Family Art Diagnosis: a psychoanalytic approach to family evaluation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5433/2236-6407.2024.v15.53430Keywords:
Family, Family Therapy, Psychodiagnosis, DrawingAbstract
Family assessment is an interactional diagnostic that incorporates various tools, including projective techniques. In this study, we address the use of Family Art Diagnosis (FAD) in the context of family assessment as a mediating resource to access latent content, especially in families that have experienced trauma. These resources are essential in supporting the restoration of the family’s psychic apparatus functions, thereby promoting emotional health. FAD, a drawing-based technique, encompasses subjective and intersubjective aspects, the interaction style of each subsystem, and the interactional style of the family system, enabling a wide family assessment. We present excerpts from the interview phase of a family assessment conducted at a university clinic. We conclude that recognizing shared suffering through the use of FAD facilitates the transition from the initial complaint to a shared demand, and the representation of traumatic experiences, making it possible to restore the symbolization function of the psychic apparatus.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Andrea Seixas Magalhães, Rebeca Nonato Machado, Renata Machado de Mello, Terezinha F´éres-Carneiro
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