Analysis of Imaginative Processes in Graphic Productions of Children with Learning Problems

Abstract

This article presents a psychoanalytic conceptualization of imaginative processes together with a model for the analysis of graphic productions of children and adolescents. The research involved a qualitative design whose overall objective was to develop a theoretical and clinical model for the analysis in drawings in children with learning problems in order to characterize specific restrictions in the imaginative processes. The model involves the construction of indicators in drawings and mediation hypothesis between indicators and psychic dimensions. Core axes of imaginative processes were defined and categories incorporating semiotic references were built to analyze graphic productions. Free drawing and Kinetic-Family drawing of 16 children at initial diagnosis were analyzed. Predominant dynamic modalities were described and imaginative processes were conceptualized in relation to symbolization and learning.