Rorschach structure of a hospitalized sample of Vietnam veterans with PTSD

Rorschach structural summary data are presented for a group of 41 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients who were being treated in a specialized inpatient PTSD treatment program. Results suggest that patients suffering from PTSD exhibit impaired reality-testing abilities and tend to utilize ineffective coping strategies. The group's structural summary factors are presented as incipient normative data for the Exner Comprehensive System on patients with PTSD. Implications that these protocols suggest a more severe and pervasive level of psychopathology than would be expected from theoretical descriptions of the disorder are discussed.