Schachtel and experiential Rorschach assessment

Combining phenomenology with psychoanalytic theory, Schachtel provided a fr amework for a more experiential approach to Rorschach Assessment. Beginning with this framework, in this article I extend Schachtel's experiential app roach in 3 directions. First, building on his suggestion that each of the m ajor Rorschach determinants (movement, color, etc.) reflect a distinctive e xperiential-perceptual attitude, I attempt to demonstrate how these attitud es can be viewed from an object relations perspective. I then extend the at titude underlying experiential assessment to the psychological test report. Lastly, I discuss the role of empathy, in the interpretation of Rorschach data.