The Scenotest
A Practical Technique for Understanding Unconscious Problems and Personality Structure
J A Smith, Gerhild von Staabs
The Scenotest has been widely used in Europe for over 50 years to help very quickly assess emotional problems in children. It is a projective instrument employed for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes to gain insight into matters that the patient may consciously be withholding, or may not be able to express, due to emotional or physical abuse, or for other complex reasons. The Scenotest belongs to the standard repertoire of psychologists and psychiatrists concerned with the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents: in forensic medicine, in therapy or in the school system. The many thousands of sets sold and used are witness to its success in this difficult field. The standardized material of this test procedure is composed of flexible human figures, bendable in all joints, and a carefully chosen set of accessories: animals, trees, symbolic figures and items from everyday life. The Scenotest arouses the natural desire to play, reveals unconscious thoughts in a nonstressful way, and the many figures offer patients the opportunity to relive their own experiences.
