Every child is an individual from the moment they are born. He develops, learns, defends his own opinion. But his emotional and mental state is inextricably linked with the atmosphere in the family. The child and parents build their relationship throughout life. And sometimes adults who find it difficult to understand what is happening with children have to turn to psychologists.
Any diagnostic work with children begins with an analysis of family relationships. A child cannot always objectively assess the situation in the family and his own place in it. Therefore, psychologists use various methods, including the well-established Three Trees projective method.
Author of the methodology
The "Three Trees" method was developed by the Swiss psychologist Korboz, but the German psychotherapist Edda Klessmann changed the test procedure. Initially, the psychologist observed how the child drew trees that he associated with his parents andyourself - dad's tree, mom's and her own. But the “Three Trees” technique by E. Klessmann suggests that the child first draws trees, and only then correlates them with people. In her opinion, children tend to embellish the parental image. Therefore, the figure does not reflect the full picture of the relationship between the child and parents. Klessmann based her research and work on the principle of symbol-drama. She used imagination to bring to light the child's unconscious desires, fantasies, conflicts.
Purpose of diagnosis
Without understanding the specifics of family relations, the child's place in the family, it is impossible to draw conclusions about the causes of his psycho-emotional state and provide the necessary assistance. The technique allows you to simply get informative results, identify possible conflicts and choose the best option for building relationships in the family. The purpose of the "Three Trees" technique is to answer important questions for the psychologist about the possible independence of the child, his identity and role in the family, about the emotions that dominate his life. This test is widely used to diagnose children in foster families and orphanages, taking into account the traumatized psyche.
Characteristics of the technique
Psychologists note the simplicity of the drawing test. It can be carried out with children from 4 years old, provided that the child can draw and knows the concept of "tree". The “Three Trees” technique involves the analysis of the drawing, a preliminary conversation with the child, a discussion of the drawing and work with the drawing itself. An obstacle to the use of the technique may beviolation of color perception in a child, since the choice of color for drawing is no less important than the number or type of trees. Testing in young children is difficult not only because they do not know how to depict trees, but sometimes they do not know their names or cannot answer the questions of a psychologist. It is also important to understand that diagnostics using this or other methods is possible only if the psychologist is able to win over the child and create comfortable conditions.
Test instructions
The test can be done in the presence of parents, provided that they do not closely observe the child or interfere. In a preliminary conversation with the child, the psychologist asks several detailed questions about the family. It is impossible to correct or suggest, as, however, to offer alternative options - at this stage, certain conclusions are already being made about family relations.
The instructions in Three Trees should be clear and concise. Then the psychologist instructs the child to draw three trees on a horizontal white landscape sheet. It is important to make sure the child understands the instructions. In the process of drawing, children are carried away, and the psychologist, if necessary, can talk with parents without giving any assessments yet and without commenting on the results of the preliminary conversation. The Three Trees technique is also good because it takes a sufficiently long period of time to be able to observe the child, his posture and facial expression. This information can tell a lot to a specialist. After completing the drawing, the psychologist shouldpraise the child to maintain a positive emotional connection.
Drawing begins when the tester asks each tree (birch, oak or candy tree) to be named and signed with a matching colored pencil. Children who are not yet able to write should be asked permission to sign the drawing. In this case, the chosen color of the pencil and the given resolution are important, which reflects the importance of the child and his opinion and respect for him on the part of an adult.
After naming each tree, the psychologist asks which one they like best and asks permission to sign the picture. Then follow simple questions about trees: which one is the biggest, the smallest, the oldest, the youngest, and the most beautiful. The questions are selected and arranged in such a way that the child gradually approaches the most important thing - the association of the family and the drawing. The psychologist, having received the permission of the child, signs all the answers in the drawing with the selected pencils.
Then the child is asked to pretend to be a gardener and decide what can be done for each tree to make it better. If necessary, answer options are given - add fertilizer, replant, give more heat, put up a fence. Be sure to offer the option that the tree does not need anything. All answers are also recorded in the picture.
Before the next step, it is important to conduct an additional task to prepare the child for working with associations. You can ask to talk about your favorite fruits and arrange them in order by degree of pleasure or something similar.
At the last stage of testing, the child is offeredmatch trees with family members. The drawing is signed according to the already familiar scheme with the color chosen by the child and after its permission. It is important not to suggest or evaluate the work of the child, otherwise the results will not be informative.
Testing preschoolers and elementary schoolchildren
The specifics of carrying out diagnostics using the Three Trees method for preschoolers and primary schoolchildren is that children of such a young age do not always have the necessary skills and knowledge. Therefore, it is important to build communication in such a way that the child understands the questions and instructions as accurately as possible. Testing can be done at school or kindergarten. Familiar surroundings promote calmness and maximum openness of the child. The psychologist's office does not always provide such an opportunity. At home, despite the most comfortable environment, the conditions for diagnosis are not clean enough, since the child can often be distracted by familiar things, phone calls or knocks on the door. Practice shows that at home, parents feel en titled to interfere in the course of the study, which, of course, does not help to obtain the result necessary for further work.
Testing teenagers
Teenagers, especially those with psycho-emotional problems, are reluctant to cooperate with a psychologist. It is important here to present diagnostics not as a simple drawing, but as a way to express yourself. A test with a teenager will have to allocate more time. Having no difficulties with drawing, teenagers are often not motivated to complete the task carefully, they consider it stupidand uninteresting. The task of a psychologist is to convince the opposite and draw the appropriate conclusions.
Test results
The most crucial moment in diagnostics is receiving and interpreting the results. The psychologist must record his observations throughout the testing. The result is not only the drawing, but also the behavior, the child's answers during the preliminary conversation, the posture and choice of colors during the drawing, the answers to questions after the drawing, the location, number, color and type of trees, actions with trees and associations with relatives. Every detail counts for further interpretation:
- Did the child follow the instructions in full.
- Willingly drew.
- Did you often resort to emotional help from a parent or a psychologist (looking for approval, asking questions).
- Was the posture relaxed.
These and other little things must be recorded and processed. The result of the "Three Trees" technique is both a general understanding of the situation that has developed in the family, and possible options for overcoming hidden conflicts.
Interpretation of projective test results
Interpretation of the "Three Trees" technique assumes that the researcher has an idea about physiognomy, color ratios and psychological characteristics, family psychology. When analyzing the results, the number, location and type of trees, the main color background of the image, the color of individual elements, the colors of the inscription, and answers to questions are taken into account. In the initial interpretation, before considering the composition, the psychologist drawsattention to the child himself.
Test example
In a kindergarten, the teacher draws the psychologist's attention to the fact that a five-year-old boy is reluctant to go home with his mother, but joyfully runs to his father. At the same time, at first glance, the mother treats her son more affectionately and patiently. The psychologist obtains parental consent for the test and invites the boy into his office. The child easily answers questions about parents, gives full names and places of work, describes the apartment, but cannot name favorite family activities. When asked about what mom and dad love, the child does not answer and experiences obvious discomfort. Draw agrees with joy, devotes all his attention to the occupation. The psychologist records the results of observation and concludes that the child spends little time together in games and entertainment. At the same time, given his preparedness, the ability to hold pencils correctly and draw lines, there are a lot of training sessions. The boy quickly finishes the drawing, names the trees (they all correspond to real ones) and can sign. Questions do not cause difficulties, but associations with relatives are carried out with difficulty. The child doubts whether it is possible to consider mother a tree, and as a result chooses a sister, and draws mother next to her in the form of a person. For a psychologist, it is clear that the mother plays a special role in the family, she is distant from the child, perhaps she always acts according to the rules.
Consideration of composition
The choice of the number of trees for the technique is not accidental. Despite the fact that the child does not receive direct instructions to associate the drawing with the family, he intuitively draws himself.and the people around him. Therefore, three trees are, as a rule, mom, dad, me. If there are fewer trees, then the child subconsciously crosses out one of the family members. An alarming signal is the deletion, first of all, of oneself at the stage of distribution of trees among relatives. The tree of the one who bears the greatest responsibility in the family is often drawn first. The largest is the tree of the most authoritative member. "Baby" trees are the smallest and youngest. The psychologist should pay attention to everything - the curvature and color of the trunk, the width of the branches, the presence of a hollow. Fruit trees for a child mean the kindness of a family member. Conifers can carry the meaning of the distance of a certain relative. Fantasy, made-up trees reflect a good work of the imagination, but at the same time can be an alarming sign of a child's rejection of the world around them.
A drawing is interpreted positively, in which trees of the same species are located close to each other on stable soil. The child subconsciously portrays a strong friendly family.
Interpretation of the shades of the picture
When analyzing the choice of colors and shades for a drawing, it is important to understand not only the symbol that is embedded in each color, but also the meaning that the child himself lays in it. Each shade has both a positive and a negative characteristic, and this characteristic can be revealed only after a conversation with the child. The projective technique "Three Trees" is especially useful, since in the drawing the child reflects not his experience or knowledge, but inner feelings and emotions. For example,painted a large red tree. Red color means at the same time love, passion, inspiration and aggression, hatred, danger. In one case, a child called a mahogany the most beautiful, and later associated it with his mother. In another test, the child decided that the big redwood tree should be replanted because it blocks the sun from other trees, and later associated it with dad. From the conversation it becomes clear that it is impossible to interpret the choice of color unambiguously.
Analysis of conversation and behavior
The conversation is the most important part of testing. For a more accurate interpretation of the results, the psychologist may ask why the child chose this color or this particular tree. What color can represent joy? Why does this tree need to be replanted? In the process, the child, being carried away, more and more accurately reveals the picture of the family situation. His posture, hand position and facial expression when he talks about each tree (relatives) are indicative and should also be interpreted. If one of the trees is depicted as sick or fallen, be sure to ask when this happened. This is important for understanding the duration of the conflict or estrangement. Not all children can explain why they drew this or that, so the task of the psychologist is to ask leading questions, not always related to the drawing, to help build an associative chain. The role of the gardener, which the child takes on, is the most revealing part of the conversation. It reflects the desire of the child to change something in intra-family relations. Moreover, if the child believes that the treenothing is needed, this may mean that he does not feel able to change something. All these details are clarified by the psychologist during the conversation.
Important points for diagnosing
Preparing for the Three Trees test is quite simple. You need a sheet of paper and pencils of different colors. It should be borne in mind that children have a good imagination and sometimes want to choose shades of primary colors - pink, blue, lilac. It is impossible to replace the gray color with a simple pencil, just as it is impossible to replace pencils with felt-tip pens or pens. The fact is that drawing with pencils requires a certain position of the brush and pressure. The slope of the hatching, the intensity of the color, the width of the movements - all these are indicators of the child's condition. No markers or pens give the full picture. Be sure to take into account not only the age of the test, but also his height. It would be a mistake to put a teenager at a table of low height, as it will create discomfort and interfere with the diagnosis. Conversely, a small child at a large table may feel more important.
It is important to win over the child, make contact and maintain an emotional connection. During the task, many children seek support and ask questions. The specialist must understand that his task is only to support, and not to suggest or correct. In questions, hints or questions with an alternative ending or-or are also not allowed. No assessments can be made during a conversation or drawing. Analysis and interpretation of the results occurs after the end of testing.
Testing for adults
The Three Tree Test for adults can give interesting results. It is more difficult for adults to surrender to the will of the imagination, and they try to guess what the specialist had in mind. But this is precisely what can become an indicator of how dependent a person is on someone else's opinion, how free in expressing himself. The image of the family most often includes a husband, wife and child. Such a test helps to understand not only the specialist, but also the testee himself, what role he plays in the family. The choice of color is most often determined by logic and experience, so intensity and shading become an indicator. The “Three Trees” technique helps not so much a psychologist as an adult to understand what possible conflicts exist in a family and suggest ways out.
