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How to use projective tests in therapy

Learn what projective tests are, how they work, and where they fit in modern therapy practices.

July 31, 2026

By Ashley Abramson • Clinically reviewed by Caitlin Pugh, LCSW

7 min read

By Ashley Abramson • Clinically reviewed by Caitlin Pugh, LCSW

Understanding your clients’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors is an important part of supporting their mental health journey — and there are many effective clinical tools you can use to do that. One type of psychological assessment is projective testing, which involves having clients interpret ambiguous stimuli like a drawing or inkblot.

Projective testing can help clients develop a deeper understanding of their clients’ minds, but they also come with potential limitations. Unlike objective assessments, which are scored using a validated scale, these tests are subject to interpretation. For that reason, they’re best used as one tool in a clinical toolkit, alongside clinical interview, professional observation, and objective testing measures.

Below, learn more about projective tests, how you can incorporate them in your practice, and how Headway can help you better support your clients through assessment, documentation, and billing support.

Key insights

1

Projective tests are a type of psychological assessment used to reveal subconscious thoughts, emotions, and internal conflicts. They may come in the form of inkblot tests, sentence completion tests, drawing tests, and other associative assessments that tap into the subconscious mind.

2

Behavioral health providers can use these tests alongside other assessments and clinical tools to better understand their clients, which may help with diagnosis and treatment. That said, unlike many evidence-based assessment tools, projective tests are subject to interpretation.

3

Headway supports therapists who conduct assessments with a free, built-in EHR that streamlines documentation with AI-assisted notes and templates, plus billing tools for consistent, timely payment.

What are projective tests?

Projective tests are a type of psychological assessment intended to reveal subconscious thoughts and feelings that clients may not be aware of or able to verbalize. Rooted in Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and psychologist Lawrence Frank’s “projective hypothesis,” these tests use “ambiguous stimuli” such as inkblots or drawings to draw out a person’s unconscious thoughts, emotions, and internal conflicts.

As with other types of assessment, a therapist may use projective tests to gain a deeper understanding of their client and assist with diagnosis and treatment. The idea is that people respond to ambiguous stimuli with their “true” motivations and views. Given their intended subjective nature, these tests have no right or wrong answer — unlike objective assessment measures, which weigh people’s answers using numerical scales.

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Major types of projective tests used in clinical practice

There are many types of projective tests, and each one has unique characteristics and use cases. Here are some of the most common projective tests and how they work.

  • Rorschach inkblot test: A projective test in which clients describe what they see in a series of symmetrical inkblots. Clinicians analyze responses using standardized scoring systems to better understand patterns of thinking, emotional functioning, perception, and personality.
  • Thematic apperception test (TAT): Clients are shown a series of ambiguous pictures and asked to tell a story about each one, including what led up to the scene, what the characters are thinking or feeling, and how the story ends. The themes in these stories may provide insight into a person's emotions, motivations, relationships, and internal conflicts.
  • Children's apperception test (CAT): Similar to the TAT but designed for children, this assessment uses pictures of animals or people in everyday situations. Children's stories may help clinicians explore emotional struggles, family dynamics, social relationships, and developmental issues.
  • Draw-a-person test: Clients are asked to draw one or more human figures. Some clinicians interpret features of the drawings alongside other assessment findings to explore aspects of self-image, emotional functioning, and personality.
  • House-tree-person test: Clients draw a house, a tree, and a person. Clinicians may use the drawings and follow-up questions to gain additional information about emotions, personality, self-perception, and relationships.
  • Sentence completion tests: Clients complete a series of unfinished sentence stems (such as "My biggest fear is..."). Their responses may provide insight into attitudes, beliefs, interpersonal relationships, motivations, and emotional concerns.
  • Holtzman inkblot test: Like the Rorschach inkblot test, this assessment uses inkblots — but clients give only one response per card, which can improve scoring consistency. It was developed to provide a more standardized approach to evaluating personality and thought processes.

How projective tests work: Administration and interpretation

Unlike traditional questionnaires, projective tests don’t ask clients to select from predetermined possible answers. Instead, a therapist introduces ambiguous stimuli, whether a drawing, inkblot, image, or open-ended question (for example, asking a client to complete a sentence) and ask clients to respond freely. The theory is that people may “project” otherwise hidden aspects of their personality, thoughts, emotions, and internal conflicts.

Scoring and interpretation of projective testing varies by method. Some tests use standardized scoring systems that evaluate specific response characteristics, while others rely more on clinical judgment. Rather than focusing on whether an answer is right or wrong, clinicians look for recurring themes, emotional tone, and thought patterns across responses. Results are most useful as part of a broader assessment battery, which may include clinical interview, behavioral observation, and objective assessments such as the GAD-7, PHQ-9, State Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and others.

Projective tests vs. objective assessments

Understanding the core differences between projective tests and objective assessments can help you determine when each one is appropriate and how to use them in your practice.

  • Structure and ambiguity: Objective assessments are generally structured with specific questions and a numerical scoring scale. Projective tests, on the other hand, are intentionally open-ended with no pre-determined answers to choose from.
  • Scoring methodology: Objective measures have a pre-determined score range, and a client’s final score depends on their answer to each question. Given their subjective nature, projective tests are scored based on a therapist’s interpretation.
  • Psychometric properties: Objective assessments generally have stronger evidence supporting their reliability and validity, making results more consistent across clinicians and settings. Projective tests tend to have more variable psychometric support, so they're typically interpreted alongside other clinical information rather than used on their own.
  • Clinical utility: Objective measures are a useful tool for measuring symptom severity, diagnosing clients, and tracking progress over time. Projective tests are most often used to explore personality functioning, emotional processes, interpersonal dynamics, and themes that may not emerge through structured questionnaires, particularly as part of a comprehensive psychological evaluation.
  • Insurance and documentation: Objective assessments are often easier to justify for insurance reimbursement because they have standardized administration, scoring, and established clinical uses. When using projective tests, clinicians should clearly document the clinical rationale, how the assessment informed diagnosis or treatment planning, and why it was appropriate for the client's presentation.

Advantages and limitations of projective tests

Projective testing methods come with many potential benefits. But there are also limitations and criticisms of projective tests:

Advantages

  • Elicit deeper responses: While objective tests have set answers, projective tests prompt open-ended answers, which can lead to deeper conversations and give clinicians unique insights into a client’s mind, feeling, and experiences.
  • Surfaces the subconscious: Projective tests are designed to surface subconscious thoughts, feelings, and internal conflicts, bypassing conscious thought. This approach can help clinicians understand aspects of a person’s mind they may not be able to express or may not even be aware of.
  • Flexible and engaging: Because projective tests use storytelling, drawing, or open-ended responses, they may feel less rigid than traditional questionnaires and encourage clients to share information they might not otherwise discuss in therapeutic settings.

Limitations

  • Subjective: Open-ended questions lead to a wide range of answers which are subject to interpretation. For that reason, clinicians may be biased when interpreting a client’s answers.
  • Not evidence-based: Many objective assessments are well studied and validated by psychological research. Projective testing has less science behind it, which means its reliability and validity may be more variable than other measures.
  • Time-consuming: Because these tests generally require specialized training and dedicated interpretation, they can be more time-consuming to administer and score than objective measures.

Considerations for using projective tests

Thinking of using projective tests, but not sure if they're a fit for your practice? Here’s what to know about when and how therapists should use projective tests to better understand and support their clients.

  • Training: Projective tests require specialized training to administer, score, and interpret. Interpretation can be complex, so therapists should use these assessments only if they’ve undergone training and understand how to follow standardized administration and scoring procedures.
  • Insurance coverage verification: Insurance usually only covers psychological testing if it’s medically necessary to evaluate or diagnose a mental health condition. Projective testing is typically considered supplemental rather than essential, so clinicians should verify payer requirements and document why the assessment is clinically indicated.
  • Documentation standards: Clinical documentation should reflect why the test was medically necessary. Progress notes may include why the test was selected, how it was administered, and how the results will inform diagnosis and/or treatment planning. Interpretation should be based on standardized scoring methods when available and integrated with other clinical findings.
  • Integration with other assessments: These tests are considered subjective, which is why they’re best administered alongside other, objective assessment tools. Clinicians should also incorporate clinical interview and behavioral observation into their evaluations.
  • Appropriate clinical contexts: Projective tests can be helpful if clinicians need additional tools to better understand personality functioning, emotional conflicts, relational patterns, or other unconscious processes. Rather than routine therapy sessions, these tests can be especially useful in comprehensive psychological testing or complex diagnostic cases.
  • Time and reimbursement tradeoffs: Many projective tests require substantial time to administer, score, and interpret, which may limit their practicality in busy outpatient practices. For that reason, it’s important to weigh the potential clinical value against the time involved and ensure testing services are appropriately billed when reimbursement is available.
  • Cultural competence: A client's cultural background, language, life experiences, and developmental level can influence how they respond to projective tests. Interpret results cautiously and avoid drawing conclusions based on cultural differences or unfamiliarity with test materials.
  • Ethical boundaries: Explain the purpose and limitations of projective testing as part of informed consent, and don’t make major diagnostic or treatment decisions based solely on the results of a projective test.

How Headway supports therapists who conduct assessments

Headway helps therapists handle the documentation, billing, and compliance side of psychological testing with a robust suite of features that streamline clinical practice.

  • Documentation templates: Headway's free EHR includes documentation templates that make it easier to record assessment findings, write clinical notes, and update treatment plans.
  • Insurance verification: Headway verifies clients' insurance benefits before appointments, helping reduce unexpected coverage issues and minimizing the risk of claim denials for covered services.
  • Automated billing: Headway's EHR streamlines billing by automatically generating claims with the CPT codes, helping reduce administrative work and billing errors.
  • Guaranteed, biweekly payment: With billing support, Headway providers receive guaranteed, biweekly payment — even if an insurance company delays reimbursement.
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This content is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute clinical, legal, financial, or professional advice. All decisions should be made at the discretion of the individual or organization, in consultation with qualified clinical, legal, or other appropriate professionals.

© 2026 Therapymatch, Inc. dba Headway. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.

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