract the attention of parents, a jealous person, carefully drawing brothers and sisters, leaves no room for himself in the drawing or depicts his fragile figure away from everyone, emphasizing that he is superfluous.

If there are several children in your family and one of them during the test in the drawing only depicts brothers and sisters next to you, "forgetting" to draw himself, or draws himself away from everyone, think about what is the reason for the young artist's discomfort and is it your fault.

6. Incomplete family. Probably a particularly severe injury in childhood is the divorce of the parents. The child simply does not understand how his beloved dad (most often dad leaves) or mom, without whom it is generally impossible to live, can leave home, and for a long time, forever. And somewhere in the depths of his soul, considering himself the culprit of the events, he wants and dreams of returning the past, placing everything in the old, former, places so convenient for him.

In addition, the child wants to hide the conflict from outsiders, especially when you are not conducting the drawing test. Therefore, usually all family members are present in the figure, even if they are already former. Moreover, the parent who does not live in the house is portrayed last, after lengthy reflections, pauses, nibbling pencils. The child, like Hamlet, has to make a choice: "to be or not to be"... draw... or not worth it... And if the choice is made to draw anyway, the missing family member is drawn as if he is real and very often even bears many resemblances to the artist himself. Often such a member of the family is depicted as a vague outline, and between him and everyone else there are various objects, pets, neighbors, relatives and friends or friendly strangers - the phenomena of the magical dreams of a child, in short, all those who can soften the fate of the young artist.

When the child is already getting used to and resigns himself in his own way, that he incomplete family, he draws everything as it really is. And in order to show us once again that he doesn’t care, he compensates for the absence of a parent with some other details that are important for him at the moment. As a rule, an incomplete family depicted by a child almost always has a buffer zone in the picture, a zone of hope, a zone of conjecture and dreams of the child, therefore, at any moment, an incomplete family can turn into a complete one.

7. Only child very often draws himself between mom and dad. When there are no conflicts in the family, he is the main link in the unification of parents. The smaller the distance between the child and the parents, the closer the members of the whole family are to each other, the stronger the kindred feelings that bind them. When not all is well in the family or during a period of romantic love for parents, the family idyll in the form of a triad - mom, your child, dad or dad, your child, mom - collapses. And in the drawing of a young artist, the sequence of arrangement of all family members can have many options. And in a chronic conflict situation, with a pronounced lack of communication in the family, the child, like an alien, is looking for new contacts outside the family and “complements” his family with those who have never lived in their house, but with whom he can take at least soul. Most often, the only child, talking about the family, depicts the type of parental upbringing.

Recognition of types of education by drawings

Here are examples of the most common variants of drawings of various types of parenting. You can read about types of parenting in families here.

1. The idol of the family.
With this type of upbringing, the child most often begins to draw a family from the image of himself, and his figure is in the center of a sheet of paper. Parents are a little further away, admiring him. The size of their figures is lower or on a par with the size of the figure of their idol. The artist distinguishes himself with bright outfits; a crown often flaunts on his head. And little girl idols almost always identify with young princesses. The outfit of the parents is much more prosaic and serves as a gray background for comparison. Against this background, the idol looks like a holiday among everyday life (see Fig. 3 below).

2. Overprotection.
The child begins to draw a family from the one who takes care of him the most. Then he draws himself next to him. Usually overprotective children are close to mom and dad, or at least hold their hands tightly. Rather, mom and dad themselves hold the child’s hands tightly. When the child in the picture does something, the parents admire him, not taking his admiring glance off him. With this type of upbringing, the child is shorter than the parents, only sometimes being on a par with them. His clothes are very similar in color to the outfit of mom or dad, and sometimes both at once: he does not strive, like an idol, to be a holiday against the backdrop of everyday life, knowing full well that overprotection for him is a kind Chinese Wall, inspiring once again self-confidence.

3. Hypoprotection.
With this type of upbringing, the child most often expresses his attitude to what is happening in various versions of the drawings. It is not uncommon for him, carefully portraying his entire family, to suddenly “forget” to draw himself among everyone. And to the questions: "Where are you?", "Why did you forget?" - comes up with the most ordinary versions that justify his absence at the moment: "In kindergarten", "I'm walking in the yard", "The teacher detained me at school."

The polar version of this option is when for some reason the child prefers to draw only himself out of all family members, while claiming that no one is at home: the parents went to the cinema, to visit someone, did not come home from work...

When a child nevertheless draws his family in full, he once again emphasizes the disunity of its members with large gaps of space between them, involuntarily suggesting that each family member here exists only on his own, he does not care about others, especially about the young artist. Drawing completely his family, the child places himself away from everyone, rather apart and lonely. And this creates the illusion of his simultaneous presence-absence among others.

Quite often, in hypo-custody, children depict themselves only with contours. Their figures are much lower than the figures of others, even when these "others" are actually lower than the young artist. As a rule, a drawing with hypo-custody contains both cold and warm tones, their different nuances and shades. When an artist, in spite of this method of education, idolizes his parents, he does not spare them the most. bright colors. The child, even dressing up, does not see himself dressed festively. In his outfits there is sure to be at least one detail, but painted in cold colors, and of all these tones, black predominates.

4. Neglect.
Neglected children most often refuse to draw. They just don't know what a family is. After much thought, succumbing to persuasion, agreeing to participate in the test, the child draws himself in the form of a small, tiny person in a huge space. All alone, a man who can be viewed under a microscope, dressed in clothes of cold tones. The mourning color of these tones is like his soul, turned inside out, overflowing with loneliness. Hopelessness and uselessness emanates from this soul.

5. Education like "Cinderella".
With this type of upbringing, the child begins to draw a family, usually from that brother or from that sister, to whom or to whom he is opposed in the house. Parents are drawn behind a brother or sister, and the artist himself leaves a place for himself somewhere far away from everyone or does not leave it at all, emphasizing that he is superfluous and unnecessary in his own family. Everything in the picture is focused on the child's opponent. His figure is taller than the drawing one, more monumental, more significant. He is either in the center, surrounded by relatives, or he is the first among all. He is admired, admired ... especially when he does something. And even if "Cinderella" does some tasks a hundred times better than him, parents do not attach much importance to "her" tasks. With this type of upbringing, the child does not know how and is not able to hide his undermining jealousy. Therefore, the drawing is full of cold tones. And, taking revenge on an opponent, the artist often dresses him up more prosaically and more casually than himself, often making it difficult for you to analyze and interpret this drawing.

6. "Hedgehog gloves".
With this type of upbringing, it is very difficult for a child to draw a family as a whole. Fearing one of the parents or both at once, he wants to "neutralize" his fear, at least on paper. Therefore, usually in the picture there is not exactly one of the members of his entire family who holds him in these "mittens". On the other hand, the child surrounds himself with any relatives other than his parents, and even distant acquaintances, in short, those people who, at least to some extent, are able, even if only temporarily, to mitigate his fate by reducing the degree of discomfort. When a child in a drawing has to portray his parents, then usually he does not leave room for himself in his plot, in any case, he does not reveal the true reason.

With this type of upbringing, the size of the figure in the child in the figure is much lower than the size of the figures of his parents, and not just lower, but deliberately underestimated.

As a rule, the member of the family who holds the young artist in "hedgehogs" is depicted by him with an unusually large mouth, most often open, or with huge clawed hands.

When a child with this type of upbringing by parents is literally brought to white heat and is so afraid of them that although he wants to, he does not dare to "forget" to draw a "tormentor", then he draws him most often without any mouth at all or without hands at all, so that at least in such a naive way to reduce the fear that captivated him.

As a rule, the drawing is filled with cold tones. All warm tones belong only to those who give affection and feel sorry for the young artist, at least a drop making his life easier.

7. Education according to the type of increased moral responsibility.
At first glance, it usually seems that all the drawings of such children are just one of many copies of a typical overprotective drawing. But this is only at first glance. In fact, with increased responsibility, the artist, just like with hyper-custody, dreams of showing himself to us in a light favorable to him, either doing something, or doing something, in order to pay at least part of our attention to this.

However, without realizing it, as a rule, the child highlights in such drawings all the nuances and shades of parental upbringing in the family. And if, with hyperprotection, parents are really unable to take their admiring gaze away from the actions of a young artist, with this type of upbringing, their gaze is not at all admiring, rather evaluative and even slightly biased. And the color scheme in the picture is very different. However, more often than not, the family member who laid the foundation for increased responsibility in the child is colored by him much colder than others. At least, there is always at least one dark stroke on it, most likely black - a kind of indicator of the child's true relationship to the member of his family depicted by him. A simple, ordinary indicator that breaks all the masks.

Take a look at Figure 7 (below). You see a kind of arbitration court. The trial of a child who brought home a three for the first time. The eyes of the parents, like the muzzles of pistols, are ready to shoot at one target. And this target is a first-grader, huddled in an armchair, dreaming of merging with him, disappearing, dissolving in him, so as not to see this furious look of his parents. Look-torture and look-punishment. A look that speaks more than words. The plot is saturated in black. All people look like blacks. And only a vase with bright flowers on the table and a flashing "fire" of the carpet give us some hope. The child will cope someday, a little later, with the heavy mission of increased responsibility suddenly assigned to him. He will endure, he will endure, he will win.

8. Education "in the cult of the disease."
And in the figure, a cult is always a cult, whatever it may be. Even though it's just a disease cult. With this type of upbringing, the drawing seems to be permeated with an all-consuming egocentrism. The child rules over everything. And you involuntarily concentrate your attention on his figure. Like an idol or as with hyper-custody - a child in such a picture is most often in the center. Around him are those who constantly look after him in the house. Usually this is a mother or grandmother. The share of other family members is rarely left on paper. Quite often, even in the picture, children depict how they are sick, and next to them are those who take care of them every day and night, or rather, constantly. But no matter how sad such a plot sometimes seems to us, the "sick" prefers to paint it with warm colors.

9. Upbringing like a "crown prince".
"Crown Princes" are the first to draw things. The world of materialism surrounds them from all sides literally from birth, the world of materialism, and not the world of people. Then the "crown prince" usually depicts himself in the drawing, playing with these things. He rarely remembers his parents. Much more often, he places his friends next to him, who are able to share loneliness with him, playing with his little "crown prince" with his overseas, priceless toys. It is not uncommon for "crown princes" to "replace" a drawing of their own family with a drawing of a room with things..

10. Contradictory upbringing.
This type of upbringing is quite difficult to capture in one picture. The child most often "groups" individual family members into small groups. He places himself next to those to whom he is most attached. And those of the relatives who "interferes" with him are usually placed at a distance. It is not uncommon for an artist to draw his grandparents in the form of a "buffer" even when they are no longer alive.

11. Changing parenting patterns(see figure 1 below).
The drawing most often reveals the reason for the change in the type of upbringing of the child, and not the type itself, the type that actually does not exist.

When a newborn appears in the family, the former idol usually "forgets" to draw him among his relatives or, depicting the baby next to his parents, leaves no room for himself. When dad leaves the house forever, the child continues to draw him in the family for a long time, as if nothing had happened, often even starting his drawing with his father. He probably just remembers the good and beautiful past, which he would like to return and make it present again.

Rice. one.		Rice. 1. Drawing of a 10-year-old girl Saule R. "My family". The type of upbringing is a change in upbringing patterns. An idol who was rejected due to the birth of other children in the family. And although the main figure in the picture is the House, its Hearth, the child, like Carlson, is somewhere on the roof of the house (or behind it). And in the house there is simply no place for a former idol.
Rice. 2. Drawing of a 6-year-old girl Lera E. "My family". Type of upbringing - neglect. Lonely, unwanted, abandoned child. And even the fragile figure of the girl resembles the letter "I". I, I'm all alone in the world. And is there really not even a person in the city who would need me ...		Rice. 2.
Rice. 3		Rice. 3. Drawing of a 7-year-old girl Olya M. "My family". Type of education - the idol of the family. The idol of the family in all its monumentality.
Rice. 4. Drawing of a girl 6 years and 7 months old. Sveta T. "My family". The type of upbringing is closer to hypo-care. A child who often feels lonely in the family, jealous of his parents for his younger sister, for the sister who gets not only the caresses of mom and dad, but even their flowers. Dad's black trousers suggest that the girl is also worried about her father's bad habits - the source of scandals in the house.		Rice. four.
Rice. 5		Rice. 5. Drawing of a girl 6 years 5 months. Lera G. "My family". Type of upbringing - hypoopeka. Another example, when, as if in a completely prosperous family, even admiring mom and dad, the child feels superfluous, believing that they do not need them at all. Against the background of festively dressed parents, all the time busy only with themselves, the child agreed only at the request of the elder to portray himself as a faceless silhouette.
Rice. 6. Drawing of a 13-year-old girl Lena K. "My family". Cinderella parenting. No matter how Cinderella tries to attract the attention of her parents to herself by playing the piano, mom and dad don’t care about her, and they are completely absorbed in the family by her brother’s pranks and pranks.		Rice. 6.
Rice. 7.		Rice. 7. Drawing of a boy 7 years 6 months. Aidana S. "My family". Education according to the type of high moral responsibility.

Psychological drawing test "My family".

(Information taken from the Internet. The most complete description, taken from various sources. To help teachers, not psychologists and parents).

The drawing test "My Family" can be used for children from the age of four or five. The main purpose of the test is to diagnose family relations. In psychological practice, this test is one of the most informative.

Very often, parents evaluate the atmosphere of family relations positively, while the child perceives it in a completely different way. In an "innocent" children's drawing, one can clearly see not only the psychological state of the child, unconscious or hidden problems, but also his attitude towards each family member and the perception of the family as a whole. Having learned how the child sees the family and his parents, you can effectively help him and try to correct the unfavorable climate in the family.

Exercise
Give your child a sheet of A4 size drawing paper, a simple pencil, and an eraser. Ask the child to draw a family, including himself, and also invite him - if he wants - to add other details to the drawing.

The instruction can be even simpler if you just say: "Draw your family." This option gives great freedom, and the drawing itself almost always reflects family relationships, as they are in the perception of the child.

When the drawing is completed, it is necessary to ask the child to identify the drawn figures, and note for himself the sequence in which the child drew them.

IMPORTANT!
You should not ask the child to draw a family immediately after family quarrels; control or suggest while drawing, as well as discuss with someone the result obtained with the child.

In addition to the order in which family members are depicted, it is important to note how hard the child presses the pencil when drawing one or another family member, what is the ratio of the size of the drawing to the size of the sheet, and also how long the child draws.

When interpreting the completed drawing of the family, parents and teachers must also take into account age features his child, the presence or absence of visual skills.

Drawing evaluation

It is best to start evaluating a drawing with test indicators.

Test scores
(indicators of psychomotor tone)

Pencil pressure

Weak pressure - low self-esteem, sometimes passivity; asthenia, sometimes depression.
Strong pressure - high self-esteem, sometimes impulsiveness, emotional tension.
Very strong pressure (pencil tears paper) - hyperactivity, aggressiveness.
Changeable pressure is an indicator of the emotional instability of the child.

Meaning of lines and hatching

Broad strokes or strokes, the scale of the image, the absence of preliminary sketches and drawings speak of the confidence and determination of the author of the drawing.
An unstable, blurred image containing many distinct intersecting lines indicates increased excitability and hyperactivity of the child.
Lines that have not been completed indicate impulsiveness, emotional instability.
Hatching that goes beyond the contours of the figure is an indicator of the emotional intensity of the child.

Pattern location

The location of the picture at the bottom of the sheet means low self-esteem. Accordingly, if the drawing is located at the top of the sheet, we can talk about high self-esteem.

Drawing interpretation

1. A minimum of details made in the drawing indicates the child's isolation, and an excessive number of details indicates his hidden anxiety.
2. The family member that causes the most anxiety in the child can be drawn either with a very thick line or a thin, trembling line.
3. The size of the depicted relative, animal or object indicates its significance for the child. For example, a dog or cat larger than its parents indicates that the relationship with the parents is in second place. If the father is much smaller than the mother, then the relationship with the mother is paramount for the child.
4. If the child drew himself small, nondescript, then he currently has low self-esteem; if your own image is large, you can talk about the child's self-confidence and the makings of a leader. A very small, helpless figurine of a child, placed surrounded by parents, may express the need to take care of him.
5. If the child did not draw one of the family members, this may mean a negative attitude towards this person and a complete lack of emotional contact with him.
6. The one whom the child drew closest to his own image is closest to him. If this is a person, then he is depicted holding hands with a figure corresponding to the child being tested.
7. In the mind of a child, the smartest person has the biggest head.
8. Large dilated eyes in a child's drawing are a sign of a request for help or concern about something. Eyes-points or slits the child draws to a person, in his opinion, independent and not asking for help.
9. A person drawn without ears is a symbol of the fact that he “does not hear” a child or no one in the family at all.
10. A person with an open large mouth is perceived by the child as a source of threat. The mouth-dash is usually endowed with a person who hides his feelings and is not able to influence others.
11. The more hands a person has, the more powerful he is in the eyes of a child. The more fingers on the hands, the stronger and more capable a person is for a child.
12. The legs, drawn as if hanging in the air, without support, belong to a person who, in the opinion of the child, does not have independent support in life.
13. The absence of arms and legs in a person often indicates a reduced level of intellectual development, and the absence of only legs indicates low self-esteem.
14. The least significant character is usually placed away from everyone and has a fuzzy outline of the figure, sometimes erased with an eraser after starting to draw.

The picture speaks of the well-being of the child

1. If the child is happy to draw a family.
2. If the figures are shown in proportion: the relative height of parents and children is respected, according to their age.
3. If the child portrays all family members without exception.
4. If light or minimal shading is applied.
5. If all the figures are located on the same level, they are depicted holding hands (some variations are possible in the same sense).
6. If, when coloring a picture, a child chooses bright, saturated colors.

Drawing reflects red flags in relationships

1. If a child refuses to draw, this is a sign that unpleasant memories are associated with the family.
2. Excessively large proportions of parents - an indicator of their authoritarianism, the desire to command children.
3. If the child has drawn himself large, this is an indicator that he is self-oriented, as well as an indicator of confrontation with parents.
4. An extremely small image of a child indicates his low importance in the family.
5. By drawing himself last, the child thereby demonstrates his underestimated status among other family members.
6. If in the picture the child has drawn all family members except himself, then this indicates a feeling of inferiority or a feeling of lack of community in the family, a decrease in self-esteem, and suppression of the will to achieve.
7. If a child portrayed only himself, we can talk about the egocentricity inherent in this child, his inherent conviction that all family members are obliged to think only about him, and he does not have to think about any of them.
8. A very small image of all family members is a sign of anxiety, depression, depression.
9. The image of all family members in cells is a sign of alienation and lack of friendship, community in the family.
10. If a child depicts himself with his face covered with his hands, this is how he expresses his unwillingness to be in the family.
11. The shaded head (view from the back) of the child means that he is immersed in himself.
12. The image of a large mouth, lips in oneself is a sign of hidden aggression.
13. If the child starts with the image of the legs and feet, this can also be attributed to signs of anxiety.
14. An alarming signal is the predominance of dark tones in the picture: black, brown, gray, purple.

The presence of other parts in the figure

The image of the sun or lighting fixtures is an indicator of the lack of heat in the family.
The image of the carpet, TV and other household items speaks of the preference given to them by the child.
If a child draws a doll or a dog, this may mean that he is looking for communication with animals and toys due to a lack of warmth in the family.
Clouds, and especially clouds, can be a sign of negative emotions in a child.
By portraying the house instead of the family, the child shows his unwillingness to be in the family.

Color in the picture

Very often, the child shows a desire to color the picture. In this case, he should be given a box of colored pencils (at least 12 colors) and given complete freedom. What do the colors mean, and what can an additionally colored picture tell about?

1. Bright, light, saturated colors indicate a high vitality of the child and his optimism.
2. The predominance of gray and black colors in the drawing emphasizes the lack of cheerfulness and speaks of the child's fears.
3. If a child has painted himself in one color, and if this color is repeated in the image of another family member, then the child feels special sympathy for him.
4. Refusal to use colored pencils can mean low self-esteem and anxiety.
5. The preference for red tones in the picture indicates the emotional intensity of the child.

Analysis of drawings for the test "My family"

Veronica, 19 years old

Veronica from prosperous family, but the girl is somewhat closed, and this worries the mother. Therefore, it was decided to conduct a test. At the request to depict her family, Veronika began to draw with desire and very diligently (Fig. 1). She drew her father first, then her mother, then her little sister, the cat, and lastly herself. Thus, apparently, Veronica evaluates herself as an insignificant member of the family. The family is friendly, as everyone is drawn holding hands and on the same level. The hands of all family members are drawn, and this is also an important indicator of normal intra-family communication. True, dad keeps his hands in his pockets, which indicates his closed position in the family and some isolation in communication. All have clearly defined feet, which indicates the confidence in the positions of all family members. In general, the picture turned out to be positive and well reflective. psychological climate families.

Rice. 1. From left to right: cat, father, mother, sister, Veronica

Nikolay, 6 years old

Recently, Nikolai's mother has been very worried about the behavior of her son, who has stopped listening to her, often showing aggressiveness. In the drawing (Fig. 2), the boy depicted all members of his family separately, which means that the child does not feel mutual understanding and family warmth. The absence of ears in all family members only confirms this. Everyone lives and hears only himself, ignoring the opinions of others: ears are the "organ" of perception of criticism and any opinion of another person about himself.

Rice. 2. From left to right: brother, dad, mom, Nikolai

But dad, with a big head, wearing glasses, he portrayed as the biggest, thus emphasizing his leading role in the family. The head is the most important part of the body, and the most intelligent member of the family, according to the child, in the drawing will certainly be endowed with the largest head. Nikolay drew himself closer to his mother, but taller than her, and this indicates a confrontation in relations with her and an orientation towards himself. The eye is also attracted by the fact that Nikolai depicted himself with a sharply exaggerated hand. A similar image of the hand indicates a high need for communication and that this need is not satisfied. The two-year-old brother is drawn last and at a considerable distance from Nikolai. It is very likely that the appearance of a baby in the family changed the inner state of the boy. Often the older child in this case begins to feel weakened attention to him, gets scared, worried, worried, jealous. The clouds in the picture also reflect some trouble in the family and the boy's anxiety.

Instructions for the test

The child is given a simple pencil of medium softness and a standard blank sheet of A4 paper. Use of any additional tools excluded.

Instruction: "Draw, please, your family." No instructions or clarifications should be given. To the questions that arise in the child, such as "Who should be drawn and who should not?", "Should I draw everyone?", "Do I need to draw grandfather?" etc., answer should be evasive, for example: "Draw the way you want."

While the child draws, you should unobtrusively observe him, noting such points as:

The order in which the free space is filled.

The order in which the characters appear.

Start and end time of work.

The occurrence of difficulties in depicting a particular character or elements of a drawing (excessive concentration, pauses, noticeable slowness, etc.).

Time taken to complete individual characters.

The emotional mood of the child during the image of one or another character in the picture.

At the end of the drawing, ask the child to sign or name all the characters in the drawing.
After the drawing is completed, the second stage of the study begins - the conversation. The conversation should be light, relaxed, without causing the child to feel resistance and alienation. Here are the questions to ask:

Whose family is shown in the picture - the family of the child, his friend or a fictitious person?

Where is this family located and what are its members currently doing?

How does the child describe each of the characters, what role does he assign to each in the family?

Who is the best in the family and why?

Who is the happiest and why?

Who is the saddest and why?

Who is the child's favorite and why?

How does this family punish children for bad behavior?

Who will be left at home alone when they go for a walk?

Interpretation of test results

The resulting image, as a rule, reflects the child's attitude to the members of his family, how he sees them, and what role he assigns to each in the family configuration.

1. Assessment of the overall structure

What we see in the picture: indeed, a family whose members are depicted together, standing close or busy doing some common business, or are they just a few isolated figures that do not contact each other in any way. It should be borne in mind that this or that image family situation may be connected with the real situation in the family, and may contradict it.

If, for example, family members are shown holding hands, then this may correspond to the real situation in the family, or it may be a reflection of what is desired.

If two people are depicted close to each other, then perhaps this is a reflection of how the child perceives their relationship, but at the same time it does not correspond to reality.

If a character is distant from other figures, this may speak of the "distance" that the child notices in life and highlights it.

Putting one family member above the rest, the child thus gives him an exceptional status. This character, according to the child, has the most power in the family, even if he draws him as the smallest compared to the size of the others.

Below the rest, the child tends to place the one whose influence in the family is minimal.

If the child above all interferes with his little brother, then, in his opinion, he is the one who controls all the others.

2. Determination of the most attractive character

It can be identified by the following signs:

he is depicted first and placed in the foreground;

he is taller and larger than the rest of the characters;

made with more love and care;

the rest of the characters are grouped around, turned in his direction, looking at him.

The child can distinguish one of the family members by depicting him in some special clothes, endowing him with some details and in the same way depicting his own figure, thus identifying himself with this character.

The size of a family member talks about the meaning that this character has for the child. For example, if the grandmother is drawn larger than the father and mother, then most likely the relationship with the parents is currently in the background for the child. On the contrary, the least significant character shown in the figure as the smallest, is drawn last and placed away from the others. With such a character, a child can do more categorically: cross out with a few strokes or erase with an elastic band.

Strong shading or strong pencil pressure when depicting a particular figure, they give out a sense of anxiety that the child experiences in relation to this character. And vice versa, just such a figure can be depicted with the help of a weak, thin line.

Preference for one or another parent is expressed in the fact that closer to which of the parents the child drew himself what facial expression is read in the figures of the parents.

Distance between family members- one of the main factors reflecting the preferences of the child. The distances in the figure are a reflection of the psychological distance. Thus, the closest people are depicted in the figure closer to the figure of the child. The same applies to other characters: those whom the child interferes with in the drawing next to him are close, in his opinion, in life.

3. Child about himself

If a the child most of all highlights his figure in the picture, draws himself more carefully, drawing all the details, depicting more vividly, so that it catches the eye, and the rest of the figures are just a background, then he thereby expresses the importance of his own personality. He considers himself the main character around whom family life revolves, the most significant, unique. A similar feeling arises on the basis of the parental attitude towards the child. In an effort to embody in the child everything that they could not achieve themselves, to give him everything that they were deprived of, parents recognize his priority, the primacy of his desires and interests, and their auxiliary, minor role.

Small, weak figure, depicted surrounded by parents, in which the child recognizes himself, can express a sense of helplessness and a demand for care and care. This situation may be due to the fact that the child is used to the atmosphere of constant and excessive guardianship that surrounds him in the family (often observed in families with only one child), so he feels weak and can even abuse it, manipulating his parents and constantly demanding from them help and attention.

The child can draw himself close to parents pushing the rest of the family out. Thus, he emphasizes his exceptional status among other children.

If a child draws himself next to father and at the same time exaggerates the size of his own figure, then this probably indicates strong feeling rivalry and the desire of the child to take the same strong and authoritative place in the family as the father.

4. Additional characters

When drawing a family, a child can add people non-family circle, or animals. Such behavior is interpreted as an attempt to fill the gaps, compensate for the lack of close, warm relationships, compensate for the lack of emotional ties, etc. So, for example, a boy, being the only child in the family, can include in his drawing cousins ​​or brothers, the most distant relatives and various animals - cats, dogs and others, thereby expressing the lack of close communication with other children and the need to have a constant companion in games with which it would be possible to communicate on an equal footing.

The figure may include fictional characters, which also symbolize the unmet needs of the child. Not getting their satisfaction in real life, the child satisfies these needs in his fantasy, in imaginary relationships. In this case, you should ask the child to tell more about this character. In his answers you will find what he lacks in reality.

The child can depict near one of the family members a pet that is actually absent. This may indicate the child's need for love, which he would like to receive from this person.

5. Parent couple

Parents are usually pictured together, the father is taller and larger on the left, the mother is lower on the right, followed by other figures in order of importance. As already noted, it should be borne in mind that the drawing does not always reflect reality, sometimes it is only a reflection of what is desired. A child who is brought up by one of the parents may nevertheless portray both of them, thereby expressing his desire for their union to be restored.

If child drawing one parent with whom he lives, this means his acceptance of a real-life situation to which the child has more or less adapted.

One of the parents may be in an isolated position in the figure. If a the figure of the parent of the same sex as the child is depicted away from the rest, then this can be interpreted as the desire of the child to be with a parent of the opposite sex. Jealousy caused by the oedipal complex is quite normal for a child until he reaches puberty (average 12 years).

The case when the figure of a child and a parent of the opposite sex are removed from each other, can, apparently, be considered as a slight violation of the natural order of relationships with a parent of the opposite sex.

If in the figure parents interact with each other, for example, they hold hands, it means that in life there is a close psychological contact between them. If there is no contact in the figure, then most likely it does not exist in reality.

Sometimes a child, ignoring the real situation, portrays one of the parents unnaturally big size, often it concerns the mother figure. This suggests that in his eyes this parent is perceived as a suppressive figure, suppressing any manifestation of independence and initiative. If a child has an image of one of the parents as a dominant, overwhelming, hostile, frightening person, then he is inclined to give it a figure big sizes compared to the figures of other family members, not taking into account their actual physical size. Such a figure can be depicted with large hands, demonstrating with his posture an imperious, dictatorial attitude.

In the opposite way a parent whom the child does not take seriously, ignores, does not respect, is portrayed as small in size, with small hands or no hands at all.

6. Identification

In the drawing of a family, there is also such an indicative factor as identification. The child easily identifies himself with one or another character in his drawing. He may identify with his father, mother, sibling.

Identification with same-sex parent corresponds to the normal state of affairs. It reflects his desire to have a preferred relationship with a parent of the opposite sex.

Identification with senior sibling, regardless of gender, is also normal, especially if there is a noticeable age difference.

Sometimes the child may identify with additional characters who are not part of the family. What is the identification? The figure with which the child identifies himself is depicted as the most attractive, complete; she gets more time. In addition, a lot of information about this usually gives the results of the conversation. In the conversation that should be relied on most of all, completely opposite things are often revealed. It turns out that the child can identify with the most nondescript character in the drawing, which has a fuzzy outline, is placed away from everyone else, and so on. Such a case indicates that the child is experiencing great difficulties and tension in relationships with his family and himself.

7. Refusal to portray a family member

If a the child draws himself away from the rest of the family, then he probably experiences a feeling of loneliness and isolation.

If the child is not in the picture at all, then we can talk about the same thing, but in a much stronger manifestation. Experiences such as feelings of inferiority or a sense of lack of community, alienation, also cause the child to exclude himself from the picture of the family. Such examples can often be seen in family drawings made by adopted children. Parental dissatisfaction, excessive criticality, comparisons with brothers or sisters in an unfavorable light for him contribute to the formation of low self-esteem and the suppression of the child's motivation to achieve. In a milder form, this manifests itself when the child draws himself last.

A frequent occurrence in children's drawings - refusal to draw a younger sibling. Explanations such as "I forgot to draw my brother" or "There wasn't enough room for my little brother" should not mislead you. There is nothing accidental in the drawing of the family. Everything has its own meaning, expresses certain feelings and experiences of the child in relation to people close to him.

It is quite common for an older child to be jealous of their parents for a younger child, because the younger child gets most of the love and attention of the parents. Since in reality he restrains the manifestation of feelings of discontent and aggression, these feelings find their way out in the drawing of the family. The younger sibling is simply not depicted. Denying its existence, the child removes the existing problem.

Another reaction may also take place: the child may depict the younger sibling in the drawing, but exclude yourself from family composition, thus identifying himself with a rival who enjoys the attention and love of his parents. The absence of adults in the picture may indicate a negative attitude of the child towards this person, the absence of any emotional connection with him.

Test "my family"

Children have their own ideas about the family, their own theory of the “cell of society”. Want to know what your child thinks about relationships with next of kin? Give him a sketchbook, colored pencils, enough time and ask: "Draw our family."

◈ It is advisable that you are not around when the baby is doing the task. He should be free and liberated, he should not have any settings: to draw as best as possible to please.

◈ Let it be entertainment for the baby, and for you - material for research.

◈ If the child has Bad mood, he witnessed a family conflict the day before, postpone the test for a more opportune moment.

◈ If a child asks questions like: “How to draw?”, “What to draw?” or “Where to start?”, this suggests that, in fact, he does not know what it is - “family”. This is a stone for your garden. It is necessary to find out and eliminate the reasons for such ignorance. Of course, this is a job for the whole family.

◈ Be sure to discuss the finished drawing with the baby, even if “everything is clear to you.” It is important to speak out loud, clarify some points, the baby will help you with this and willingly share his thoughts. Ask questions: “Who is this? And who is next? How many fingers does he have on his hands?

TEST INTERPRETATION

1. Is everything in place? Before proceeding with the interpretation of the test, you should know that there is nothing superfluous and random in a child's drawing. Everything is important, everything carries its own meaning and has an emotional coloring (pencil pressure and color as well). If a child has not included one of the family members in the drawing, he has not just “forgotten”. He displaces this person at the subconscious level. How deep is this and what are the reasons? Perhaps these relationships can be adjusted on their own, and perhaps the help of a specialist will be needed. If a child forgot to draw himself in the picture, this is indicated by at least two reasons: “no one needs me here” or “I live well without this company.”

2. Image size. A simple law works here: the larger the drawn character, the more significant it is for the child. If a brother or sister turned out to be giants, and mom and dad turned out to be midgets, admit that the parents for the baby are currently playing a secondary role.

3. Strangers among their own. It happens that children draw fictional characters or even equipment. In their view, they are full members of the family. It can be friends, neighbors, animals (real and non-existent), fairy tale characters, cars. The presence of such characters indicates that the child lacks communication, understanding, emotional closeness in the family, and he is looking for this outside the home.

4. Above-below. Pay attention to how the characters are located in the picture. The higher the image, the more power. Accordingly, the lower the image on the sheet, the less rights and powers it has. You have the opportunity to find out who rules the ball in your family (if you don't know about it yet ©).

5. Distance between characters. it important detail in a children's drawing, which indicates the psychological distance between the child and different family members. The close location of the characters to each other or their touch speaks of mutual understanding between relatives.

6. What am I? If the kid draws himself small, in the corner of the picture, this indicates his low self-esteem. If he painted himself as a giant occupying most space, he has a good opinion of himself, his beloved. In principle, self-esteem is often overestimated in preschool children: they are “princes and princesses” after all. Over time, when children's egocentrism dissolves, this plaque of "chosenness" will be erased in most children.

7. Pets. If your child drew your four-legged family member next to him, do not be offended: this is the most dear “person” and the most close friend. After all, he doesn’t demand anything, doesn’t force you to wash your hands before dinner, fold toys, doesn’t scold you for dirty pants, etc. He doesn’t need anything, he just waves his tail with joy and gives his animal, but such disinterested love. Too much emotional attachment to pets may indicate that the child does not receive enough attention from people.

8. Alarm button. That character, which is drawn with great pressure, outlined several times, shaded, causes the greatest anxiety in the "artist". Anxiety can be triggered by anyone in the family. Often, adults (especially the older generation) unconsciously set their programs and taboos, and for a child, they can carry negative information and fear. Anxiety can also be expressed by timid pencil movements, weak lines and strokes.

9. Head and eyes. The biggest-headed member of your family is the smartest. Pay special attention to the mirror of the human soul - the eyes. In psychology, this part of the face reflects our emotional condition, it is a source of tears, sorrows or joy. If the eyes are huge, this is a cry for help, high anxiety, the need for affection and support. If, on the contrary, they are small (in the form of dots or slits), here you can read a ban on the expression of emotions, restraint, fear of expressing yourself, weakness, insecurity, depression.

10. Ears. Huge ears speak of a desire to listen to the opinions of others. The one with the biggest ears is the most accommodating and submissive. For him, “public opinion”, criticism of others, praise or censure is important. If a child draws himself with big ears, this may reflect the qualities of the auditory: he perceives the world with the help of hearing, and this is his leading information channel. In addition, large ears can speak of alertness, anxiety: the baby, like a radar, all the time picks up suspicious information about himself and the world.

11. Mouth. Pay attention to the size of the mouth. If it is large, open, shaded, it is a source of screaming, resentment, dissatisfaction, aggression, and expressed. By by and large, it's even good: it's better to express and splash out your feelings than to save and hold them back. If the mouth is drawn in the form of a small dash, a dot, or is completely absent, then the character has a taboo on expressing his emotions, primarily negative ones. Such a person is afraid to speak personal opinion, relies on the will of others, it is better for him to follow the order than to take the initiative in his own hands. The presence of teeth indicates that the character is defending himself by attacking.

12. Neck. This part of the body is the link between the mind and the senses. In the Japanese spiritual tradition, for example, there is the concept of "kokoro" - a place where the mind and heart meet, their harmonious fusion. Perhaps the neck is this place. If it is drawn, then the character has common sense, rational mind, will over feelings. The absence of a neck is a sign of uncontrolled emotional manifestations.

13. Hands. These are our guides in the world of relationships, accomplishments, goals, aspirations. With them we "probe" our capabilities, with their help we realize our abilities and talents. Pay attention to the presence and number of fingers on the hands. If they are, it speaks of self-confidence, the ability to maximize oneself in the world. The fingers of the left hand reflect connections in the family circle, the fingers of the right hand - outside of it. Large hands speak of breadth of views, courage and power.

14. Legs. This is our support, confidence, strength, firmness. Strong legs with large feet indicate that the character is well grounded and feels powerfully supported by his kind. Thin legs hanging in the air indicate isolation from the world, fear of the unknown, self-doubt. In addition, the legs symbolize the opening of new spaces, the possibility of movement in life, changes and transformations in the human mental space.

1. Analysis of the structure of the picture

The drawn composition of the family corresponds to the real one - the child has a correctly formed concept of "My family".

If the child did not draw someone or drew very far from himself - a conflict with this person, alienation, dissatisfaction with communicating with him.

I drew other children or adults who do not live with the child - the child lacks communication with these people.

I drew animals - there is a rejection of the child in the family and a lack of communication with people.

If there is no child in the picture, the family has a bad attitude towards the child.

I drew only myself - there is no sense of community (they do not go anywhere together, each separately). If, moreover, a lot of details are drawn - egocentrism.

2. Location of family members

All family members are joined by hands, holding hands - psychological well-being.

If united by a real common activity - an indicator of family cohesion.

Busy with fictitious activities - psychological distress (we rarely go together).

Family members at a great distance from the child - alienation, fear, negative relationships.

Grouping by interests (parents are busy with one thing, the child with another) - disunity (parents have their own problems, the child has his own, “don’t stick your nose into your own business”).

Whom the child drew next to him is the one who is more emotionally closer to the child.

The child first of all draws the most significant person for himself, in the last - the less significant one.

Dad is drawn separately, but carefully drawn - often missing.

If there is a frame around the family (everything in the building) - isolation from the outside world.

A careless image of all family members, separating them with partitions, an image of people from the back or turned away from each other is a violation of emotional contacts.

3. Analysis of the features of the drawn figures

All the details of the body are drawn - the norm. Mom without a mouth - “don’t scream”, no eyes - “I don’t want constant supervision”, dad without hands - “don’t beat me”, didn’t draw a face - “you don’t like me.”

Skipping details on the head or face - hostility, fear, secrecy, distrust of this person. The hands are drawn - very good intra-family relations, there are no hands - there is no meaningful communication with people around.

Huge ears - praise me.

Decoration (details of clothing, outfits are carefully drawn) for the one whom the child loves more.

If the child carefully draws himself - a high need for attention, demonstrativeness, a tendency to tantrums.

A schematic representation of people - the child's lack of emotionality.

The size of the figures main member families - the largest, but not necessarily the most beloved.

If the child is drawn as the largest - egocentrism. Big parent and very Small child- the parent is very strict, the child is not self-confident. If everyone is the same height, everyone in the family is partners.

Hands up - hostility to others.

The child is drawn without hands - a feeling of powerlessness, resignation.

Each member of the family is drawn the same way - all faceless, stamped.

Different faces of family members - individuality.

If a child draws himself like mom or dad, he wants to be like her or him.

The colors used are light, juicy tones - joy, loves this person.

Black, gray, brown - an unfavorable attitude towards this person.

4. Analysis of the drawing process

I drew myself last - low self-esteem.

A lot of erasing with an eraser is a sign of anxiety, dissatisfaction with this person.

Small size of the drawing, shading - an unfavorable physical condition,
tension, tightness.

Large sizes, bright colors - good mood, looseness, lack of
tension and fatigue.

Methodology "Family Drawing" belongs to the class of unstructured projective methods. Such techniques give a person the opportunity to reflect and interpret external and internal reality in their own way (Romanova E. S., Potemkina O. F., 1991; Loseva V. K., 1995; Burlachuk L. F.; Morozov S. M.; 1999 , Berne R. S., Kaufman S. X., 2000; Mahover K., 2000; Dileo D., 2001). The resulting product creative activity reveals the individual typological characteristics of the client's personality: ideas, moods, states, feelings, attitudes.

"Family Drawing" is primarily intended to identify the features of intra-family relationships and emotional problems. Based on the completed image, the client's comments and answers to the psychologist's questions about the drawing, this technique reveals his feelings for those family members whom he considers the most important, whose influence, both positive and negative, is most significant for him.

In the drawings (according to L. Korman) they analyze:

• graphic quality (character of lines, proportions of figures, use of space, accuracy);
• formal structure (dynamic pattern, location of family members), content (meaning analysis).

The "Family Drawing" technique is easy to use, helps to establish good emotional contact, and is available to people with reduced intelligence. Its use is especially productive at preschool and primary school age, when children often have difficulties in verbalization. At the same time, this technique and the rules for its interpretation can be successfully applied in work with adults.

Instruction. For work, the subject is offered a sheet of white paper measuring 15 x 20 cm or 21 x 29 cm, a pen or a simple pencil. The use of an eraser is not recommended. If the client considers that his drawing is spoiled, you can give another sheet, and then compare the images. Adults can cross out what they don't like and draw in a different way.

Permissible to use various options instructions.

1. "Draw your family." In this case, it is not recommended to explain what the word “family” means, and in response to questions, you should only repeat the instructions again.
2. "Draw your family, where everyone is doing the usual thing."
3. "Draw your family as you imagine it."
4. "Draw your family as fantastic (non-existent) creatures."
5. "Draw your family as a metaphor, an image, a symbol that expresses its features."

At the same time, clients (especially children) need to be reminded that marks are not put here and artistic ability do not evaluate.

At individual diagnostics the protocol notes the sequence of drawing characters and objects, pauses for more than 15 seconds, attempts to correct details, spontaneous comments, emotional reactions and their relationship to the content of the image.

After completing the task, the following questions are usually asked: “Who is drawn here?”, “Where are they?”, “What are they doing?”, “What is their mood here?”, “What are they thinking about?” etc. During the interview, the psychologist should try to find out the meaning of what is drawn: feelings for individual family members; reasons that forced not to portray one of them (if this happened) or, on the contrary, to draw persons who do not belong to the family. Direct questions should be avoided, and answers should not be insisted on, as this can cause anxiety and provoke defensive reactions.

Drawing evaluation

Drawings are judged qualitatively. For their interpretation, it is recommended to collect a family history: information about the composition and age of family members and about its main issues. Practice shows that usually there are no accidents in the drawing of a family. After all, the client, both a child and an adult, does not draw objects from nature, but reflects in his ideas the relationship between people close to him and his feelings about them.

Based on these figures, the following can be determined:

Features of intra-family relations and emotional well-being

in family. For example, if family members stand side by side, hold hands, do something together, smile - this indicates their cohesion and positive attitude. The opposite indicates disunity and bad mood: family members are turned away and far from each other, negative emotions are strongly expressed.

• Features of the state of the client during drawing. The presence of strong shading, small sizes often indicate an unfavorable physical condition, tension, stiffness. On the contrary, large sizes, the use of the entire sheet for drawing may indicate the opposite: a good mood, looseness, lack of tension and fatigue.
• Degree fine culture , the stage of visual activity at which the client is located. You should pay attention to the primitiveness of the image or, on the contrary, to the clarity and expressiveness of images, the elegance of lines, emotional expressiveness.
• When interpreting figures, attention should always be paid to cases where more or less family members are drawn than it really is (for example, a dad is depicted, who is not there, or, on the contrary, an older brother is not drawn).

Criteria for evaluation

1. The absence in the figure of one of their family members means:

• The presence of unconscious negative feelings towards this person, which the subject perceives as forbidden: "I should love this person, but he annoys me, and this is bad, so I will not draw him."
• The lack of emotional contact with this character - it is as if he does not exist in the inner world of the subject.

Analysis of the drawing of the family of Dima B., 8 years old, student of the 1st grade

Diagnosis: residual-organic lesion of the brain.

Dima portrayed himself and his father. Mom and grandmother, with whom he lives in the same family at the time of the survey, are not shown in the figure.

Story and dialogue with a psychologist according to the drawing: Dima: “My dad and I are going to visit Nikita. Let's play on the computer. Psychologist: "Why two?" - Mom works on weekends. - “How do you like it here, in the picture, with dad?” - “I like it, I love it. Mom too, but...” Then there is a pause and the conversation ends.

According to the mother, the parents divorced more than a year ago. Dima sees his father no more than once a month. Usually, his father picks him up on a day off and takes him to his parents or to visit. According to the mother, her son is distinguished by "stubbornness, negativism, low motivation for learning, disrespectful attitude towards mother and grandmother." Mom is forced to constantly monitor her son’s studies, to do homework with him: “I finished the last quarter without triples. But what did it cost me! The father does not take any part in his son's studies. Difficulties in relations with her son served as a reason for contacting a psychologist. The absence of mother and grandmother in the picture indicates that, on an unconscious level, Dima has a negative attitude towards them. He reaches out to his father, with whom he has a pleasant time, without doing boring studies.

Analysis of the family drawing of Anton V., 9 years old, 3rd grade student

Diagnosis: tick. Outwardly, hyperkinetic disorder manifests itself as constant shaking of the head from side to side, as if the child is saying “no”.

The picture shows a white rat Wanda. Mom, dad and the boy himself are not drawn. Anton commented on the drawing as follows: “This is my family. Wanda is treacherous, vicious, biting, with huge teeth. She's small, but her teeth are big. I like being angry. Growls - how murmurs. Good for murmuring. My girlfriend. It's fun with her. And I won’t draw all the others.”

According to her mother, she and her husband have a chronic conflict relationship. She even consulted with her son whether they should divorce. Anthony is against divorce. The absence of parents in the drawing indicates the presence of unconscious negative feelings towards them, which the boy perceives as forbidden: “I must love my parents, but they annoy me with their conflicts, and this is bad, so I won’t draw them at all.” The absence of Anton himself in the picture testifies to the difficulties of self-expression in relations with loved ones: “It is difficult for me to find my place here.” The choice of a white rat as the only depicted member of the family indicates the importance for the boy of its natural characteristics, which he listed: "insidious, vicious, biting." Apparently, on a symbolic level, they reflect his hidden tension and aggression towards the situation in the family, which manifests itself in hyperkinetic syndrome.

3. Sheet space is an analogue of living space. As in real life, in the plane of the sheet, each person unconsciously strives to take as much space for himself and the products of his activity as he, in his opinion, deserves. In other words, if he has low self-esteem, then he takes up little space in the real world and, drawing on a piece of paper, will take up only a small part of it. On the contrary, people who are confident, well-adjusted, draw freely, in a big way, and can take up the entire sheet.

Analysis of the family drawing of Philip G., aged 15, 9th grade student

Diagnosis: vegetovascular dystonia of the hypotonic type.

The reason for contacting a psychologist was the teenager's reaction to separation from his family (the departure of his mother, stepfather and younger brother to another city). Philip lay for two days, turned to the wall, refused food and did not talk to his grandmother. Then he had difficulty with his studies, and he began to refuse to go to school. His condition worsened, and then the mother decided to return to her son.

The figure shows mother, stepfather and younger brother(from the marriage of mother and stepfather). Drawing story. Philip: I'm not here. But if I drew myself, I would stand behind my mother and Nikolka. Mom is going to play with Nikolka, thinking where to go with him, how to entertain him. Her mood is good and joyful. Nikolka laughs that he will be walking. Dad listens to him and thinks - go to business meeting or cancel it? Then he decides to go for a walk. Psychologist: "What would you think about?" “Would you think what to wear? Our Nikolka is like that - climbs everywhere, climbs.

The absence of the author in the drawing indicates the difficulties of self-expression in relationships with loved ones, associated with a feeling of inferiority: “I am not noticed here”, “It is difficult for me to find my place here”. Philip's low self-esteem and level of ambition is also evidenced by the image of the family in the form of a group of small figures in the lower left part of the sheet: "Even the smallness that I pretend to, I do not succeed."

4. If a group of small figures is depicted at the bottom of the sheet, this indicates a combination of low self-esteem with a low level of claims: “I have already given up a lot of things in my life, but even the little that I pretend to, I can’t.” If a small image is placed at the top of the sheet, and the large bottom of the sheet is empty, this indicates that low self-esteem is combined with high level claims: “I want a lot of things in life, but I can’t do much.”

5. The inanimate objects depicted in the picture are the object of special affection for the family and often replace its members.

Analysis of a drawing by Mitya P., 17 years old, 1st year student

Diagnosis: episodic drug use.

There are no family members in the picture: mom, dad, Mitya himself and his younger sister Katya is 15 years old. Instead of people, a house without doors, a garage and a fence connecting them are drawn. Name of the picture: "Family Hearth".

Comments on the drawing based on the psychologist's questions: "How does dad feel at home?" - “I don’t know ...” - “How is mom?” - “I don’t know ... I’m sad, hopeless - I can’t agree with my parents, I can’t convince them, they are conservatives in their worldview. Sister - carefree, it's too early for her to worry.

Family replacement inanimate objects shows that the closed world of the house without doors seems to be the biggest family value. The absence of family members in the figure indicates a lack of emotional contact with them. The absence of Mitya himself suggests that he does not see a place for himself in this world. A relatively small image of the house is located at the top, and the large lower part of the sheet is empty, which is a sign of a combination of Mitya's low self-esteem with a high level of claims: "I want a lot in life, but I will not succeed."

Mom's parenting style is the dominant hyper-protection (“No one in the family goes anywhere without me knowing”). All her life she led her son in all his affairs, especially in his studies (tutors from the fifth grade, admission to a university through an acquaintance and for a bribe, control of communication). At the time of the study, Mitya is a student at the Faculty of World Economy at a prestigious university. However, he believes that he is not able to study, and therefore decided to be a DJ (“Because the economist works, and the DJ relaxes surrounded by friends, with good music, communicates, and receives 6-10 thousand dollars a month for this”). Mitya spends all evenings and nights playing games in a computer club, where he started using drugs. So that he does not leave, his mother takes the keys from him, locks the doors, guards, but the son still runs away from the House.

When interpreting the drawing of the house, the following points can be noted. The absence of doors indicates that the subject is having difficulty opening up to others, especially in the home circle. Placing a picture above the center of the sheet - that he feels the severity of his struggle and the relative unattainability of the goal, therefore he is inclined to seek satisfaction in fantasies. The perspective “above the subject” (looking from the bottom up) reflects the fact that the author of the drawing is rejected, removed, not recognized at home. The presence of structures (fence, garage) indicates aggression against the actual owners of the house or rebellion against what the subject considers to be artificial cultural standards.

6. The size of the depicted character or object expresses its subjective meaning for the child and shows what place in his soul is occupied by relations with this character or object at a given time (Fig. 2.5). Size is used to express significance, fear and respect.

Analysis of the drawing of the family of Toli T., 7.5 years old, student of the 1st grade

Diagnosis: healthy. Complaints about violations of behavior at school (according to the teacher: “He became isolated, gets up in the classroom - he cannot be at rest for a long time, bites those students who beat him or pull his hair”).

The picture shows all family members: mother, Tolya, grandparents (the boy calls him dad). The father left the family when Kolya was three years old. Story and dialogue based on the drawing: Tolya: “Mom laughs at the joke that I told. I run and play football. Grandma is cooking dinner. Dad-grandfather is writing a dissertation. Psychologist: “And who is the most important person in the picture?” - “The most important dad is grandfather. He orders everyone. And grandma, she also orders everything for everyone. - “What are you and your mother like?” - “Mom, I am kind. We don’t swear, that’s all.”

The largest figure in the picture, with the largest head and largest mouth, is the mother. Apparently, this is due to the fact that Tolya subconsciously feels fear and respect for her, depends on her grades and considers her the smartest. In a conversation, Tolya said that his mother often beats him, punishes him for bad, from her point of view, study and behavior. Because of this, the boy is very worried. He wants his mother to love him and treat him affectionately. In the picture, Tolya has a small mouth, which means that he still does not know how or does not have the right to express his opinion. However, the relatively large hands and palms, similar to fists, which the boy drew for himself and which are comparable in size to the hands and palms of other family members, suggest that Tolya can "use them."

8. Large and / or shaded mouth - a symbol of aggression, attack. If a person has no mouth or is depicted as a dot, then he does not have the right to express his opinion and influence others.

9. The more powerful a character is perceived to be, the bigger his hands are. The absence of hands in children over 6 years old is an indicator of shyness, passivity, and mental retardation. Hidden hands express guilt. The exaggerated size of the hands, the allocation of hands and fingers - indicates a tendency to aggression.

10. The image in the drawing of a character who does not officially belong to the family (for example, a member of a kindred family, a family friend, etc.) speaks of unsatisfied needs in relation to this character. The subject realizes these desires in his fantasy, in imaginary communication with this person. The same trend is indicated by the presence of a fictional (for example, fairy tale) character.

Analysis of the drawing of the family of Fedor P., 11 years old, 7th grade student

Diagnosis: obsessive fears (afraid to be alone in the apartment; afraid that he did not turn off the gas, the hood, that he did not turn off the light when he left the house).

At the time of the study, he lives with his mother and cat Mura. Parents are not divorced, but have been living separately for several months. Before their departure, Fedor was never left alone in the apartment, since dad was always at home during the day. The figure shows in sequence dad, mom, Fedor, Mura and cousin Anya, 16 years old (one of the three daughters of her mother's married sister, with whom Fedor communicates in the summer at the dacha). Story from the drawing: “Everyone is in a good mood. Dad watches TV, plays with me. Mom cooks and talks on the phone. I do my homework. Moura plays, litters. And Anya is listening to the player.

The appearance of dad and Anya in the picture indicates that Fedor is experiencing a lack of communication, needs support and protection. The significance of the father and Anya in his life is also indicated by the size of their images. Positioning yourself in sheet space opposite Anya shows how good the relationship is between cousins ​​and sisters.

11. Positioning yourself in the sheet space opposite another person speaks of a good (close) relationship with him.

12. According to the principle of vertical hierarchy, the highest in the figure is the character who, in the opinion of its author, has the most power in the family (although he may be the smallest in linear size). Below all is the one whose power in the family is minimal.

13. The distance between the characters (linear distance) is related to the psychological distance. Whoever is closest to the subject psychologically, he depicts spatially closer to himself. The same applies to other characters: whom a given person perceives as close to each other, he will draw those next to each other.

Analysis of the drawing of the family of Lena G., 13 years old, 9th grade student

Diagnosis: violation of posture.

Complaints: stubbornness, negativism, conflicts with all family members. With the help of the PDO questionnaire, hysteroid-epileptoid character accentuation, a pronounced reaction of emancipation, and the risk of social maladjustment were determined.

In the picture, the girl depicted all the members of the family: in top row- mom, grandmother and dad, in the bottom - myself, brother Gosh 11 years old and the cat Timosh. It follows from the figure that the adults in this family, from the point of view of the girl, have much more power than the children. This is also evidenced by the absence of the girl's hands in the drawing, and her brother's feet. In the subsystem of adults, mother and grandmother are close to each other, in the subsystem of children, Lena and Gosha are close.

The family lives in two rooms of a communal apartment, in one room - grandmother, in the other - parents with children. Children are never left alone, without the supervision of their elders: a grandmother is always present at home, and at the school where they study, their mother works as a teacher.

14. Characters who are in direct contact with each other (for example, with their hands) are in equally close psychological contact. Characters who do not touch do not have such contact.

15. The character or object that causes the greatest anxiety in the subject is depicted either with increased pressure, or heavily shaded, or its outline is circled several times. But in some cases it can be outlined with a very thin, trembling line. The author, as it were, does not dare to portray him.

16. Characters with large, wide eyes are perceived by the author as anxious, restless, in need of being rescued. Characters with “dotted” or “slit” eyes carry an internal “prohibition on crying”, that is, they are afraid to ask for help.

17. The larger the area of ​​support at the feet, the more firmly on the ground the character is perceived. Lack of feet, small, unstable legs - a sign of uncertainty, instability, lack of a strong foundation, lack of a basic sense of security.

18. If the characters in the figure are shown in one row, it is necessary to mentally draw a horizontal line along the lowest point of the legs. Then only those people who “stand” on this line have support in reality. The rest, "hanging in the air", according to the subject, do not have independent support in life.

Analysis of the drawing of the family of Nastya K., 16 years old, 10th grade student

Diagnosis: common neurodermatitis.

The picture shows all the members of the family: Nastya, mom, dad and brother Petya. At first, Nastya drew all the family members separately, but then she corrected the drawing: from herself she extended her hand to her mother and, as it were, took her mother by the arm, and from her mother she extended her hand to her father, so that the depicted mother also, as it were, took her father by the arm. Story from the picture: “I hold my mother’s hand when I walk. Mommy holds dad's hand (walks). Brother Petya walks nearby (independent). I'm in a good mood, my mom's is good, my dad's is average. Petya is good.

Nastya is an identified patient. She became ill shortly after her brother began to openly clash with his father, who abused alcohol, and even beat him. Having fallen ill, Nastya turned the attention of family members to herself, and conflicts between father and son began to occur less frequently. It can be seen from the picture that Nastya, as it were, pulls her mother, and mother, respectively, father, away from Petya, so that Petya is now “independent”. Nastya circled her contour several times - apparently, her illness causes her great inner anxiety. In addition, Nastya's hand, which reaches out to her mother, and the mother's hand, which reaches out to her father, are highlighted, which indicates the subjective significance of the tense "clutch of the daughter with her parents." However, unlike other members of the family depicted, the girl in the picture has no eyes, which means that she forbids herself to ask for help. The request for help is expressed by the large round eyes of the mother, who brought her daughter to the consultation. Nastya drew the largest feet for herself, in addition, if you mentally draw a horizontal line along the lowest point of the legs, it turns out that Nastya ascribes to herself the feeling of the greatest "support in reality." She believes that it is her duty to save the family, to resolve the conflict between Petya and dad.

Processing of the test "Family Drawing" is carried out according to the following scheme:

When completing a task according to these instructions, the presence or absence of joint efforts in certain situations that are depicted is assessed, what place is given to them by the child performing the test, etc.