<p>The purpose of this qualitative, interpretive study was to gain an understanding of the client experience at a health promotion and illness/injury prevention health centre within a First Nations community in Southern Ontario. A Heideggerian, hermeneutic approach and participatory processes were used within the research framework. Data were collected through the use of face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with 7 female and 5 male members of a First Nations community. Thematic analysis based upon the work of Max van Manen was employed and resulted in three overriding themes: (a) health and being healthy, (b) I use the health centre, and (c) I don’t use the health centre. Essential components of being healthy included having choices and being able to make them, being able to care for self and others and eating right. Some participants viewed their health centre as a valued source of information and services for both health and illness and as a trusted location for accessing traditional healers. Other participants reported little or no use of their health centre due to a lack of awareness of services offered, a lack of comfort and familiarity with the health centre's staff, services and building structure, a reliance on self-healing methods, and/or a reliance on other sources of health information such as family, community Elders and the Internet. The study provided insights on a First Nations community vision of an ideal health centre. Implications for nursing education, research and policy are provided.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka brukarens erfarenheter av socialtjänstens försörjningsstöd. Författarna undersöker hur brukarna upplever kvaliteten, bemötande, servicen samt informationen från socialarbetaren. En kvalitativ metod användes och intervjuer med brukare utfördes för att få djupgående svar på syftet. Ett totalurval utfördes och alla som sökt försörjningsstöd i oktober månad i Fagersta kommun fick ett brev med en förfrågan om att delta i en intervju. Sex brukare valde att delta, två kvinnor och fyra män i åldrarna 24-40. Också en informantintervju utfördes med en socialarbetare för att få fler perspektiv på resultatet. Resultatet visade att respondenterna överlag var nöjda med försörjningsstödet. Ett missnöje fanns dock gällande informationen som flera brukare ansåg var bristfällig. I resultatet framkommer även att respondenterna träffar socialarbetaren endast ett fåtal gånger och att den kommunikationen som mellan dem ofta sker genom telefonsamtal men framförallt genom blanketter och respondenterna har därför svårt att kommentera bemötandet. Alla respondenter har erhållit information om att de kan överklaga beslut men ingen av dem vet vad en individuell arbetsplan är för någonting.</p> / <p>The purpose of this study is to explore how the users experience the contact with the social allowance office. The authors investigate how the users experience the quality, the treatment, the service and the information from the social worker. A qualitative research method was used and interviews with users were performed to draught answers to the purpose of the study. Everyone who had applied for social allowance in the month of October in the community of Fagersta received a letter with an inquiry about participant in an interview. Six users choose to participant, two women and four men in the ages 24-40. An interview was carried out with a social worker to get another perspective on the results. The result showed that the respondents overall is pleased with the social allowance. However there was dissatisfaction regarding the information that several respondents thought was inadequate. In the result it also came to light that the respondents meet the social worker just a few times and that the communication between them both often happens by phone calls but especially through application forms and the respondents there for have it difficult to give comments about how they were received. All respondents have gotten information about that appeal can be lodged but none of them know what an individual workplan is.   </p>

Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka brukarens erfarenheter av socialtjänstens försörjningsstöd. Författarna undersöker hur brukarna upplever kvaliteten, bemötande, servicen samt informationen från socialarbetaren. En kvalitativ metod användes och intervjuer med brukare utfördes för att få djupgående svar på syftet. Ett totalurval utfördes och alla som sökt försörjningsstöd i oktober månad i Fagersta kommun fick ett brev med en förfrågan om att delta i en intervju. Sex brukare valde att delta, två kvinnor och fyra män i åldrarna 24-40. Också en informantintervju utfördes med en socialarbetare för att få fler perspektiv på resultatet. Resultatet visade att respondenterna överlag var nöjda med försörjningsstödet. Ett missnöje fanns dock gällande informationen som flera brukare ansåg var bristfällig. I resultatet framkommer även att respondenterna träffar socialarbetaren endast ett fåtal gånger och att den kommunikationen som mellan dem ofta sker genom telefonsamtal men framförallt genom blanketter och respondenterna har därför svårt att kommentera bemötandet. Alla respondenter har erhållit information om att de kan överklaga beslut men ingen av dem vet vad en individuell arbetsplan är för någonting. / The purpose of this study is to explore how the users experience the contact with the social allowance office. The authors investigate how the users experience the quality, the treatment, the service and the information from the social worker. A qualitative research method was used and interviews with users were performed to draught answers to the purpose of the study. Everyone who had applied for social allowance in the month of October in the community of Fagersta received a letter with an inquiry about participant in an interview. Six users choose to participant, two women and four men in the ages 24-40. An interview was carried out with a social worker to get another perspective on the results. The result showed that the respondents overall is pleased with the social allowance. However there was dissatisfaction regarding the information that several respondents thought was inadequate. In the result it also came to light that the respondents meet the social worker just a few times and that the communication between them both often happens by phone calls but especially through application forms and the respondents there for have it difficult to give comments about how they were received. All respondents have gotten information about that appeal can be lodged but none of them know what an individual workplan is.

Despite negative perceptions of therapy, Black Americans are seeking therapy. I interviewed 8 Black clients about their experience of MFT. I used the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI; Sellers, Rowley, Chavous, Shelton, & Smith, 1997) to assess their racial identity. Most participants thought it was strange for Blacks to seek therapy. Yet, these participants found the strength to seek therapy to protect their family and individual well-being. Participants found support from family, friends, and/or the church/religious beliefs. All attended church but few sought their pastor for therapeutic support. The participants who initially preferred a Black therapist also strongly viewed race as central to their self-identity. However, participants expressed greater concern for therapist competence, skills, and warmth than for therapist race. Yet, many discussed the benefits of having a Black therapist, which were greater comfort, ease, and openness for Black clients in therapy, as well as greater cultural familiarity for Black therapists. All of the participants reported satisfaction with their therapist and generally reported a positive experience. I also measured the experience of the first and third therapy sessions for Black and White clients, using the Session Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ; Stiles, 2000). Black clients reported significantly less depth in the first session than White clients, suggesting a unique experience of therapy for Black clients. Also, Black clients that remained in therapy reported less smoothness in the first session than those who terminated. There were no significant findings for the third session. Research and treatment implications from these findings are discussed. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study is to understand clients’ experience of the e-counselling service provided by the Directorate: Counselling and Career Development (DCCD) at the University of South Africa. The research questions focused on clients’ expectations and experience of the e-counselling service. A sequential mixed methods design was employed to collect and analyse quantitative and qualitative data in two phases. Data for phase 1 of this study were collected with an online survey (n = 669) and data for phase 2 were collected with interview questions completed by e-mail (n=10). Quantitative data analysis employed frequency counts and qualitative data analysis was based on procedures outlined by Auerbach and Silberstein (2003). The study shows clients’ preference for text-based electronic services and regard the e-counselling service as a valuable addition to services. Factors that contribute to clients’ positive and negative experiences of e-counselling were identified. Findings and recommendations of this study may be implemented by the DCCD to enhance the e-counselling service. / Psychology / M.Sc. (Psychology)

The purpose of this study is to understand clients’ experience of the e-counselling service provided by the Directorate: Counselling and Career Development (DCCD) at the University of South Africa. The research questions focused on clients’ expectations and experience of the e-counselling service. A sequential mixed methods design was employed to collect and analyse quantitative and qualitative data in two phases. Data for phase 1 of this study were collected with an online survey (n = 669) and data for phase 2 were collected with interview questions completed by e-mail (n=10). Quantitative data analysis employed frequency counts and qualitative data analysis was based on procedures outlined by Auerbach and Silberstein (2003). The study shows clients’ preference for text-based electronic services and regard the e-counselling service as a valuable addition to services. Factors that contribute to clients’ positive and negative experiences of e-counselling were identified. Findings and recommendations of this study may be implemented by the DCCD to enhance the e-counselling service. / Psychology / M.Sc. (Psychology)

Inledning: Bildterapi/bildpsykoterapi är en metod där bildskapande används i terapeutiskt syfte. Bildterapi som metod återfinns inom olika psykoterapeutiska riktningar men den psykodynamiska teorigrunden är vanligast förekommande. På senare år har flera översiktstudier och RCT-studier om bildterapi som behandlingsmetod publicerats. Studier där klienter har kommit till tals och delat sina erfarenheter av metoden är än så länge mindre vanligt förekommande. Således är syftet med föreliggande studie att undersöka klienters subjektiva upplevelse av bildterapi inom en psykodynamisk terapi. Frågeställningar: Hur upplever klienter bildterapi inom en psykodynamisk terapi? Hur upplever klienter att bildterapi påverkar relationen till terapeuten? Hur upplever klienter att bildterapi påverkar förståelsen av sig själv? Metod: Studien baseras på intervjuer från fem kvinnor mellan 36 och 63 år som deltagit i bildterapi inom en psykodynamisk terapi. Intervjudata analyserades med hjälp av tolkande fenomenologisk analys. Resultat: Den terapeutiska alliansens hade stor betydelse och berodde enligt deltagarna främst på terapeutens professionalism och förmåga att skapa trygghet. Bildterapin upplevdes också som en metod som underlättade att uttrycka, bli medveten om och hantera känslor och som en metod som hjälpte deltagaren att släppa kontroll och komma förbi försvar. Att bilden synliggjorde både medvetna och omedvetna känslor och tankar på ett konkret sätt betonades av deltagarna. Slutligen visade resultatet att deltagarna upplevde att de fått en ökad självförståelse och förändrad självbild. Alla deltagarna i studien betonade dock det omöjliga med att i ord uttrycka allt det som bilderna kunde förmedla. Diskussion: Resultatet diskuterades bland annat utifrån andra terapiformer där stor vikt läggs vid att medvetandegöra, uttrycka och hantera känslor. Den terapeutiska relationen ansågs ha avgörande betydelse men tycktes inte i första hand vara ett resultat av bildterapimetoden. Att bilderna sparades och fanns tillgängliga för att senare kunna betraktas och samtalas om gjorde enligt deltagarna att den egna förändringsprocessen blev tydlig på ett konkret sätt. Slutligen diskuterades vikten av att klienters subjektiva upplevelser ges utrymme i forskningen. / Introduction: Art therapy/Art psychotherapy is a method in which image creation is used for therapeutic purposes. Art therapy as a method is found in different psychotherapeutic orientations, but the psychodynamic theory is most common. In recent years, several overview studies and RCT studies on Art Therapy as a treatment method have been published. Studies where clients have come to terms and shared their experience of the method are so far less widespread. This study aims to investigate clients' subjective experience of Art Therapy in psychodynamic therapy. Issues: How does the client experience Art Therapy in a psychodynamic therapy? How does the client experience the impact of Art Therapy on the relationship with the therapist? How does the client experience that Art Therapy affects the understanding of him or herself? Method: The study is based on interviews from five women between 36 and 63 years of age who participated in Art Therapy in psychodynamic therapy. Interview data were analyzed using Interpreting Phenomenological Analysis. Result: Therapeutic alliance proved to be of great importance and, according to the participants, was mainly due to the therapist's professionalism and ability to create security. Art Therapy was further perceived as a method that facilitated expressing, becoming aware and managing emotions and a method that helped the participant to let go of control and lessen the defence. The participants emphasized the fact that the image revealed both conscious and unconscious feelings and thoughts in a concrete way. Finally, the results showed that the participants’ expressed that they had gained self-understanding and changed their self-image. All the participants in the study emphasized the impossibility that in words to express everything that the images could reveal. Discussion: The outcome was discussed, inter alia, from other therapies where great emphasis is placed on consciousness, expressing and managing emotions. The therapeutic relationship was considered to be crucial but did not appear to be primarily a result of the Art Therapy method. The fact that the images were saved and were available for later consideration and discussion was, according to the participants, that their own change process became apparent in a visible way. Finally, the importance of giving space in research for clients’ subjective experience was discussed.

The theoretical and methodological assumptions of this research imply a move away from a positivist empiricist approach with its reliance on the real, the measurable and the predictable towards an interactive and collaborative methodology situated in a constructivist and social epistemology. This thesis comprises a recursive intervention in the researching therapist's life. The author sets out on a voyage of self-research to investigate her "choreography of coexistence" (Maturana & Varela, 1987, p.248), due to curiosity about personal and professional impact. The purpose is to create a map of relational modes that in itself creates shifts: in the therapist. This invention-orientated research creates the context of the researcher and moves through processes: the writing of autobiography, detailed contextual description, the interpreting of feedback, and deconstruction. The contents that pour forth are many different narratives tracking the evolvement of the self in the original family, through further definition in new relationships and the expansion of roles in many professional systems both with clients and colleagues. " Extracts from conversations provide new perspectives and feedback about impact. Thus a continual 'provoking of voices' becomes a thesis theme that highlights the researcher's structure, organisation and interpersonal processes. An emancipatory and developmental process is documented through the researching therapist's positioning as actor, observer and then critic in relationship to the data. Patterns and themes emerge that facilitate both self- differentiation and connectedness and many new head-heart connections. This new knowledge could enable the professional's skilful and intuitive use of self. The self comes into being as it reflects itself, ·so a recursive process evolves where looking at the self operates on the products of its own operations. This is an active process, where the researching therapist constructs an experiential reality. Given the accountability that accrues from constructing such a reality, a focus on pragmatic, aesthetic and ethical criteria is incorporated. This research, like the practice of therapy, is a departure from attempts to demonstrate what is already known to modes of research that are recursive and improvisational. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil.

Despite legal and policy advancements in South Africa, prejudice, discrimination and victimisation are still a reality for many lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people in the country. The Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) has embarked on a process to develop lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) affirmative practice guidelines for psychology professionals, when working with these client populations. As a part of the larger objective, this research study highlights LGB people’s experiences of psychotherapy and counselling in South Africa as possible inputs for the mentioned practice guidelines. Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with selected participants. The results indicate that some aspects of LGB people’s experiences are similar to those of anyone in psychotherapy or counselling, but also that there are distinct differences. Negative experiences were almost exclusively due to the counsellor being disaffirming of the client's sexual orientation. Self-acceptance and the development of alternative perspectives of sexuality were more prominent outcomes of counselling compared to studies among broader populations. The participants’ feedback on a list of affirmative statements provides a potential basis for future affirmative practice guidelines. / Psychology / M. A. (Clinical Psychology)

As a relatively recent phenomenon, the increasing overrepresentation of Aboriginal persons in both the child welfare and criminal justice systems is of critical importance to the field of social work. As social control systems, how do social workers contribute to or mitigate against overrepresentation as contemporary colonialism? What can social work professionals who themselves have been through these systems add to our social work discourse? A sample of fifteen Aboriginal social workers who had as youth been in either one or both of these systems were interviewed with respect to: what they found was helpful or unhelpful in their interactions as youth with social workers, why they subsequently chose social work as a career, the supports and barriers they encountered along their career path, and the difference their experiences had for their own professional practice. Using structural social work theory, overrepresentation as a contemporary colonializing process was re-conceptualised as structural violence. Institutional Ethnography (IE) and Hermeneutic Phenomenology were used to explore how these neo-liberal ruling relations are produced, maintained, and potentially deconstructed. The findings from this unique population have implications for decolonizing social work practice, education, and research.