This thesis explores mothers' reactions to, and methods of dealing with, the sudden death of a child, using a constructivist approach. The study focusses on the meanings that mothers construe in relation to the sudden death of their child and the role of these constructions in her "recovery" from this loss. It also explores the grieving process, the effect of the loss on the mother, including a focus on changes in her value system, her role as a mother and as a wife, as well as the impact of this loss on the family system. The study was conducted on the basis of qualitative research methodology, making use of the case study method. The sample consisted of three mothers, selected purposively. The data gathered was analysed inductively. / Psychology / M.A.(Clinical Psychology)

Games are a natural part of many people's everyday lives and have gone from being a divergent interest to become Sweden's biggest cultural export. As a result from this expansion, digital tools had to be further developed and through this progress these tools have reached new areas of usage, which has created new challenges for game developers. The games that offers a higher purpose than pure entertainment goes under the genre serious games. Serious games are used in various application areas such as; in the military, health care, education, business, and psychology, which is the framework of this thesis. By combining and unifying previous research grounded in psychology and game science I want to answer the questions: How can games be used as a therapeutic tool in a child's grieving process? and, Which features should such a game focus on? These questions are answered through the information gathered from two interviews conducted with respondents that have different expertise within the area of this study, this to reach a broader perspective. A child's grieving process can manifest itself in various ways depending on the individual's level of sensitivity. It is therefore difficult to draw any general conclusions on how such a game should be designed. All games have the opportunity to motivate and engage, but this is not unique to a serious game and therefore a measurement function is essential in a digital rehabilitation tool to provide the therapist with valuable information about the patient. The figurative language makes it possible for the child to communicate where the spoken language sometimes has limits. For older children social support can be important as it creates opportunities to meet others in similar situations and together work towards improvement. Grief is a non-linear process and can present itself in many different ways and it is therefore important that the game should offer various turn-outs to make it adaptable for the individual. / Spel är en naturlig del i många människors vardag och har gått från att vara ett mer avvikande intresse till att bli Sveriges största kulturexport. Expanderingen har även lett till att dessa digitala verktyg har fått utvecklats och hitta nya användningsformer som därmed skapar nya utmaningar för spelutvecklare. Spel som har ett högre syfte än den rena underhållningen hamnar under genren serious games och används inom olika användningsområden såsom försvaret, sjukvården, utbildning, affärsrörelser och psykologi vilket är ämnet för denna uppsats. Genom att kombinera och sammanföra tidigare forskning som bottnar sig i psykologin samt spelvetenskapen vill jag besvara frågorna: Hur kan spel användas som ett terapeutiskt verktyg i ett barn sorgeprocess? och Vilka egenskaper bör ett sådant spel fokusera på? Dessa besvaras genom granskning av tidigare forskning samt empiriskt insamlat material från två intervjuer med personer med olika specialistkunskaper för att få ett bredare perspektiv. Barns sorgeprocesser kan te sig väldigt olika beroende på individen och därför är det mycket svårt att dra några generella slutsatser för hur ett sådant spel ska designas. Spel har som möjlighet att motivera och engagera och detta är inget unikt för ett serious game, därför blir en mätningsfunktion avgörande i ett digitalt rehabiliteringsverktyg och ett sätt att förse terapeuten med information om patienten. Det bildliga språket gör det också möjligt för barnet att enklare förmedla sina känslor eftersom det talade språket kan vara en begränsning. För de äldre barnen så kan socialt stöd genom spelet vara viktigt för att kunna träffa andra i samma situation och tillsammans bearbeta sorgen. Sorgen är ingen linjär process och kan visa sig på olika sätt och därför bör spelet erbjuda olika tillägg för att kunna anpassas till den enskilda individen.

Please read the abstract in the section dissertation. Copyright / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

Text in Afrikaans / Rituals are part of our everyday life and are usually performed unconsciously. In this dissertation rituals are used consciously, within a therapeutic context, with the purpose to facilitate healing and growth. The aim of the research is to focus the readers' attention on the therapeutic potential of rituals and its value as an intervention strategy. The study concentrates on the grieving process. The researcher therefore specifically wants to show how rituals are used during grief counselling. The following research problem was investigated in the study: "What is the attitude, opinion and knowledge of professional caregivers concerning the use of rituals as a therapeutic tool during grief counselling?" Out of the research data the following hypothesis was formulated: - To grief over a loss is essential. Because of the basic properties and remedial functions of rituals, rituals can be a valuable therapeutic tool in the facilitation of this process. - There is an inherent connection between professional caregivers' attitudes, opinions and knowledge of therapeutic rituals and the regular and effective use of them during grief counselling. - The use of rituals during grief counselling is only one component in the comprehensive pastoral care of the bereaved. / Practical theology / M.Th.

Text in Afrikaans / Rituals are part of our everyday life and are usually performed unconsciously. In this dissertation rituals are used consciously, within a therapeutic context, with the purpose to facilitate healing and growth. The aim of the research is to focus the readers' attention on the therapeutic potential of rituals and its value as an intervention strategy. The study concentrates on the grieving process. The researcher therefore specifically wants to show how rituals are used during grief counselling. The following research problem was investigated in the study: "What is the attitude, opinion and knowledge of professional caregivers concerning the use of rituals as a therapeutic tool during grief counselling?" Out of the research data the following hypothesis was formulated: - To grief over a loss is essential. Because of the basic properties and remedial functions of rituals, rituals can be a valuable therapeutic tool in the facilitation of this process. - There is an inherent connection between professional caregivers' attitudes, opinions and knowledge of therapeutic rituals and the regular and effective use of them during grief counselling. - The use of rituals during grief counselling is only one component in the comprehensive pastoral care of the bereaved. / Practical theology / M.Th.