AIM: This study endeavoured to explore and understand countertransference reactions that occur when the therapist is exposed to clients‘ stories of violent crime. The study focused on the therapist‘s experiential responses resulting from exposure to traumatic stories and the subsequent consequences thereof. This was contextualized from the particular perspective of South African therapists and their above average exposure to crime related trauma. METHODOLOGY: A qualitative research design was used with Smith‘s Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as the methodology of choice. This included a double hermeneutic approach of analysing firstly the perceptions and secondly the meaning of such perceptions within the context of current literature. Nine South African psychologists were purposively selected and interviewed to provide the required data. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that both concordant and complementary countertransference play a large role in the therapist‘s experience of 'identification with suffering‘ and feelings of avoidance whilst listening to stories of violent crime. Such concordant identification with the client, if not mediated through awareness of one‘s internal dynamics, can result in the therapist‘s over-identification with the client which may be associated with features of vicarious trauma. One way in which such vicarious trauma states may be resolved by the therapist is through the concordant mimicking of the client‘s need to purge and be contained. Experiences linked to vicarious trauma, however, are not a certainty when working with trauma but rather an outcome that depends greatly on a therapist‘s level of experience, self-awareness and ability to implement coping strategies. Through these mediating factors, what may usually be experienced as vicariously traumatic may be transformed into resilience and self-growth. It appears that the implementation of coping strategies (such as normalization and reframing) are also what allow South African therapists to manage in the context of high crime rates and caseloads. Despite the barriers that the public sector poses, the tenacity and hopefulness demonstrated by some of the participants allowed them to overcome some of the difficulties linked to working with trauma. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

M.A. / The young offender's criminal behaviour exerts enormous damage to the social and economical aspects of the country. Exploring the identity construction of young offenders, the decisions and choices they make in breaking into strangers' houses, stealing and hijacking other people's cars, is the focus of this study. Attention will also be focused on exploring how the criminal "career" affects and is affected by their identity construction. It is also the purpose of this study to explore what could be attracting the young offender to embark on a criminal expedition, in spite of the consequences of such activities, which appear to be uninviting and uncomfortable. The study comes about as a result of the misery and 6 trauma experienced by victims of the young offender's criminal activities (Clifford, 1974). People spend a lot of money improving the security systems in their properties with the purpose of barring the offenders from entering their premises, or taking the cars away from them. This, however, does not seem to work most of the time as it has in some cases contributed to the offenders also improving their skills on how to commit crime. There is increased surveillance in department stores, insurance premiums are high and there is an increase in the cost of goods and services. It seems that as crime escalates, more young people are sent to prison. Society also feels that prison is the best option for the young offender. Others would like the death sentence to be imposed to deal with the crime problem. At the moment, prisons are overcrowded with young people, who will be released in a few years' time. The question is whether, at the time of their release will they be able to be reintegrated back to society. What kind of people are we expecting them to be when they become adults? What role will they play in the functioning of the community? Probably the community needs to be informed about what happens in prison, for there is a general assumption that prison is a rehabilitative institution. It is seen as a place where we get rid of troublemakers, who on their release have become good citizens with a brighter future. People perceive a prison as a place that rehabilitates offenders and helps reintegrate them back into society. Whether the prison pursues and achieves this purpose needs to be seen. However, the high rate of recidivism leaves much to be desired. Cronje'et al. (1976) in their study found that a large number of young offenders became recidivists or recidivism can be traced back to juvenile offences