Archive 1992–2014

The aim of this study was to assess changes in graphical representation of the patient's family after treatment of an episode of paranoid schizophrenia. The analyzed material consisted of 60 drawings of the family made by patients during a relapse (prior to treatment), 60 family drawings made in remission after an intense treatment, and 120 drawings by healthy controls. A modification of the Family Drawing Test, developed by the authors was used. In the first part of the study a formal analysis of the drawings was conducted, and in the second stage – post-treatment changes in anxiety, aggression and self-depreciation were assessed. In comparison to the control group, schizophrenic patients in pharmacologically induced remission indicated a decrease in the anxiety level (by over 50%), over a twice as high increase in aggression rate, and a significant decrease in self-depreciation.