Clinical Assessment of the child: Does drawing help children talk about their presenting problems?

Abstract

Child psychopathology is a significant mental health issue in New Zealand and overseas. When child mental health services are required, clinicians should conduct assessments that are developmentally sensitive and include the child’s point of view. Drawing is a popular and developmentally sensitive tool that is commonly used in clinical settings; research in experimental settings has confirmed that drawing increases the amount of verbal information that children report. The goal of the present research was to determine whether drawing also facilitates children’s self reports during mental health assessments. A total of 33 children, 5- to 12-years of age, were asked to either draw and tell about their presenting problem or tell only. Children, who were allowed to draw and tell, provided twice as much information, as children who told only. The interviewers’ questions also varied as a function of conditions. Interviewers in the draw condition used a greater number of prompts and minimal responses. These data have important implications for clinical practice