This study is an existential-phenomenological investigation into the experience of marital satisfaction. It sought to understand the meaning of marital satisfaction as lived. Five married individuals, three females and two males, who had been married for ten years or longer were interviewed. They were selected on the basis that they were experiencing satisfaction in their marriage by their own reckoning. They were located through personal referrals from friends and colleagues. Each person (co-researcher) was asked to tell the story of satisfaction in their marriage. The in-depth interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed and analyzed using an existential-phenomenological approach as outlined by Colaizzi (1978). The protocol analysis resulted in the explication of fifteen themes. The themes (or constituents) were described and then woven into an exhaustive phenomenological description of the experience of marital satisfaction. Finally a concise description of the experience was formulated. The results of the study show that there is a consensus of the experience and meaning of marital satisfaction by those (the co-researchers) living the experience. The study makes suggestions for future research and points out applications of the results in pre-marital and couples counselling. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This study was designed to investigate the suitability of conducting Adlerian Family Counseling in a home setting. Research hypotheses and corresponding null hypotheses were formulated and additional information was collected through the use of several subjective forms. The subjects of this study were 20 families who requested counseling from Counseling Information and Resource Center for Adults (C.I.R.C.A.) during the 1981 spring semester at The University of Arizona. The counselors were graduate students seeking either a masters or doctorate degree in the Department ofCounseling and Guidance at The University of Arizona. The study consisted of a two-group pretest-posttest experimental design which was used to compare the effectiveness of Adlerian Family Counseling conducted in the home or clinic setting. The subjects were randomly divided into a clinic group and a home group. Each of the ten families in both groups was administered the Adlerian Parental Assessment of Child Behavior Scale (APACBS) during the initial interview and then again after the third, fourth, or fifth counseling session. The pretest score was eventually subtracted from the posttest score to yield a gain score which was used as indication of counseling success. The following subjective evaluation forms were completed after the posttest: Client Satisfaction Scale, Setting Evaluation Form, Counselor Agreement with Literature Form. The correlated t-test was utilized to verify the efficacy of Adlerian Family Counseling when conducted in either setting. The results indicated a significant improvement in the families of both groups. An analysis of covariance was conducted to determine if the home setting yielded better results than the clinic setting and finding no significance the null hypothesis of no difference was retained. An analysis of the additional information revealed that: (1) The clients of both settings were equally satisified with the counseling they received. (2) The counselors expressed an overwhelming preference for the clinic setting. (3) The counselors reported more disadvantages than advantages in the home setting. (4) The counselors generally disagreed with the pro-home-setting arguments found in the literature.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

M.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / It appears that not much research has been done in the field regarding separation anxiety suffered by school beginners. The current political developments towards a fair multicultural education will cause a far greater (increased) emergence of this phenomenon as schools are now confronted with a mixture of different cultures and creeds with (overly concerned parents).while separation anxiety is manifested in the young school beginners. Due to this increased exposure and subsequent increased child anxiety. this study is designed to identify the root causes of this anxiety. and provide guidelines for an education programme for parents and teachers to identify and counteract this problem. The investigation into the causes and characteristics of separation anxiety was undertaken by means of studying literature. existing case studies and material related to the subject matter. Insight derived from practical teaching experience and the literature available was so adapted and refined to set guidelines and identify characteristics for a programme that would assist the parents and teachers to identify and through corrective action overcome and / or eliminate this problem...

This study is aimed at elucidating the meaning of therapeutic change within the context of a person's life story. The author believes that delineation of therapeutic change within this context may help to overcome the incongruence among counselling theory, research, practice, and the experience of counselling clients. After reviewing the traditional literature on therapy outcome and change, the new options coming from narrative approaches were considered. The qualitative method of a multiple-case study was chosen as the most appropriate for the posed question. Three participants in this project completed either individual (1 woman) or group (1 woman and 1 man) therapy, and believed that they achieved a substantial therapeutic change; all of them had written their autobiography in the beginning of their therapy. In each case study, the autobiography was interpreted, the interpretation refined in the Life story interview, and validated in another interview with the participant. Then the Current life interview and the Interview with a significant other were conducted, and the Portrait of change was construed; again, the product was reviewed and validated with the participant. All interpretations, and the videotapes of interviews were reviewed by two independent judges. The three Portraits of change were mutually compared, and the working delineation of the therapeutic change within the context of a person's life story was abstracted from this comparison. In all 3 cases, the change seemed to be connected with a substantial reinterpretation of the individual's life story. This reinterpretation seemed to be based on the change of the individual's fundamental beliefs about self and others in-the-world, on greater and more flexible acceptance of self and others in their relational complexity, and on positioning one's Self as an agentic hero in his or her own life story. These changes were also reflected in the genre, the formal structure, and the explanatory reasoning of the new stories the participants told about their current lives, and lived by. The limitations of this study, and the implications of the findings for counselling theory, practice, and future research are discussed.

This study is aimed at elucidating the meaning of therapeutic change within the context of a person's life story. The author believes that delineation of therapeutic change within this context may help to overcome the incongruence among counselling theory, research, practice, and the experience of counselling clients. After reviewing the traditional literature on therapy outcome and change, the new options coming from narrative approaches were considered. The qualitative method of a multiple-case study was chosen as the most appropriate for the posed question. Three participants in this project completed either individual (1 woman) or group (1 woman and 1 man) therapy, and believed that they achieved a substantial therapeutic change; all of them had written their autobiography in the beginning of their therapy. In each case study, the autobiography was interpreted, the interpretation refined in the Life story interview, and validated in another interview with the participant. Then the Current life interview and the Interview with a significant other were conducted, and the Portrait of change was construed; again, the product was reviewed and validated with the participant. All interpretations, and the videotapes of interviews were reviewed by two independent judges. The three Portraits of change were mutually compared, and the working delineation of the therapeutic change within the context of a person's life story was abstracted from this comparison. In all 3 cases, the change seemed to be connected with a substantial reinterpretation of the individual's life story. This reinterpretation seemed to be based on the change of the individual's fundamental beliefs about self and others in-the-world, on greater and more flexible acceptance of self and others in their relational complexity, and on positioning one's Self as an agentic hero in his or her own life story. These changes were also reflected in the genre, the formal structure, and the explanatory reasoning of the new stories the participants told about their current lives, and lived by. The limitations of this study, and the implications of the findings for counselling theory, practice, and future research are discussed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how narrative therapy may facilitate not only a lessening of distressing symptoms for bereaved persons, but may also facilitate growth in identity. Five case studies are presented. The participants were chosen to illuminate different grief experiences. The case studies include a description of grieving people from different backgrounds, each with a unique relationship with the person or people who died, all of whom had different causes of death such as suicide, murder and natural causes. These differences provide an opportunity to explore the application of the therapy model with a range of grief experiences. A full and rich description of the experiences of the participants yield insight into the shared themes such as the impact of social expectations of how a grieving person should conduct him or herself, difficult physical and emotional experiences, the many losses flowing from the death, as well as an in-depth discussion of the identity growth that takes place as the bereaved person takes on different roles and tasks. Postmodern epistemology and social constructivism informed the praxis and interpretation of narrative therapy as bereavement model. Narrative therapy is shown as especially effective for grief therapy with therapeutic tenets such as deconstructing and creating richer narratives and alternative stories that enables the bereaved to explore diverse aspects of their character. The emphasis on what remains rather than what is lost, and the concept of remembering the loved one who died in the community of those who stay behind, transmute the loss-story to one of remembering and incorporating, which tends to bring significant emotional relief. This study contributes towards the field of growth through bereavement for which there seems to be a paucity in research. Furthermore, it provides additional evidence for post-traumatic growth in general, especially with the assistance of narrative therapy. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)