ABSTRACT
The last 20 years have witnessed dramatic developments in clinical theory and practice, both within and outside of Rorschach psychology Developments in Rorschach reflect the emerging rapprochement of two divergent and sometimes antagonistic philosophies of Rorschach interpretation: (a) the nomothetic approach, represented by the work of John Exner; and (b) idiographic and content analytic approaches, deriving from psychoanalytic theory
Exner’s empirically driven, atheoretical, score-based approach has done much to strengthen the psychometric foundations of the Rorschach and to revive the test’s respectability and popularity. Rorschach psychology, as a consequence, may be stronger today in the U.S. than ever before. Exner’s Comprehensive System, however, is not the only development in Rorschach psychology in the last 20 years. Parallel developments in clinical psychoanalysis and applications to Rorschach theory and practice, especially in structural-developmental and object relations theories, have exercised a significant influence. The work of Mayman, Blatt and his colleagues, P. and H. Lerner, Urist, and others is noteworthy. The confluence of these traditions of inquiry-scorebased and content-based Rorschach psychology-provides the contemporary Rorschach clinician with a powerful interpretive methodology.
