Thesis (MA (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / While children are young, they look to their parents for all their needs; they expect them to have the answers to all their questions. When they enter adolescence they go in search of their own answers. If they do not find guidance at home or with other responsible adults within their community, they may start to look to their peers for advice, information, and direction. “Earlier work on gangs in South Africa has suggested that the effects of poverty and Apartheid’s massive social engineering created social stress to which gangs were a teenage response. The result of this uprooting and neglect is that the solid core of contributing adult members crumbles, and the institutions that provide the foundations of community fall apart. The community safety net is left in tatters. Parents, exhausted by long hours required to make ends meet or demoralized by their inability to cope with the hardships of poverty, may turn to drugs and alcohol. Kids are left on their own in …. adultless communities.” (Sarah Van Gelder as cited in Pinnock, 1997, p.5) To counteract these negative social patterns that prevail in disadvantaged communities, a community based intervention was conceptualised to provide youth at risk with a rites of passage diversion programme. In 2001, a programme called the Community Building Leadership Programme was developed and piloted by USIKO in partnership with the University of Stellenbosch and a peri-urban community in Jamestown, near Stellenbosch. Twenty-one boys (mentees) and thirteen men (mentors) from Jamestown and the surrounding areas were selected to be pioneers in this process. This thesis expounds the experiences and recommendations of the thirteen men who were the entrepreneurs of the first Jamestown USIKO Youth Project.

Thesis (MA (Psychology))--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / Family resilience is an increasingly visible concept in the field of family psychology. The aim of the present study was to identify family resilience qualities associated with the successful adaptation of families with a husband diagnosed with prostate cancer. The Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation (McCubbin & Thompson, 1991) served as the theoretical framework in the design and the execution of the research. Both qualitative and quantitative measures were used in this cross-sectional survey research design. Twenty-one husbands and their spouses independently completed seven questionnaires, a biographical questionnaire and answered an open-ended question. Qualitative findings revealed the importance of intrafamilial support, spiritual/religious beliefs and professional support and knowledge in families coping with prostate cancer. Quantitative results indicated that family adaptation to prostate cancer was fostered by family hardiness (the family's internal strengths and durability), affirmative communication and social support.

Thesis (MA (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Sexual relationships in the psychotherapeutic setting have always been regarded as unethical and sexual attraction between therapist and client has generally proved to be awkward and anxiety provoking for those involved. Although research indicates that these relationships do occur, and that sexual feelings between therapists and clients are not infrequent, there is little conceptual clarity on the dynamics thereof. Consequently, the available guidelines and ethical rules regulating such sexual contact generally take the form of “thou shalt not…” and provide limited assistance to therapists in managing such situations in a manner that protects the integrity of the therapeutic relationship. This review assumes the presence of the psychodynamic phenomenon of transference in all psychotherapeutic relationships, and constructs sexual attraction and contact as the product of the sub-concept of erotic transference. Against this background, the review presents the dynamics of erotic transference in terms of its nature, impact and management. On this basis, current ethical codes and training issues are reviewed, guidelines for proper prevention and management are suggested and important directions for future research are identified.