Text in Afrikaans / Euro-centric (Western) therapeutic approaches in psychotherapy are criticized by several authors as being unsuitable in an African context. The reconciliation of the contrasting approach of world- and human views regarding individualism (Western) and collectivism (Africa) is being questioned. In this research a qualitative approach was used. The objectives were to explore, describe and to explain the use of gestalt play therapy with the adolescent who suffered trauma due to the loss of one or both parents, in a multicultural context. Case studies were done on three adolescents in eight therapeutic sessions of Gestalt play therapy. The finding and conclusion of this research showed that Gestalt play therapy could be used with the traumatised adolescent in a multicultural context. The child could be understood from a holistic point of view as the individual as well as a member of a cultural group. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

This exploratory and descriptive investigation used the case study as research strategy to indi cate how writing may be used as a specialised form of therapy for an adolescent in the phase of mid-adolescence. The study researched and consolidated a body of knowledge concerning writing in a therapeutic context, while highlighting the Gestalt therapeutic approach. Its empirical integration culminated in a method for the use of therapists who irrespective of their therapeutic orientation wish to apply writing in therapy with adolescents. The dissertation argues that writing practised from a Gestalt therapeutic perspective should move gradually from being a tool of self-expression to becoming one of self-nurturing. It should guide the client through a process of self-regulation to a point of self-support. In such a process, writing in therapy will evolve into writing as therapy, a therapy practised by the client her- or himself as a means of achieving equilibrium. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

Text in Afrikaans / The aim of this study was to determine the value of Gestalt Play Therapy with the aggressive child in middle childhood. Literature regarding the different etiological theories on aggression, as well as the physical, cognitive, emotional, social and moral development of the aggressive child in his middle childhood was explored. The main concepts in Gestalt Play Therapy were discussed, followed by an outline of an intervention programme with the aggressive child in middle childhood in order to set objectives and establish a structure for the case study. The empirical part of the study was divided into a qualitative component consisting of the case study and unstructured interviews with the parent and teacher of the participant, while the participant's level of aggression before and after intervention was determined quantitatively by means of the Aggression Questionnaire of Buss and Perry. Analysis of the results showed a reduction in the level of anger, verbal and physical aggression and hostility of the participant. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Spelterapie)

Gestalt Therapy emphasises the importance of relationships and according to the I-Thou philosophy of Buber, people who form part of a relationship must become aware of each other’s uniqueness and the differences between them in order to act honestly and sincerely towards each other. Gestalt Play Therapy strives to reach such a relationship during the therapeutic relationship. The aim of this study was to explore the utilisation of dyadic Gestalt Play Therapy in order to enhance an I-Thou relationship between the parent and the adolescent. As an application of the qualitative applied research approach, a case study was done whereby the parent became part of the therapistadolescent relationship. The integration of the conclusions from the literature study and the empirical study contributed to the exploration and description of the way dyadic Gestalt Play Therapy can be utilized to enhance an I-Thou relationship between the parent and adolescent. / Social Work / M.Diac (Play therapy)

In South Africa the Center for Child Youth and Family Studies is training practitioners yearly to work as play therapists from a gestalt approach. Once these practitioners successfully complete their training and qualify they could begin practicing play therapy from a gestalt approach. Each of these recently qualified play therapists is then responsible for organising and committing to their own supervision. Therapists who do not attend supervision risk stagnation and burn out due to a lack of positive interaction in relation to receiving knowledge and support from those more experienced in gestalt play therapy and from their peers. At present there is a perceived lack of supervision resources based on a gestalt approach particularly for those recently qualified play therapists working from a gestalt approach that are geographically distant from the areas where training takes place. This study sought to answer the question of what supervision resources are currently available to recently qualified play therapists working from a gestalt approach in South Africa. In order to answer this question combined quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used. An internet survey questionnaire was completed by recently qualified play therapists working from a gestalt approach which formed part of the quantitative section of the research. Structured interviews were conducted via Skype with professionals experienced in the field of Gestalt therapy theory and supervision from a gestalt approach and this formed part of the qualitative section of the research. Overall the results from the merged data indicate a lack of supervisors qualified to give supervision based on a gestalt approach. This factor contributes to the overall lack of supervision resources based on a gestalt approach for recently qualified play therapists working from this approach. Geographical distance from supervision resources places financial and time constraints on recently qualified play therapists that prevent them from accessing supervision based on a gestalt approach. Despite this results indicate those recently qualified play therapists working from a gestalt approach are attempting to meet their responsibility and requirement for supervision. / Psychology / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

Sexual abuse of children and adolescents has reached pandemic proportions in Namibia. It is widely recognised that this traumagenic experience could have a profound and long-lasting effect on survivors. Nevertheless, few survivors in Namibia access therapy; often because of non-disclosure or non-reporting, being socioeconomically disadvantaged and the overburdened public sector therapists. This study set out to explore how adolescent survivors use the Nine Figure Picture Story (9FPS) embedded within the context of Gestalt Healing tasks. A variety of play therapy experiments was used to raise the clients’ awareness and to evoke their therapy stories (as these relate to Gestalt therapy) and their trauma stories (by means of the 9FPS). The researcher-therapist hoped that the study would enhance the understanding of the meaning-making of sexually abused adolescent clients, and in doing so, contribute to therapeutic practice in Namibia and elsewhere. Research which aims to uncover personal meaning-making and hear the voice of the participants already suggests that the qualitative paradigm would be apposite. An exploratory case study was conducted in Namibia between August 2010 and November 2010. Two adolescent survivors of sexual abuse who met the eligibility criteria were drawn from the population by means of nonprobability sampling. The sample was heterogeneous: one participant was a survivor of chronic intrafamilial rape; the other of a single incident, extrafamilial child sexual abuse (CSA). The data corpus included six and ten recorded therapeutic sessions with the two clients respectively; transcribed intake and termination semi-structured interviews with the parents; the researcher’s process and observation notes; and the clients’ objets d'art and Therapy diaries. To capture the tapestry of CSA accurately and holistically, the stories of the two participants were first analysed individually and thereafter synthesised into a theoretical comparative analysis. Trustworthiness was enhanced by means of investigator, theory, data and methodological triangulation. A number of safety, beneficence and non-maleficence measures contributed to the ethicality of this sensitive research. The research uncovered that, despite their differences, the two participants presented with posttraumatic signs and patterns often reported in the literature. Most insightful was how the survivors disavowed the CSA to become “not me” (Joyce & Sills, 2006: 92). As it relates to neurobiological hypotheses, it was revealed that the tactile and visuospatial Gestalt play therapy, specifically the 9FPS, seemed to access and address the fragmented, non-sequenced and non-verbal trauma memory. It was found that the 9FPSs gave the unfinished business from the past a miniaturised dimension in the present and that the “differentiated unity” (Reynolds, 2005: 162) enhanced its assimilation into the self. / Thesis (M.A. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Gestalt Therapy emphasises the importance of relationships and according to the I-Thou philosophy of Buber, people who form part of a relationship must become aware of each other’s uniqueness and the differences between them in order to act honestly and sincerely towards each other. Gestalt Play Therapy strives to reach such a relationship during the therapeutic relationship. The aim of this study was to explore the utilisation of dyadic Gestalt Play Therapy in order to enhance an I-Thou relationship between the parent and the adolescent. As an application of the qualitative applied research approach, a case study was done whereby the parent became part of the therapistadolescent relationship. The integration of the conclusions from the literature study and the empirical study contributed to the exploration and description of the way dyadic Gestalt Play Therapy can be utilized to enhance an I-Thou relationship between the parent and adolescent. / Social Work / M.Diac (Play therapy)

Sexual abuse of children and adolescents has reached pandemic proportions in Namibia. It is widely recognised that this traumagenic experience could have a profound and long-lasting effect on survivors. Nevertheless, few survivors in Namibia access therapy; often because of non-disclosure or non-reporting, being socioeconomically disadvantaged and the overburdened public sector therapists. This study set out to explore how adolescent survivors use the Nine Figure Picture Story (9FPS) embedded within the context of Gestalt Healing tasks. A variety of play therapy experiments was used to raise the clients’ awareness and to evoke their therapy stories (as these relate to Gestalt therapy) and their trauma stories (by means of the 9FPS). The researcher-therapist hoped that the study would enhance the understanding of the meaning-making of sexually abused adolescent clients, and in doing so, contribute to therapeutic practice in Namibia and elsewhere. Research which aims to uncover personal meaning-making and hear the voice of the participants already suggests that the qualitative paradigm would be apposite. An exploratory case study was conducted in Namibia between August 2010 and November 2010. Two adolescent survivors of sexual abuse who met the eligibility criteria were drawn from the population by means of nonprobability sampling. The sample was heterogeneous: one participant was a survivor of chronic intrafamilial rape; the other of a single incident, extrafamilial child sexual abuse (CSA). The data corpus included six and ten recorded therapeutic sessions with the two clients respectively; transcribed intake and termination semi-structured interviews with the parents; the researcher’s process and observation notes; and the clients’ objets d'art and Therapy diaries. To capture the tapestry of CSA accurately and holistically, the stories of the two participants were first analysed individually and thereafter synthesised into a theoretical comparative analysis. Trustworthiness was enhanced by means of investigator, theory, data and methodological triangulation. A number of safety, beneficence and non-maleficence measures contributed to the ethicality of this sensitive research. The research uncovered that, despite their differences, the two participants presented with posttraumatic signs and patterns often reported in the literature. Most insightful was how the survivors disavowed the CSA to become “not me” (Joyce & Sills, 2006: 92). As it relates to neurobiological hypotheses, it was revealed that the tactile and visuospatial Gestalt play therapy, specifically the 9FPS, seemed to access and address the fragmented, non-sequenced and non-verbal trauma memory. It was found that the 9FPSs gave the unfinished business from the past a miniaturised dimension in the present and that the “differentiated unity” (Reynolds, 2005: 162) enhanced its assimilation into the self. / Thesis (M.A. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

A child diagnosed with a life-threatening illness such as cancer, and is hospitalized for extensive periods of time, is faced with innumerable stressful and traumatic circumstances. This emotionally challenging life situation can bring on much emotional distress such as anxiety. Thus, it has become imperative that the oncology child is assisted and supported, in his individual struggle to cope with the harshness of his strained reality. In this study the hospitalized oncology child was provided with a means of support and intervention through the use of Gestalt play therapy. Gestalt play therapy was conducted to assist the child to express and work through feelings of anxiety and related emotional distress associated with his present life experience. Gestalt play therapy was presented with six case studies. The researcher explored and described the experiences of each case study from which, the researcher drew conclusions and made recommendations. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Play Therapy)

This study was aimed at the description of how to support the emotional awareness of the primary school child through Gestalt Play Therapy. The research strategy enclosed case studies. A supportive literature study was done with regard to awareness, emotional awareness, emotional intelligence, emotional skills, social skills, self-esteem, the primary school child and Gestalt Play Therapy. In the implementation of the research study two case studies were described. The sampling method was based on a non-probability sampling technique. The criteria of the respondents were emotional and social inadequate functioning. Case study one functioned emotional and social inadequately as a result of the family moving. Case study two was involved in bullying activities at the school. Respectively ten and eleven therapeutic sessions of one hour each over a period of ten and eleven weeks were conducted. Both children did benefit from the Gestalt Play Therapeutic intervension. Their awareness with regard to themselves and their own experience brought them in contact with themselves, which is necessary for healthy child development. / Social Work / M.Diac.(Play Therapy) / Text in Afrikaans