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...

Over the past five decades, universities across the globe have been subjected to powerful forces of change that have impacted their definition, governance and funding structures, and managerial practices. In South Africa, the reform process was amplified by the country’s apartheid legacy and the political and socio-economic realities. Consequently, the transformation has resulted in the corporatisation of universities and the re-engineering of the academic profession into a managed profession that brought about a changed work environment with less secure conditions of employment, more expectations and increased work pressure, with diminished autonomy. The changed and changing South African higher education environment has had and continues to have its effects on academic employees’ well-being, health and morale. Limited research has investigated the sense of purpose and meaning and psychological health of academic employees. Moreover, there is an absence of empirical studies that have reported on the development and evaluation of a brief group-based meaning-centred intervention that focuses on both the sense of purpose and meaning, and psychological health of academic employees. The primary aim of the study was to first explore the meaning and/or meaning frustration embedded in the academic employee experience, in order to develop and empirically assess a brief group-based meaning-centred intervention in a higher education setting. The intervention was articulated from a logotherapy perspective of Viktor Frankl’s system of psychotherapy. An intervention mixed methods design, consisting of four interdependent phases, was used to pursue the aim of the study. The phase one qualitative single case study was used to explore and describe the sense of meaning and/or meaning frustration embedded in academic employees’ experiences. This was used as a means of developing and supporting the intervention that was implemented in the phase three quantitative quasi- experimental single-group pre/post test study. Phase two was thus an applied phase where the intentional mixing of the qualitative and quantitative phases took place. Likewise, phase four was an applied phase since it was used to draw conclusions based on the integration of the phase one findings and the phase three results. The results of the quantitative study indicated that the majority of academic employees who participated in the study had a sense of definite purpose and meaning (MPIL-post = 114.59, SDPIL-post = 18.04) and psychological health, despite the changed and changing HE landscape. The main finding suggests that a logotherapy brief group-based intervention, with a strong cognitive restructuring component, may have a positive impact on the sense of purpose and meaning of academic employees, whilst reducing the presence of symptoms of depression, post traumatic stress, binge eating and panic. The experience of purpose and meaning in work, and adaptive psychological coping, was related to academic employees’ sense of making a difference in students’ development, the appreciation they have received from students, their freedom of choice, their view of work as a calling, the unique benefits of working in HE, meaning beyond the meaning in the moment (ultimate meaning) and making a difference in colleagues’ (staffs’) lives. Llimitations in the study are noted and recommendations are made to formalise existential analysis as a research method of meaning informed organisational assessment. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Counselling Psychology)

The thesis deals with the very last issues of a person from the psychologically-ethical view, however it doesn't neglect the social view. With the topic is worked also in a context of selected current ethical systems, mainly deontologism and utilitarianism, also regarding the topic of the thesis, the topic of bioethics is discussed as well. Regarding the field of psychology, the thesis elaborates more in detail on the existential psychotherapy, actually also on the logotherapy, which was shaped by an Austrian psychologist Viktor E. Frankl. There is also included the problematics of burial, the possibilities of giving a last farewell, also in a religious and an ethnical point of view. The key part of the thesis deals mainly with a needed psychosocial care for the terminally ill, the dying and also their close ones, in the times of pre finem, in finem and post finem by the prospective death of adults, it deals also with the influence of this care on the experiencing of the final period of life of the dying, and the following grieving of the survivors. In the thesis is also shortly mentioned the topic of palliative and hospice care. The thesis also follows the evaluation of the influence of the last farewell on the process of the survivors' grieving. The inspiration for writing the thesis were apart from professional literature and other professional sources also to a bigger extent the many years of work experience of the author, thanks to which is the work supplemented with many own cases.

Religious and existential issues by Viktor E. Frankl. Its reception in theological thinking with special regard to Czechoslovak Hussite Church. Marie Jandová (roz. Trtíková) Viktor E. Frankl is considered as one of the most important person of 20th century in the area of medicine, namely in the branch of neurosurgery and psychiatry. He was Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Vienna Medical School. He was also the founder of the Third Viennese school of Psychotherapy (after Freud's psychoanalysis and Adler's individual psychology) - the school of logotherapy. Frankl's life and work influenced millions of people all around the world. He published thirty-two books, which have been translated into more than twenty-three languages, including Japanese and Chinese. During my scientific stay in Vienna, I have visited many places, which are connected with Frankl's life. I have also made a lot of pictures. Some of them can be seen in the attachment at the end of this work. The initial part of this thesis describes Frankl's life story from his birth in 1905 to his death in 1997, with main emphasis to experiences which led to his discovery of logotherapy. Frankl's entire family, excepting for his sister, perished during World War II in camps (or were sent to the gas ovens). In the Nazi...

The thesis deals with a problem whether it is ethical to end one´s own life. It reflects various situations where life is at stake, such as suicide, self-killing, martyrdom and euthanasia. The thesis is structured to reflect individual phenomena. In the same time, it opines about suicide problems from a point of view of social work and it describes how an individual with suicidal tendencies can be helped.

The diploma thesis is concerned with the spiritual needs of disabled persons. The topic is based on the psychology of personality, characterizes human needs, and defines motivation, values and interests. Basic areas of psychology of religion and religious education follow. The educational view focuses on issues associated with the religiosity of human beings seeking aims for religious education. Further chapters are dedicated to disabled persons, describe basic types of such disability and based on the author´s personal experience they show the specificities of the life of disabled persons. The second part concentrates on meeting the spiritual needs. The thematic area gives rise to the methodological proposal for the didactic opening of the spiritual needs. Several didactic units containing individual lessons for a group of disabled persons form part of the thesis.

AFRIKAANS: In hierdie navorsing is die huwelik met voorskoolse kinders in Suid-Afrika aan die begin van die een-en-twintigste eeu ondersoek. Hierdie huweliksfase, met sy vele uitdagings en huwelikstake, word beskou as die fase met die laagste huweliksaanpassing en die hoogste voorkoms van egskeiding. Die sin en betekenis van hierdie uitdagings (spirituele intelligensie of SQ), sowel as die emosionele belewenis, verstaan en hantering hiervan (emosionele intelligensie of EQ), asook die rol wat dit in huweliksaanpassing speel, is ondersoek. Eerstens is ’n vraelys ontwikkel wat SQ-eienskappe kan meet (MMV-SQ-vraelys), naamlik: (i) die vind van sin en betekenis in ’n gegewe situasie, (ii) motiveringsbronne van gedrag, en (iii) die waardes wat uitgeleef word. Data van 198 respondente het gedui op betroubaarheid van subskale wat wissel van 0.47 tot 0.80. Bevredigende konstrukgeldigheid is verkry deur die verhouding tussen die subskale van die SQ-vraelys en waardeskaal te ondersoek (r het gevarieer van 0.15; p ≤ 0.05 tot 0.54; p ≤ 0.01). Sowel kwantitatiewe as kwalitatiewe navorsing is vervolgens gebruik. In die kwantitatiewe navorsing is die MMV-SQ-vraelys, die huweliks-aanpassingsvraelys van Spanier (Dyadic Adjustment Scale), asook die SSRI (Schutte Self-Report Inventory) op 84 deelnemers toegepas. Die deelnemers het 84 getroude persone, waaronder 34 egpare ingesluit. Die verband tussen huweliksaanpassing en EQ is ondersoek deur korrelasies te bereken tussen die subskale van die DAS en SSRI. Dit het geblyk dat ʼn optimistiese gemoedstemming ʼn verband toon met al die subskale van huweliksaanpassing. Die herkenning van die eie en die huweliksmaat se gevoelens, sosiale vaardighede, en die toepassing van emosies blyk verband te hou met hoër huwelikstevredenheid asook huwelikskonsensus. Sosiale vaardighede het ook ʼn verband getoon met affeksionele uitdrukking. EQ het egter nie ’n sterk verband met huwelikskohesie getoon nie. Die verband tussen die subskale van die DAS is vervolgens vergelyk met dié van die MMV-SQ-vraelys. Betekenisvolle korrelasies tussen enkele skale van huweliksaanpassing en SQ het voorgekom, veral wat die motiveringskaal betref: egpaarlede wie se gedrag deur die motiveringsbron bemeestering gemotiveer word, blyk ʼn hoër mate van huweliksaanpassing te hê, terwyl die negatiewe motiveringsbronne, waaronder selfgesentreerdheid, drange en vrees, ’n negatiewe verband met huweliksaanpassing toon. Min verbande is egter gevind tussen huweliksaanpassing, en sin en betekenis (wel tussen meditatiewe bewustheid en huwelikskonsensus, asook tussen empatiese aanvaarding en openheid, en affeksionele ekspressie). Geen verbande is ten opsigte van waardes gevind nie. Verskille tussen mans en vroue se EQ en SQ is ook ondersoek, maar geen groot verskille is verkry nie. Deur ’n meervoudige regressie is enkele verdere biografiese veranderlikes geïdentifiseer wat ʼn verband met huweliksaanpassing toon. In die kwalitatiewe navorsing is verskeie aspekte ondersoek en bespreek: die rolverdeling ten opsigte van kinderopvoeding en huistake, die balans tussen beroep en gesin, persoonlike tevredenheid (SQ) in die huwelik, asook die begrip en hantering van gevoelens (EQ). Die waarde van hierdie navorsing lê veral in die grondleggingswerk van die SQ-vraelys, asook bruikbare inligting ten opsigte van die huwelik met voorskoolse kinders in Suid-Afrika. Leiding aan egpare in die hantering van gevoelens (EQ), asook insig in hulle motiveringsbronne (SQ) behoort dus hulle huweliksaanpassing te verhoog. ENGLISH: In this research, the South-African marriage with preschool children was investigated. This phase of marriage, full of challenges and marital tasks, is regarded showing the lowest degree of marital adjustment and the highest incidence of divorce. The meaning, (spiritual intelligence or SQ), emotional experience, understanding and dealing with these challenges (emotional intelligence or EQ), as well as the relation to marital adjustment, were investigated. Firstly, a questionnaire was developed that could measure the characteristics of SQ, namely: (i) finding purpose and meaning in a given situation, (ii) motivations of behaviour, and (iii) values. Data from 198 respondents indicated the reliability of the subscales, which vary from 0.47 to 0.80. Satisfactory construct validity was obtained by researching the relation between the subscales of the SQ questionnaire and the value scale (r varied from 0.15; p ≤ 0.05 to 0.54; p ≤ 0.01). Next, both qualitative and quantitative research were utilised. In the quantitative research, the MMV SQ questionnaire, the marital adjustment questionnaire of Spanier (Dyadic Adjustment Scale), as well as the SSRI (Schutte Self-Report Inventory) were completed by the respondents. The respondents were 84 married individuals, including 34 couples. The relationship between marital adjustment and EQ was investigated by calculating correlations between the subscales of the DAS and SSRI. It transpired that an optimistic frame of mind showed a correlation with all the subscales of marital adjustment. It also appeared that the recognition of the own and the spouse’s feelings, social skills, and the application of emotions were related to increased marital satisfaction as well as marital consensus. Social skills also displayed a correlation with affectional expression. EQ, however, did not show a strong correlation with marital cohesion. Next, the relation between the subscales of the DAS was compared to that of the MMV-SQ questionnaire. Meaningful correlations between some scales of marital adjustment and SQ occurred, in particular with regard to the motivational scale: couples whose behaviour are motivated by mastering, appear to display a higher degree of marital adjustment, while the negative sources of motivation like self-centredness, craving and fears, display a negative correlation with marital adjustment. Few correlations were found between marital adjustment and purpose and meaning (between meditative awareness and marital consensus; between empathetic acceptance and openness, and affectional expression). No correlation was found with regard to values. Differences between the EQ and SQ of men and women were also investigated, but no major differences were observed. By means of multiple regressions it was indicated that some biographic variables did show a correlation with marital adjustment. Valuable information was obtained in the qualitative research regarding the couple’s roles in child-raising and domestic chores, the balance between career and family, personal satisfaction (SQ) in the marriage, as well as the understanding and handling of feelings (EQ). The value of this research lies in the foundational work of the SQ questionnaire in particular, as well as useful information with regard to South African marriages with preschool children. Guiding couples in their dealing with feelings (EQ), as well as providing an insight into the sources of motivation (SQ), should therefore enhance their marital adjustment. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted

Afrikaans text / Kreatiwiteit is die sentrale tema van hierdie navorsing. Die doel van die navorsing was om die relevansie en waarde van kreatiwiteit in spelterapie met seksueel-misbruikte kinders in die multi-kulturele konteks van Suid-Afrika, te ondersoek en te beskryf. Die navorsing is vanuit „n konstruktivistiese epistemologiese fundering en „n eksistensieel-fenomologiese paradigma gedoen, deur uitgebreide teoretiese en empiriese navorsing. Die teoretiese navorsingproses het eerstens op die holistiese impak van seksuele misbruik op kinders, te midde van hul spesifieke verhoudings- en omgewingskonteks gefokus. Dit het duidelik geword dat seksuele misbruik ernstige trauma by kinders veroorsaak, wat alle modaliteite van die kinders affekteer. Die voorkoms van komplekse posttraumtiese stresversteuring, vanweë langdurige seksuele misbruik, is teoreties beskryf en ook empiries bevestig. „n Sintese van gestalt-, persoonsgesentreerde en logoterapeutiese teorieë, is deur die navorser ontwikkel om die traumatiese nagevolge van die seksuele misbruik kreatief aan te spreek in spelterapie. Die verband tussen en vervlegting van kreatiwiteit en spelterapie is ondersoek en beskryf. Ook die bemagtigende waarde van kreatiwiteit om die kompleksiteit van hierdie kinders se trauma te hanteer is teoreties én empiries nagevors. Die oënskynlik teenstrydige prosesse van kreatiwiteit as „n intuïtiewe, artisitieke, én logiese, kognitiewe proses is ondersoek, om die waarde daarvan vir die navorsingsdoel te bepaal. Die aard en waarde van kreatiewe aktiwiteite en die uitdagings wat gestel word aan die terapeute om kreatief te werk te gaan om die komplekse proses van seksueel-misbruikte kinders aan te spreek, is verder teoreties en empiries nagevors en beskryf. Die noodsaaklikheid van die ondersteunende sisteme vir die kind en terapeut, in belang van „n suksesvolle afloop van terapie, is ook ondersoek, beskryf en beklemtoon.In die empiriese navorsingsproses is veelvuldige gevallestudies, met behulp van vyf deelnemende veldnavorsers gedoen, waar elkeen „n terapeutiese proses gevolg het, volgens riglyne en onder leiding van die navorser, met „n seksueel-misbruikte kind. Die benutting en waarde van kreatiwiteit is ondersoek, beskryf en geëvalueer in die samelopende proses van die navorser met elke deelnemende navorser en kind binne die diverse kulturele konteks in Suid-Afrika. Die teoretiese raamwerk van die navorser en die riglyn vir kreatiewe spelterapie met seksueel-misbruikte kinders is sodoende getoets, verfyn en afgerond as hulpmiddel in die breër Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Die navorsingsbevinding was dat kreatiwiteit onontbeerlik is in spelterapie met kinders wat seksueel misbruik is in „n multi-kulturele konteks soos Suid-Afrika. / Creativity is the central concept of this research. The goal of the research was to explore the value of creativity in play therapy with sexually abused children in the multi-cultural South-African context. The research was done from a constructivistic epistemological foundation and existential-phenomological paradigms. Extensive theoretical research was supported and substantiated by empirical research. The theoretical research process focused on the holistic impact of sexual abuse on children in and as part of their specific context (field). It became clear that sexual abuse implies severe trauma for the child, and affects all of their modalities, and their functioning in their field. The impact of severe and ongoing sexual abuse on children, as complex post-traumatic stress disorder, was described to clarify their therapeutic needs. A synthesis of gestalt-, person-centred- and logotherapy to address the traumatic after-effects of sexually abused children creatively in play therapy, was developed and described and motivated in the research paper. The concept of creativity was defined and extensively explored an applied in the context of therapy with sexually abused children. Creativity as a cognitive process, a problem solving process, and an artistic process is explored and applied in this context. The value of creative activities, the challenges of being a creative therapist, the supportive role of the supervisor and the systems in society, was explored and described. The empirical research process was done in a participatory way in the form of a multiple case study. Five therapists followed a therapeutic process, according to the guideline, guidance and supervision of the researcher, with a child who had been severely sexually abused. The results from the research confirmed the value and necessity of creativity in dealing with the severe trauma of sexually abused children and bridging gaps in a multi-cultural setting. The theoretical framework of the researcher and a guideline for creative therapy with sexually abused children was tested in the empirical research process, and could be refined and finalised. It was concluded that the use of creativity is crucial in play therapy with sexually abused children in a multi-cultural context, such as South Africa. / Social Work / D. Diac. (Spelterapie)

El present treball aborda la promoció de la salut psicosocial des del paradigma de la resiliència i les aportacions de la logoteràpia de Viktor Frankl. El seu objectiu ha estat descriure i analitzar com es desenvolupa un procés resilient en l'àmbit laboral docent. Concretament, es descriu el procés de canvi experimentat per un institut d'educació secundària enfrontat a un context de dificultat i de quina manera ha estat capaç de renéixer i sortir-ne enfortit. Hem analitzat com s'activa el procés resilient, la naturalesa dels factors implicats, la relació que s'estableix entre aquests i com interactuen per aconseguir una adaptació positiva. Hem optat per una metodologia qualitativa mitjançant un mètode d'estudi de casos d'orientació etnogràfica.El treball aporta un model d'anàlisi del procés resilient que ha resultat útil per precisar el concepte de resiliència en l'àmbit laboral així com per integrar les dades recollides en el treball de camp. En les conclusions es discuteix el paper de la dimensió noètica o espiritual, la recerca del sentit i la vinculació positiva en l'activació del procés resilient. Igualment s'emfasitza la importància del lideratge i la interacció existent entre la resiliència personal i la organitzativa. També s'apunten possibles estratègies per potenciar, facilitar o estimular el procés resilient en una situació laboral. Finalment, s'examinen les repercussions de l'activació d'un procés resilient en la promoció de la salut laboral. / El presente trabajo aborda la promoción de la salud psicosocial desde el paradigma de la resiliencia y las aportaciones de la logoterapia de Víktor Frankl. Su objetivo ha sido describir y analizar cómo se desarrolla un proceso resiliente en el ámbito laboral docente. Concretamente, se describe el proceso de cambio experimentado por un instituto de educación secundaria enfrentado a un contexto de dificultad y de qué manera ha sido capaz de renacer y salir fortalecido. Hemos analizado cómo se activa el proceso resiliente, la naturaleza de los factores implicados, la relación que se establece entre éstos y cómo interactúan para lograr una adaptación positiva. Hemos optado por una metodología cualitativa mediante un método de estudio de casos de orientación etnográfica.El trabajo aporta un modelo de análisis del proceso resiliente que ha resultado útil para precisar el concepto de resiliencia en el ámbito laboral, así como para integrar la información recogida en el trabajo de campo. En las conclusiones se discute el papel de la dimensión noética o espiritual, la búsqueda del sentido y la vinculación positiva en la activación del proceso resiliente. Igualmente se enfatiza la importancia del liderazgo y la interacción existente entre la resiliencia personal y la organizativa. También se apuntan posibles estrategias para potenciar, facilitar o estimular el proceso resiliente en una situación laboral. Finalmente, se examinan las repercusiones de la activación de un proceso resiliente en la promoción de la salud laboral. / The present work tackles psychosocial health's promotion through resilience's paradigm and Viktor Frankl logotherapy's contributions. Its aim has been to describe and to analyze how a resilient process is developed in the educational labour environment. Concretely, it describes the change process experienced by a secondary school faced by a difficult context and in what way it has been able to be reborn and to leave strengthened. We have analyzed how the resilient process is activated, the nature of the implied factors, the relationship that is settled down among these and how they interact in order to achieve a positive adaptation. We have opted for a qualitative methodology by means of an ethnographic orientated case study method.The work contributes an analysis model of the resilient process that has been useful to specify the resilience concept in the labour environment, as well as to integrate the picked up information in the field work. In the conclusions it discusses the noethic or spiritual dimension, the search for meaning and the positive linking in the activation of the resilient process. It is equally emphasized the importance of leadership and the existing interaction between personal and organizational resilience. Possible strategies are also suggested for strengthening, facilitating or stimulating the resilient process in a labour situation. Finally, repercussions of resilient process activation are examined in the promotion of labour health. / In der hier vorliegenden Doktorarbeit geht es um die Förderung der psychosozialen Gesundheit, ausgehend von dem Resilienzparadigma und Viktor Frankls Logoteraphie. Ziel der Arbeit ist die Beschreibung und Analyse, wie sich ein Resililenzablauf im Lehrarbeitszusammenhang entwickelt. Im Konkreten wird der Wandelprozess beschrieben, den eine Realschule in einem Schwierigkeitszussammenhang erfährt und wie sie wiedergeboren und erstarkt aus dieser Situation hervorgehen könnte. Wir haben analysiert, wie der Resilienzablauf aktiviert wird, die Natur der betroffenen Faktoren, die zwischen ihnen begründete Beziehung, und wie sie interagieren, um eine positive Anpassung zu erreichen. Wir haben uns für eine qualitative Methodologie entschieden, mittels einer ethnographisch orientierten Fallstudie.Die Arbeit liefert ein Untersuchungsleitbild des Resilienzablaufs, das bei der Präzisierung des Resilienzbegriffs im Arbeitsbereich, sowie für die Integration der in der Vorortarbeit gesammelten Daten als nützlich erwiesen hat. In den Schlussfolgerungen wird über die Rolle der nicht-ethischen oder geistlichen Dimension, die Sinnsuche und die positive Verbindung in der Resilienzablaufsaktivierung diskutiert. Ebenfalls wird die Bedeutung der Führung und der vorhandene Interaktion zwischen die eigenen und der organisatorischen Resilienz betont. Ferner werden mögliche Strategien vorgestellt, um den Resilienzablauf in einer Arbeitssituation zu verstärken, zu ermöglichen oder zu motivieren. Schlieβlich werden die Auswirkungen der Aktivierung eines Resilienzablaufs in der Förderung der Arbeitsgesundheit übergeprüft.

Afrikaans text / Kreatiwiteit is die sentrale tema van hierdie navorsing. Die doel van die navorsing was om die relevansie en waarde van kreatiwiteit in spelterapie met seksueel-misbruikte kinders in die multi-kulturele konteks van Suid-Afrika, te ondersoek en te beskryf. Die navorsing is vanuit „n konstruktivistiese epistemologiese fundering en „n eksistensieel-fenomologiese paradigma gedoen, deur uitgebreide teoretiese en empiriese navorsing. Die teoretiese navorsingproses het eerstens op die holistiese impak van seksuele misbruik op kinders, te midde van hul spesifieke verhoudings- en omgewingskonteks gefokus. Dit het duidelik geword dat seksuele misbruik ernstige trauma by kinders veroorsaak, wat alle modaliteite van die kinders affekteer. Die voorkoms van komplekse posttraumtiese stresversteuring, vanweë langdurige seksuele misbruik, is teoreties beskryf en ook empiries bevestig. „n Sintese van gestalt-, persoonsgesentreerde en logoterapeutiese teorieë, is deur die navorser ontwikkel om die traumatiese nagevolge van die seksuele misbruik kreatief aan te spreek in spelterapie. Die verband tussen en vervlegting van kreatiwiteit en spelterapie is ondersoek en beskryf. Ook die bemagtigende waarde van kreatiwiteit om die kompleksiteit van hierdie kinders se trauma te hanteer is teoreties én empiries nagevors. Die oënskynlik teenstrydige prosesse van kreatiwiteit as „n intuïtiewe, artisitieke, én logiese, kognitiewe proses is ondersoek, om die waarde daarvan vir die navorsingsdoel te bepaal. Die aard en waarde van kreatiewe aktiwiteite en die uitdagings wat gestel word aan die terapeute om kreatief te werk te gaan om die komplekse proses van seksueel-misbruikte kinders aan te spreek, is verder teoreties en empiries nagevors en beskryf. Die noodsaaklikheid van die ondersteunende sisteme vir die kind en terapeut, in belang van „n suksesvolle afloop van terapie, is ook ondersoek, beskryf en beklemtoon.In die empiriese navorsingsproses is veelvuldige gevallestudies, met behulp van vyf deelnemende veldnavorsers gedoen, waar elkeen „n terapeutiese proses gevolg het, volgens riglyne en onder leiding van die navorser, met „n seksueel-misbruikte kind. Die benutting en waarde van kreatiwiteit is ondersoek, beskryf en geëvalueer in die samelopende proses van die navorser met elke deelnemende navorser en kind binne die diverse kulturele konteks in Suid-Afrika. Die teoretiese raamwerk van die navorser en die riglyn vir kreatiewe spelterapie met seksueel-misbruikte kinders is sodoende getoets, verfyn en afgerond as hulpmiddel in die breër Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Die navorsingsbevinding was dat kreatiwiteit onontbeerlik is in spelterapie met kinders wat seksueel misbruik is in „n multi-kulturele konteks soos Suid-Afrika. / Creativity is the central concept of this research. The goal of the research was to explore the value of creativity in play therapy with sexually abused children in the multi-cultural South-African context. The research was done from a constructivistic epistemological foundation and existential-phenomological paradigms. Extensive theoretical research was supported and substantiated by empirical research. The theoretical research process focused on the holistic impact of sexual abuse on children in and as part of their specific context (field). It became clear that sexual abuse implies severe trauma for the child, and affects all of their modalities, and their functioning in their field. The impact of severe and ongoing sexual abuse on children, as complex post-traumatic stress disorder, was described to clarify their therapeutic needs. A synthesis of gestalt-, person-centred- and logotherapy to address the traumatic after-effects of sexually abused children creatively in play therapy, was developed and described and motivated in the research paper. The concept of creativity was defined and extensively explored an applied in the context of therapy with sexually abused children. Creativity as a cognitive process, a problem solving process, and an artistic process is explored and applied in this context. The value of creative activities, the challenges of being a creative therapist, the supportive role of the supervisor and the systems in society, was explored and described. The empirical research process was done in a participatory way in the form of a multiple case study. Five therapists followed a therapeutic process, according to the guideline, guidance and supervision of the researcher, with a child who had been severely sexually abused. The results from the research confirmed the value and necessity of creativity in dealing with the severe trauma of sexually abused children and bridging gaps in a multi-cultural setting. The theoretical framework of the researcher and a guideline for creative therapy with sexually abused children was tested in the empirical research process, and could be refined and finalised. It was concluded that the use of creativity is crucial in play therapy with sexually abused children in a multi-cultural context, such as South Africa. / Social Work / D. Diac. (Spelterapie)