Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in (Community Psychology) in the Department of Psychology, University of Zululand, South Africa, 2012. / The aim of this study was to evaluate a group clay therapy programme that was conducted among teenage girls who have suffered sexual abuse in the rural district of the Free State Province in South Africa. The strength of this programme lies in the fact that it is a group therapy programme, therefore is able to reach a number of subjects at the same time, as opposed to individual consultation, which is a common approach in psychological interventions. Literature shows that the incidence of sexual abuse among young girls is alarmingly high (National Department of Social Welfare, 2004; Bolen, 2001; Conradie & Tanfa, 2005). While government and non-profit organizations try their best to fight this crime, health care delivery is lagging behind. Pillay and Lockhart (1997), identified the shortage of psychologists as one of the reasons for poor delivery of mental health care services to children. Bolen (2001), states that child sexual abuse invades the inner being of a child, and may result in psychopathology, if not treated early. This is of concern to everybody including the government hence a solution is sought in many different forms. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design. A sample of forty (40) adolescent girls who are survivors of sexual abuse was selected. They were divided into two groups; twenty (20) formed the experimental group, and the other twenty (20) the control group. The experimental group received clay therapy whilst the control group underwent a routine intervention programme that is offered by the health clinic for survivors of sexual abuse. At the end, both groups were evaluated in order to check the difference with regard to their response to these treatments. A higher positive response was observed in the experimental group. This was an indication of the effectiveness of clay therapy. Clay therapy was given for eight sessions. This is taken as brief therapeutic intervention. It therefore minimises time spent in health care facilities. Brief therapies are more effective and helpful with clients of low socio-economic status, simply because some of them lack funds for daily trips to see the therapists, who are usually located in urban areas. The subjects for this research were all from a rural area. Individuals who have suffered traumatic experiences such as sexual abuse, usually find it difficult to express themselves in words because they usually get overwhelmed with emotions. Children also lack vocabulary to express their innermost feelings. Body-based therapies such as clay therapy, are usually successful in accessing thoughts, feelings, and bodily experiences which are all intimately related. Clay therapy is therefore recommended as a therapeutic modality of choice when working with traumatised individuals.A South Africa is made up of nine provinces and the provinces are further divided into districts. v Through poverty, politics, e.g. forced removals, faction fights, etc., and societal factors such as the migrant labour system, marriages and others, people have migrated from their places of origin, so that one finds mixed cultural groups all over the country. A therapeutic modality that reaches a number of clients of different backgrounds at the same time is more relevant. The clay therapy modality reflected no language barriers; all the girls grasped the activities well, even though they were from different cultural groups. Playing with clay is culture friendly, because no level of education is needed to master the art of playing. This makes clay therapy much easier to integrate into child therapies. Confidentiality is also maintained in such therapy because the subjects do not have to talk about their feelings in the group if they do not want to, but they get a chance to interact with people who are of the same age, who have experienced the same trauma as theirs.

The object of the study was the fears of younger students. The subject of the study was the means of correcting fears in primary school children with the help of the developed methodological program. Master's thesis consists of an introduction, two chapters, conclusion, bibliography (65 sources). The volume of the master's thesis 71 pages, which contains 14 figures and 12 tables. In conclusion, the results of the theoretical and empirical parts of the work, as well as the conclusions on the hypotheses put forward, the practical significance of the study and the possible prospects for further development of this problem are presented in a generalized form. / Объектом исследования явились страхи у младших школьников. Предметом исследования стали средства коррекции страхов у младших школьников с помощью разработанной методической программы. Магистерская диссертация состоит из введения, двух глав, заключения, списка литературы (65 источника). Объем магистерской диссертации 71 страница, на которых размещены 14 рисунка и 12 таблиц. Во введении раскрывается актуальность проблемы исследования, разработанность проблематики, ставится цель и задачи исследования, определяются объект и предмет исследования, формулируются основная и дополнительные гипотезы, указываются методы и эмпирическая база. В заключении в обобщенном виде изложены результаты теоретической и эмпирической частей работы, а также выводы по выдвинутым гипотезам, обоснована практическая значимость исследования и описаны возможные перспективы дальнейшей разработки данной проблематики.

I became aware of the frequency of the traumatic effect of parental divorce on the lives of the children involved. My research intervention is investigating what value working with clay as therapeutic medium could have for young children from divorced homes. I used non-directive instruction to see whether it enabled children to relate and express their personal experiences more easily . Some children seemed hesitant about projecting their own emotions onto the clay models but, in the end, rich information and spontaneous communication was achieved. The analysis and interpretation of the data from the therapy sessions clearly showed the value of using clay as a therapeutic medium when working with children from divorced homes. By expressing and sharing feelings and emotions experienced during and after parental divorce, the participants indicated that it helped them to work through guilt and other issues, and to come to terms with the reality of the changes in their lives. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

I became aware of the frequency of the traumatic effect of parental divorce on the lives of the children involved. My research intervention is investigating what value working with clay as therapeutic medium could have for young children from divorced homes. I used non-directive instruction to see whether it enabled children to relate and express their personal experiences more easily . Some children seemed hesitant about projecting their own emotions onto the clay models but, in the end, rich information and spontaneous communication was achieved. The analysis and interpretation of the data from the therapy sessions clearly showed the value of using clay as a therapeutic medium when working with children from divorced homes. By expressing and sharing feelings and emotions experienced during and after parental divorce, the participants indicated that it helped them to work through guilt and other issues, and to come to terms with the reality of the changes in their lives. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)