Thesis (M.A.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, 2013. / Domestic violence is rife in South Africa and the negative impact thereof is brought by survivors into their homes, communities and workplace settings. Trauma counsellors often take on the work responsibility of intervening in cases of domestic violence to meet the needs of the survivor. Adopting a qualitative research design, the researcher explored the perceptions of trauma counsellors in their workplace setting regarding intervention strategies used when providing services to survivors of domestic violence. Purposive sampling was used to identify 13 adult lay trauma counsellors, both male and female employed by a non-government institution operating as a 24-7 hour Crisis Hotline in the Johannesburg Metropolitan area. The researcher gathered data by conducting personal, semi-structured interviews with research participants. Data analysis took the form of Thematic Content Analysis. The researcher identified that the participants seemed not to be aware of workplace systems and procedural guidelines, and tended to adopt a personalized approach in dealing with survivors of domestic violence. Most participants managed cases utilising ‘early crisis intervention models’ as a once-off trauma intervention strategy although they did not perceive it as being effective. It is thus recommended that such stand-alone intervention strategies should not be implemented unless further follow-up or after-care support is offered to the survivors of domestic violence.

The purpose of this study is to tell the story of lay trauma counsellors - how the work they do affects them, what helps them to cope and what hinders their coping. The epistemological framework of this study is constructivism. This study involved in-depth interviews with three lay trauma counsellors from different cultural backgrounds who counselled for a minimum of one year. Hermeneutics was the method used to analyse the data. The stories of participants were recounted through the researcher’s lens in the form of specific themes that emerged for individual participants. Recurring themes evident in the stories of all three participants were discussed and compared with the literature. The information gleaned could be valuable to organisations considering setting up lay trauma programmes, to those with established programmes, as well as to prospective and experienced lay counsellors. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

The purpose of this study is to tell the story of lay trauma counsellors - how the work they do affects them, what helps them to cope and what hinders their coping. The epistemological framework of this study is constructivism. This study involved in-depth interviews with three lay trauma counsellors from different cultural backgrounds who counselled for a minimum of one year. Hermeneutics was the method used to analyse the data. The stories of participants were recounted through the researcher’s lens in the form of specific themes that emerged for individual participants. Recurring themes evident in the stories of all three participants were discussed and compared with the literature. The information gleaned could be valuable to organisations considering setting up lay trauma programmes, to those with established programmes, as well as to prospective and experienced lay counsellors. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)