The Self Representation in Schizophrenic patients: Considerations on the Draw a Tree Test

The tree is the archetypal symbol of the identification in the growing life. The objective of this study is to evaluate the representation of the self in schizophrenic patients through the tree drawing. Were identified 36 patients, 22 women and 14 (M-age=53), suffering from schizophrenic disorder. Through the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) and the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) positive and negative symptoms, and the reactive tree representation of the self were assessed. In patients with negative symptoms archetypal figures are more frequent, such as images that are part of the collective unconscious, or thought more archaic. In patients in which emerges the delirium, that is part of the most evolved thinking, near to the secondary process, the reality testing is better preserved. In cases where there are symptoms mixed the tree structure leads to an archetypal image. This study shows that in the draw of the tree trunk-to-crown ratio in schizophrenic patients was significantly higher than that of healthy individuals. The usefulness of the study insert itself in the Jungian analytic thought, for which psychotic thought corresponds to an abbaissement of the self activity.