Psychotherapeutic testing game

A psychotherapeutic testing game comprises a game apparatus for providing a game playing atmosphere between a tester and a player. A chance selection device is associated with the game apparatus for selecting the game participation requirements of a player. A plurality of cards for selection by the game selection device contains information to elicit a personal psychological response of a player whereby the player upon giving the response is given an award operably associated with the game apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
While the invention is subject to a wide range of applications, it is 
especially related to therapeutic applications and will be particularly 
described in that connection. 
In the area of child psychotherapy, a problem is often created in dealing 
with the child because the therapist is often seen as the ultimately 
powerful adult who has been called in because the child has been "bad". 
The child may make a tremendous effort to hide all evidence of the problem 
and resists involvement in the therapeutic situation by being 
uncooperative, inhibited, shy, withdrawn, etc. In this way, the child 
patient prevents the therapist from satisfactorily communicating and 
helping the child. In therapy, various types of non-verbal communication 
such as for example, play, drawing, and painting may be as meaningful as 
the spoken word. Play is one of the child's natural modes of communication 
and the fantasies that can be evoked while involved in play can provide 
significant information about the psychological processes that are at the 
roots of the child's problems. The present invention provides a desirable 
approach in working with a younger age group (from approximately 6-14 
years old) by combining the creative aspects of play and art therapy with 
a structured game. The resultant therapeutic creative game is used as a 
method of engaging the withdrawn or uncooperative child into therapeutic 
involvement and simultaneously serving as a diagnostic aid for the 
therapist. 
In the past, a number of patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,294 to Smeda; 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,919 to Cain; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,358 to Weedman 
have illustrated various types of educational and psychological games. 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a creative, projective 
play game for engaging the withdrawn or uncooperative child into 
therapeutic involvement. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a creative, 
projective play game which is a diagnostic aide for a therapist. 
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a creative 
projective game to stimulate insight, facilitate communication, to learn 
new skills, and to aid in personal growth. 
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a creative 
projective play game which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the present invention, there is disclosed a 
psychoterapeutic testing game comprising game apparatus for providing a 
game playing atmosphere between a tester and a player. A chance selection 
device is associated with the game apparatus for selecting the game 
participation requirements of a player. A plurality of cards for selection 
by the game selection device contains information to elicit a personal 
psychological response of a player. The player, upon giving the response, 
is given an award operably associated with the game apparatus. 
For a better understanding of the present invention together with other and 
further objects thereof, reference is made to the following description, 
taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, while its scope will 
be pointed out in the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
In accordance with the present invention, a psychotherapeutic testing game 
comprises a game apparatus 10 for providing a game playing atmosphere 
between a tester and a player. A chance selection device 12 is associated 
with the game apparatus for selecting the game participation requirements 
of a player. A plurality of cards 14 for selection by the game selection 
device contains information to elicit a personal psychological response of 
a player. Upon giving the response, the player is given an award operably 
associated with the game apparatus. Although the game, as illustrated and 
explained is for therapeutic testing of children, it may be used for 
people of any age category. 
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a game board apparatus 10 
including a playing surface 26 with a circular image 28, such as for 
example a mandala, centrally located thereon. A playing path 16 begins at 
the "Beginning" at a side 30 of the playing surface 26 and proceeds into 
the circular image 28 until it ends at "Rainbow's End." The playing path 
16 may be divided into any desired number of continuous segments 14 such 
as 33 segments. The setting of the game is a jungle motif. This represents 
a place where vegetation thrives free from any control or cultivation. 
Interspersed within the heavy green foliage are water and earthen areas 
which represent the various obstacles and dangers that may be encountered 
along the path. The playing path 12 on which the players move is primarily 
located within the confines of the circular image 28 and although not 
indicated on the drawings, begins with dark hues of the spectrum and 
becomes lighter and more intense in color as the player approaches the 
core or end of the game path. It is further within the scope of the 
present invention to provide a game board apparatus of any desired shape, 
color, or configuration. The primary concern in providing the board is to 
create a game playing atmosphere between the player and the therapist. 
The movable playing elements 32 may be comprised of different types of 
animal playing pieces as illustrated in FIG. 2. Although an eagle and an 
elephant are represented, it is within the scope of the present invention 
to use any type of animal or any shaped piece as desired. The symbolic 
classification of animals is often related to four elements. The playing 
pieces may fall into the categories of amphibious animals (associated with 
water); reptiles (associated with earth); birds (associated with air); and 
mammals (associated with fire). A variety of information on each animal is 
included within the game to provide the therapist with a wide range of 
meanings applicable to possible psychological traits of the player who 
choses that specific animal. For example, the eagle is characterized by a 
strongly hooked beak, great talons, and keen vision. It is known for its 
powerful, stately flight. They may be symbolic of spiritalization and the 
represent spirits or angels, supernatural aid, thoughts and flights of 
fancy. 
The elephant is characterized by massive size, great strength, a 
disproportionately large head, grasping trunk, and short neck. It is 
alleged to have a high intelligence as well as a retentive memory. It has 
a keen sense of smell, but vision and hearing are poorly developed. They 
are looked upon today as obvious symbols of clumsiness. The elephant is a 
symbol of strength and of the power of the libido. Because of their shape 
and color, they are regarded as symbols of clouds. Thus, every animal can 
be examined and used to suggest possible indications of a child's behavior 
in real life or in fantasy. 
A chance selection device 12 which is associated with the game apparatus 10 
for selecting the game participation requirements of a player may be 
comprised of two dice as illustrated in FIG. 4. Once of the dice is a 
random number selector 36 which is used to indicate the number of segments 
on the playing path 16 to be transversed by the player. This die consists 
of numerals on each side ranging from 1 through 6. 
The other die is a card selector device 38 which has a different color on 
five sides (red, green, yellow, purple, blue) and a "J" representing a 
Joker on the sixth side. When this die is thrown, it indicates which card 
pile the player must select from as will be further explained. Although 
dice have been illustrated as the desired change selection device 12, it 
is within the scope of the present invention to use any desired selection 
apparatus such as for example a spinner on a card divided into color or 
numbered segments. Referring to FIG. 2 there is illustrated an example of 
cards which are selected by the card selector device 38 and which contains 
information to elicit a personal psychological response of a player 
whereby the player upon given the response is given an award operable 
associated with the game apparatus as will be further explained. The cards 
are divided into six different groups, five of which are distinguished by 
color (yellow, blue, green, red, and purple) on one side of the card and a 
sixth group which has a letter designation "J", on one side of the card. 
Note that the colors and the letter designation on the card selector 
device 38 corresponds to the cards. Of course, any desired colors or other 
designations may be used as required. 
The five different groups of cards which are distinguished by color are 
further subdivided into four categories; emotional, creativity; 
imagination/fantasy, and reality for eliciting corresponding psychological 
response in accordance with each category. 
The card 40 of FIG. 3 is in the emotional category. It may be comprised of 
pictures which are highly contrasted in black, white, and shaded areas and 
are totally comprised of visual imagery designed to stimulate emotional 
affects. They are provocative representations of emotional situations and 
roles which would be particularly relevant to players such as children. 
The imagery in this category have predominantly human stimuli but are also 
interspersed with some animal figures. The animals may be used on cards 
that are considered to be more anxiety provocating to lessen the 
resistance of the player and thus facilitate the projection of the 
player's feelings. Due to the difference of opinion regarding the 
productivity in human versus non-human stimuli, it is within the scope of 
the present invention to use both types of stimuli in the emotion cards. 
The emotion card 40 illustrated in FIG. 3 shows a female figure reaching 
for a child and is simply one example of a wide range of topics that may 
be chosen for preconceived ideas about what children deal with most in 
therapy. The emotion cards 40 are designed to give the child an 
opportunity for identification and verbalization of a wide range of 
feelings allowing for the release of tension, unconscious conflicts, and 
to thereby encourage expression in a socially acceptable fashion. They may 
also help the child realize that some of his unacceptable thoughts and 
fantasies may be brought into the open and thus enable him to discover 
that constructive use can be made of one's emotional involvement. 
The creativity category of cards such as card 42 as shown in FIG. 3 may 
have directions and requests to stimulate a creative response by the 
player which encompasses the exploration of feelings and fantasy through 
role playing and drawing. Thus, this category including both non-verbal 
and verbal forms enhance the child's ability to break through the often 
stereotyped barriers of purely verbal communication. The resulting 
creative process may serve as the basis for motivation to delve deeper in 
exploration and discovery. The category is included to place an emphasis 
on increasing the child's awareness through a variety of creative and 
perceptual experiences. The act of creation forms an integral part of the 
process of personal growth, development, and the establishment of one's 
personal identity. By concretizing these experiences, feelings, fantasies, 
wishes, fears, and hopes there develops an increasing awareness and 
positive attitude about one's self. 
The imagination/fantasy category includes cards, such as card 44 in FIG. 3, 
which illustrates a combination of questions and pictures stimulating the 
creative imagination abilities in the player. The questions are designed 
to stimulate as well as challenge the child's imagination to produce new 
ideas and come to terms with his central conflicts through symbolic mental 
imagery. The cards of this category provide the spark to ignite and bring 
to consciousness those areas which were previously dark and unexplored, 
but rich in imagery. 
The reality category of cards exemplified by card 46 in FIG. 3 includes 
cards having a combination of questions and pictures stimulating responses 
in the here and now of the player. Some of the issues to be covered are 
body image, control, ventilation, and sensory exploration. The cards which 
require sensory, tactile and motor activities allow for expression of need 
through play. One example of such a card is the mystery bag card 48. An 
indication of ego functioning can be seen through the range of the child's 
responses in this category. It will give the therapist/tester the 
opportunity to note how reality situations are handled and whether there 
are any distortions in the child's reactions. Note that the mystery bag 
may contain a plurality of tactile items such as for example, a dolls 
bottle, sponge, belt buckle, etc. as chosen by the therapist. 
The sixth group of cards called the "Joker" and designated by a "J" on one 
side of the card consists entirely of ink blots, some black and white, and 
others colored. The Joker card 48, as illustrated in FIG. 3, is used to 
stimulate the player to say as much about the form on the card as 
possible. 
Token awards such as for example, colored chips have a reinforcing effect 
and serve as an external incentive award to strengthen the motivation for 
actively participating in the game and performing the desired behavior. 
These chips (not illustrated) may have three assigned values according to 
the color such as green-1 point, red-2 points, and blue-3 points. They are 
held in the "bank" by the therapist/tester and awarded to the player 
according to the player's response to the directions on the cards as will 
be explained. In addition, a reward box containing numerous prizes may be 
used as a "back up reinforcer" by providing the player with an opportunity 
to exchange the accumulated chips for a prize and thereby maintain the 
conditioning reinforcing value of the tokens. 
In administering the psychotherapeutic testing game of the present 
invention, the therapist/tester takes the role of being the "banker". Each 
of the different categories of cards have a different award value which is 
based on the difficulty and general reluctance of a player to respond to 
the information contained on that card. The amount of points that are 
rewarded for responding to a card is determined by the banker. If full 
elaboration on a card is given, the player will be awarded the maximum 
amount of points and given a corresponding colored chip. However, if only 
a partial answer is given, the banker determines what the partial point 
payment should be and awards the proper token chip accordingly. The 
category of cards concerning emotion consist of a set of pictures. The 
player is told by the therapist/tester, upon selecting such a card, to 
make up a story about the picture, relate what is happening, tell what the 
subjects are thinking and feeling and what the player anticipates will 
happen in this story. The therapist may also analyze the character with 
whom the player has identified himself. If the player answers any part of 
the above questions, he should be awarded with one point while full 
elaboration is awarded with 2 points. 
In the category of creativity, the cards consist of sets of directions and 
requests that requires the player to answer a question and follows a 
direction. Some of the cards may require role playing while others require 
drawing. If the player partially fulfills the requirements, the tester 
awards one point while full completion of the card is worth 2 points. 
The category of imagination/fantasy requires the player to use his 
imagination to create different situations as directed by the cards. The 
therapist awards one point for the completed card. The category of reality 
consists of cards that attempt to determine the child's level of reality 
functioning. A satisfactory answer to a card in this category is awarded 
one point. The category of cards called "Joker" consist of a series of ink 
blots in black and white and/or color. When a player selects this card, he 
is instructed to tell what he sees and that he may see more than one 
thing. The player should respond by saying whatever comes to his mind and 
further say as much about the card as possible. The therapist should 
clarify which image is being referred to by asking the player to point to 
it on the card. Further questions by the therapist require individual 
judgement in determining what is necessary. Full elaboration in the Joker 
category of cards is awarded three points. 
The therapist also attempts to clarify the total picture of ego functioning 
of the player by watching the non-verbal activity throughout the game such 
as tempo, smoothness, or jerkiness of energy discharge, rhythms and 
sequence of activity and passivity, control, and impulsivity. Observation 
should be made of the different modalities of response such as for 
example, visual, verbal, auditory, and tactile. Also the manner in which 
the individual approaches and gets involved in the game may give an 
indication of where psychological damage may have occured. 
In administering the game, the therapist first gives general instructions 
on the play of the game. For instance there are two dice, one numbered 1 
to 6 and the other having 6 different colored faces, one of which includes 
a "J". When the dice are rolled, the die with the number determines the 
number of moves and the die with the colored faces determines from which 
group of cards is to be chose. If several players are playing together, 
they each roll the numbered die and the one rolling the highest number 
gets to choose his movable playing element 32 first and becomes the first 
player to begin all phases of the game. The remaining players then choose 
their respective game pieces in clock-wise rotation and maintain this 
order throughout. After all the players have chosen their animals, the 
therapist states that the game has begun and each player is asked about 
his game piece. A suitable response is worth one point. The therapist may 
ask each player in rotation questions such as what he likes about the 
animal, would he like to be it, and how he feels about that animal. Then 
each player puts his play element on the first segment 14 called 
"Beginning". The first player throws both dice and moves the number of 
spaces indicated on the numbered die 36 and choses the top card from the 
color stack corresponding with the color on the multi-color die 38. Upon 
the selection of a card by a player, the therpist announces the maximum 
amount of points to be gained for a complete response. This will increase 
the player's initiative to respond and achieve the maximum amount of 
points. After a player responds to the information on the particular card, 
the therapist awards him with a token chip of a color corresponding to the 
number of points that the player is to be awarded. The game ends as soon 
as someone reaches "Rainbow's End". At that point, the remaining players 
are allowed to finish the rotation until the last person completes his 
turn. The points are then counted up and the person with the highest point 
total wins the game. In the event that the game is used with an individual 
child, the tokens may then be exchanged for a prize. 
One skilled in the art will realize that there has been disclosed a 
psychotherapeutic testing game that engages the withdrawn or uncooperative 
child into therapeutic involvement, provides a diagnostic aid for a 
therapist, stimulates insight, facilitates communication, teaches new 
skills and aids in personal growth, and is relatively inexpensive to 
manufacture. 
While there has been described what is at present considered a preferred 
embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art 
that various changes and modifications may be made therein without 
departing from the invention, and it is, therefore, aimed in the appended 
claims to cover all such changes and modifications as followed in the true 
spirit and scope of the invention.