The new projective technique Wounded Bird: a reflection of five ways of organizing life after a traumatic event

Context and relevance. The theoretical foundation of this study is M.Sh. Magomed-Eminov’s activity-semantic approach to the psychological transformation of personality. The objective is to develop and evaluate the external validity of a new projective technique, Wounded Bird, which includes five illustrations of wounded birds symbolizing different ways individuals reorganize their lives after experiencing traum. Hypothesis. The Wounded Bird projective technique effectively reflects the various ways individuals structure their lives following trauma: 1) Disorganization; 2) Inconsistency; 3) Narrowing; 4) Stability; 5) Formation and development. Selecting a particular illustration of a wounded bird provides a basis for hypothesizing how an individual organizes their life after a traumatic experience. Methods and materials. The study involved 593 respondents (86.5% women) aged 18 to 74 years (mean age = 32 ± 13 years, median = 30 years). The ways of organizing life were determined by a set of methods: “Personal Views Survey” (Osin and Rasskazova, 2013), “Identity Resilience Index” (Solovyova, Odintsova, 2022), “Authenticity Inventory” (Nartova-Bochaver et al., 2022), “Posttraumatic Growth Inventory” (Magomed-Eminov, 2009), “Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory” (СОРЕ-30) (Odintsova et al., 2022), “International Trauma Questionnaire” (Padun et al., 2022); stressful/traumatic events and their level of complexity were recorded. Results. The five illustrations of wounded birds serve as symbolic representations of distinct life-organization patterns following trauma. The selection of a specific illustration corresponds to particular profiles of post-trauma life organization (positive, neutral, or negative). Conclusions. The Wounded Bird projective technique is a valid tool that addresses both diagnostic and psychotherapeutic needs.