Limited research has investigated the stress-related experiences of South African nursing students. Moreover, there is a scarcity of empirical studies that have reported on the development and evaluation of psycho-educational stress-management programmes that focus on both pathogenic, as well as positive and meaning-related factors among nursing students. The aim of this investigation was to study compassion fatigue, burnout, compassion satisfaction and meaning in life among a sample of nursing students with the aim of developing, and then empirically evaluating, a psycho-educational stress-management programme. The psycho-educational stress-management programme was articulated from a logotherapy-based perspective. A research design, consisting of three interdependent phases, was used to pursue the aim of the study. The aim of phase 1 was to describe the (1) prevalence of, and (2) correlations between, the deleterious and positive and meaningful effects of caring and among a sample of 80 nursing students (Mage = 22.40 years, SD = 11.1, female = 91.25%). The results indicated that participants may benefit from a logotherapy-based psycho-educational stress-management programme. The purpose of phase 2 of the study was to develop a logotherapy-based psycho-educational stress-management programme for nursing students. The goal of the logotherapy-based psycho-educational stress-management programme was to assist participants to develop the skills, knowledge and abilities that may be required to address deleterious challenges, and enhance positive and meaning-related opportunities. In phase 3 the logotherapy-based psycho-educational stress-management programme was presented to a sample of 42 first year nursing students (Mage = 20.21, SD = 1.57, female = 79.31%). A convergent parallel mixed methods research design was used to evaluate the efficacy of the logotherapy-based psycho-educational stress-management programme. Quantitative results indicated (1) a reduction in compassion fatigue and burnout, and (2) an increase in compassion satisfaction and meaning in life, scores over the course of the programme. Qualitative analysis supported the quantitative results. It was subsequently concluded that the logotherapy-based psycho-educational stress-management programme was effective in assisting participants to address the deleterious , as well embrace the positive and meaning-related effects of caring. However, ongoing support may be required to fully assist nursing students to address stressful challenges. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

In this qualitative, interpretive, multi-perspective study a new and promising salutogenic imagery approach developed in Germany, called Value-Oriented Imagery (Wertimagination/WIM®) was researched in regard to its applicability in multicultural (non-European) contexts. A second question researched was whether specific cultural or regional “dialects” would be encountered in the universal inner picture language of persons from other (non-European) cultural backgrounds than the one the approach was developed within. A WIM® study with eighteen participants from African South African, Asian South African and European South African cultural backgrounds was conducted in Johannesburg in 2011 and 2012. The results were analysed and compared with WIM® work experiences from Germany. Subsequently the results of the comparison were discussed in three WIM® expert interviews: with Uwe Boeschemeyer, Stephan Peeck and Andreas Boeschemeyer. The main outcome of this research study is that Value-Oriented Imagery can be seen as a rewarding contribution to South African multicultural (logo)therapy/ counselling contexts. Only minor cultural and regional “dialects” occurred in the universal inner symbols of the RSA study participants, such as the occurrence of more water features, especially waterfalls, and more spontaneous, unintended Healthy Inner Child encounters. The present study suggests that work with Value- Oriented Imagery could make a valuable contribution within any cultural and multicultural (logo)therapy/counselling context. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Limited research has investigated the stress-related experiences of South African nursing students. Moreover, there is a scarcity of empirical studies that have reported on the development and evaluation of psycho-educational stress-management programmes that focus on both pathogenic, as well as positive and meaning-related factors among nursing students. The aim of this investigation was to study compassion fatigue, burnout, compassion satisfaction and meaning in life among a sample of nursing students with the aim of developing, and then empirically evaluating, a psycho-educational stress-management programme. The psycho-educational stress-management programme was articulated from a logotherapy-based perspective. A research design, consisting of three interdependent phases, was used to pursue the aim of the study. The aim of phase 1 was to describe the (1) prevalence of, and (2) correlations between, the deleterious and positive and meaningful effects of caring and among a sample of 80 nursing students (Mage = 22.40 years, SD = 11.1, female = 91.25%). The results indicated that participants may benefit from a logotherapy-based psycho-educational stress-management programme. The purpose of phase 2 of the study was to develop a logotherapy-based psycho-educational stress-management programme for nursing students. The goal of the logotherapy-based psycho-educational stress-management programme was to assist participants to develop the skills, knowledge and abilities that may be required to address deleterious challenges, and enhance positive and meaning-related opportunities. In phase 3 the logotherapy-based psycho-educational stress-management programme was presented to a sample of 42 first year nursing students (Mage = 20.21, SD = 1.57, female = 79.31%). A convergent parallel mixed methods research design was used to evaluate the efficacy of the logotherapy-based psycho-educational stress-management programme. Quantitative results indicated (1) a reduction in compassion fatigue and burnout, and (2) an increase in compassion satisfaction and meaning in life, scores over the course of the programme. Qualitative analysis supported the quantitative results. It was subsequently concluded that the logotherapy-based psycho-educational stress-management programme was effective in assisting participants to address the deleterious , as well embrace the positive and meaning-related effects of caring. However, ongoing support may be required to fully assist nursing students to address stressful challenges. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

In this qualitative, interpretive, multi-perspective study a new and promising salutogenic imagery approach developed in Germany, called Value-Oriented Imagery (Wertimagination/WIM®) was researched in regard to its applicability in multicultural (non-European) contexts. A second question researched was whether specific cultural or regional “dialects” would be encountered in the universal inner picture language of persons from other (non-European) cultural backgrounds than the one the approach was developed within. A WIM® study with eighteen participants from African South African, Asian South African and European South African cultural backgrounds was conducted in Johannesburg in 2011 and 2012. The results were analysed and compared with WIM® work experiences from Germany. Subsequently the results of the comparison were discussed in three WIM® expert interviews: with Uwe Boeschemeyer, Stephan Peeck and Andreas Boeschemeyer. The main outcome of this research study is that Value-Oriented Imagery can be seen as a rewarding contribution to South African multicultural (logo)therapy/ counselling contexts. Only minor cultural and regional “dialects” occurred in the universal inner symbols of the RSA study participants, such as the occurrence of more water features, especially waterfalls, and more spontaneous, unintended Healthy Inner Child encounters. The present study suggests that work with Value- Oriented Imagery could make a valuable contribution within any cultural and multicultural (logo)therapy/counselling context. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

The main topic of this thesis is the subjective experience of anxiety. The author has attempted to secede from the strictly psychological level, therefore there are authors dealing with the overlap of human existence included. As a result, the thesis is also a partly philosophical view of anxiety. However, given the focus of the author, the greater part of the work is based on the psychological view. In the practical part, the hypothesis that the consciousness of the meaning of life has a certain influence on the experience of anxiety was confirmed. However, this effect is not as large and as clear as Frankl describes in his work.

Meeting the life and career values in social-pedagogical work Abstract: My thesis deals with the possibilities of finding and implementing the values of social pedagogue in the context of his profession and even in the context of the personal life. Its objective is based on an analysis of scientific literature, reflecting own experience and on the qualitative research, to show where and how the helping professionals can find their personal and professional values and how they manage to fulfill them. For these reasons I decided to make a research that would support the content of the theoretical part and was able to bring life caring professionals through finding their innermost attitudes - values, motivations and motives - which are private but in the end affect the quality of their work. Through analysis of the results of semi-structured interviews conducted with social pedagogues it was found that personal values of employees in many ways penetrate into the professional values, the main motivation to pursue social pedagogical work lies in th need of transcendence and that the benefits of this mission in many ways exceeds it caused losses. Key words: Profession of the social pedagogue, client of social pedagogical work, helping professions, professional and personal values, search for meaning, logotherapy,...

The work deals with the selected ethical concepts of social work, such as human and person, freedom, conscience, values, suffering and death. These concepts are thoughtful and their understanding is deepened on the basis of the texts of Viktor Emil Frankl. In the work the personality of V. E. Frankl is presented, his method of logotherapy and existential analysis, further are presented the fields of ethics and social work. The selected concepts are introduced as they are introduced in the work of V. E. Frankl and in the works of representatives of existential philosophy whose approaches Frankl used. There is also evaluated the relevance of these concepts for ethics of social work on the basis of monographs and on the basis of the academic articles of the authors dealing with ethics in social work.The work pointed out the potential benefits of logotherapy and existential analysis of ethics of social work during the application of Frankl's psychotherapeutic methods into the fields of social work.

This work deals with the topic how to help the over-indebted clients. The theoretical part describes the term over-indebtedness, its forms and the ways of help provided to the people with such problems. The closer interest is put on how these people can be helped by social work, which methods are suitable and relevant to this type of work and how these methods are defined in specialized literature and corresponding legislation. The practical part of this work focuses on the form of help to these people within a specific organization that provides social services and works for the over-indebted clients. Using some case studies the work describes some particular cases and methods of work which were applied. Concerning the methods of work with these clients, the thesis describes the elements of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis which are used by social workers while working with their clients. Further on, the thesis describes the social workers' attitudes, their experiences with their clients and points out some existential questions they deal with, especially from the perspective of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis.

This thesis is based on the theoretical research using scientific texts. Method of reasoning (deduction) were compared ideas of the individual authors who deal with description of contemporary (postmodern ) society, exploring the question of the sense of life and represent a difficult life events that can cause the threat or loss. The work is divided into three chapters, each of which contains sub -chapters. The first part refers to a person in postmodern society. There is a characterization of contemporary society, the challenges of the new era, gain new requirements on the man and related problems. The second chapter is building on the issues of the first chapter. Some fragments which describe the particular challenges of life events and their impact on the man, the sense of living in certain periods of life. There were used mainly idea sof psychotherapists who are dedicated to working with people in a state of crisis. Following the previous chapters, the last part of the thesis deals with the question of the free time, defining the category of the free-time and pointing out its importance for contemporary man. Emphasis was placed on the free-time pedagogy using appropriate free-time activities as a tool for finding richer and more meaningful human life in certain difficult life events that brings the requirement of a new era. Last but not least, there was to explain the context of the free-time and religion.

The submitted thesis deals with the issue of the meaning in life in the elderly. The meaningfulness of life, which was as a deep human need listed among the evaluated items in the WHOQOL assessments, is considered to be an important salutogenic factor. The thesis briefly introduces logotherapy, a method focused on the revelation and renewal of the meaning in life and the orientation towards values. It also mentions the possibilities of logotherapeutic approach in the communication with seniors being in a difficult life situation. The theoretical part specifies the fundamental terms regarding the ageing, the elderly, the demographic evolution of the contemporary society, health and psychosocial aspects of ageing and the seniors' needs. Further, this part summarizes the theoretical knowledge about the issue of quality of life and its meaning, the methods of their examination and the results of research. The last chapter of the theoretical part summarizes the existing knowledge regarding the depression in the elderly. The course of the research is described in the empirical part of the thesis. The aim of the research was to find out to what extent the seniors over 75 years of age in the Czech Republic live their lives as meaningful, to compare the measure of meaningfulness of life of older and younger...