The use of the Children’s Apperception Test and Thematic Apperception Test in South Africa

This chapter explores the practice and cross-cultural application of two thematic projective techniques, the Children’s Apperception Test (CAT) and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). A brief introduction to, and definition of, thematic storytelling techniques is followed by discussions on reliability and validity, test administration and clinical application. The chapter has a strong focus on clinical application within a South African context and provides guidelines for clinicians. The focus on case material also allows the utility of these tests to be illustrated in depth. The origin of projective testing was Herman Rorschach’s (1924a; 1924b) accidental discovery that people automatically and unconsciously