This research formed part of a broader research project that explored respect in relationships between young female adults and older people (60+ years) in a South African context. Different themes emerged from this research such as the motivation younger people have for respecting older persons; as well as different forms of giving and receiving respect. This research will specifically focus on themes that emerged inductively about the relational context in which the experiences of respect were expressed and the challenges of respect in the interpersonal experiences. It has been recorded in literature on intergenerational relationships that respect is not only an essential element in these relationships but also that it contributes to constructive relationships. Most of the research about respect has been conducted in Asian and Western countries, while some research has also been done in Ghana, Africa. The above mentioned research findings identified specific behavioural forms of respect, and attitudes and/or emotions associated with respect. Furthermore it has been found that respect can either be earned or deserved, or not, depending on whether and to what extent the person concerned is considered to have met certain requirements. Little research has been done on how people, especially young female adults in South Africa, experience respect in intergenerational relationships. Experiences of respect between people from different generations always take place in an interpersonal context and therefore the Self-Interaction Group Theory (SIGT) was used to understand young female adults’ experiences of respect in relationships with older people. Following SIGT, for the purposes of this study respect is defined as the subjective experience of the relational interactions between people. The focus in this study falls on the experience of respect in relationships with older people from young female adults’ perspective. Traditionally female gender roles have been associated with care. However, these roles changed to more flexible gendered roles and today women are not able to adopt many different roles. The past generations’ women took care of their older parents, whereas in the present women also pursue careers and this may have an influence on their interactions with older people as they may not necessarily be able to take care of the older people anymore. The research project was approved by the Ethics Committee of the North-West University. A qualitative research method informed by an exploratory and descriptive approach was used in an attempt to describe the participants’ subjective experiences of respect in the relationships they have with older people. A purposive sample was used and 26 women (between 21 and 28 years old) who are post-graduate psychology university students in the North West, South Africa, participated in the study. The study used a homogenous group of participants in order to get a detailed picture of their experiences. Young adults are in a transitory phase of their lives and research indicated that it is important to investigate their attitudes towards older people because they are likely to form new values, because their lives and behaviours are more influenced by their peers and because they have less parental supervision. Data was collected in three data-gathering sessions over the period of three days. Textual and visual data was collected through the use of the Mmogo- method®, a projective visual research method which uses a focus group approach. The Mmogo- method® material consists of a lump of malleable clay, different sizes and colours of beads and dried grass stalks of different lengths. Participants are provided with the open-ended materials and based on an open-ended prompt, they are requested to create a visual representation, which in this research was: Please use the material provided and create anything that can tell us more about how you perceive respect in relation to a person, or persons older than 60 years of age. After the exercise participants were asked to explain what they have created. A collaborative effort of co-constructed meanings took place as the visual representation of each participant became the stimulus material for group discussions. The visual representations of participants were photographed and analysed using visual analysis, while the digital recordings of the individuals’ explanations of their visual representations as well as the group discussions were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured by applying four strategies, including: credibility, transferability, dependability and conformability of the research findings. The findings revealed that the relationship with older persons is subjectively described in terms of emotional or cognitive experiences and associated with specific relational contexts. In the familial and social context the experience of respect were linked with care and most of these relationships were described as affectionate/emotional. In the familial and social contexts, older persons were placed in a one-up position with the young adults, since the young adults want to obey and/or honour them. Some described the relationship as a relationship where they interacted as equals. In different contexts, work related, educational and familial, young adults expressed ambivalent emotions: some expressed admiration and love, while others expressed frustration and anger. In the work-related and educational relational contexts, the relationships were experienced as being formal and described in cognitive terms. In these relationships young adults expressed frustration and anger if their needs were not addressed based on how the relational context defined the relationship. For example in the educational contexts, the needs of the young adults were to get clarity on learning content, to receive support to reach their goals, and to reach emotional safety. Young female adults indicated that respect towards older persons is no longer based on the age of older persons. It rather depends on the reciprocal actions and reactions between young adults and older persons; and that it depends on how the relationship between the generational members develops over time, as well as the ability of generational members to bridge the distance between them and to adopt each other’s life worlds, whilst refraining from judgemental and stereotypical assessment of older persons. This study hence holds important implications for the creation of intergenerational programmes in order to enhance relationships between young adults and older people. A specific contribution of the findings is that when planning interventions intergenerational programmes should be designed to take into consideration the specific interpersonal context. Furthermore, the definitions of respect as held by both of the generational members should be considered in planning intergenerational interventions in specific interpersonal contexts. / MA (Research Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Literature on intergenerational relationships has indicated the importance of respect in these relationships. To date, research has focused mainly on defining the construct of respect or looking at how it presents itself within intergenerational relationships. Little attention has been paid to the experience of respect, leaving a gap, more specifically in the study of the way in which older persons experience respect within intergenerational relationships. Respect has been defined in current literature as a combination of behaviours, attitudes and feelings. Respect is always experienced in relationships between people and accordingly the self-interactional group theory (SIGT) was used as a theoretical framework for understanding older persons’ experience of respect in their relationships with middle adolescents. The focus was specifically placed on their relationships with middle adolescents because of rifts relating to their experience of relational interactions that have been found to exist in these relationships in studies focusing on older youth. Research was conducted in the economically vulnerable community of Vaalharts, situated in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, in which the importance of supportive relationships for older persons is especially relevant. The findings of the study could potentially lead to the development of programmes to strengthen these relationships. Twelve participants (9 female and 3 male) over the age of 60 took part in Mmogo-method® sessions in order to gain an understanding of their subjective experience of the construct of respect. By using the Mmogo-method®, visual data (photos of their presentations made for the Mmogo-method®) and textual data were obtained. In addition, self-reflective journals containing open-ended questions (completed voluntarily by the participants) added to the trustworthiness of the study by using more than one data-gathering method. All data were analysed to derive themes that painted a vivid picture of the older persons’ experience of respect. The photos taken during the Mmogo-method® sessions were visually analysed while textual data were analysed thematically. Findings indicated that the older persons linked respect to the constructs of care and love. It was also seen that certain behaviours, such as using appropriate language and appropriate forms of address, were important aspects of respect. Respect in the relationships between the older persons and middle adolescents has a reciprocal nature and the older persons portrayed attitudes of mutual respect in these interactions. They also expressed their need for middle adolescents to demonstrate their gratitude and, for their part, to have opportunities to model respectful behaviour to middle adolescents. Respect as a construct is experienced by the older persons as an interactional manifestation of the current definitions and forms of respect as presented in literature. It is recommended that similar studies be done with other groups of older persons in order to obtain a broader view of how members of economically vulnerable communities experience respect in their relationships with middle adolescents. The data in this study demonstrate what current literature says about respect, and adds to previous research by achieving an understanding of how older persons’ experience the construct rather than exploring only the definition of respect or how it presents in intergenerational relationships. / MSc (Research Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This study, which is part of a research project conducted to explore the experiences of quality of life of older people living in a residential facility, focuses specifically on the psychosocial needs of these residents. Psychosocial needs refer to the innate psychological nutriments that prompt older people to take purposeful, self-directed action in an attempt to satisfy these needs and ultimately foster well-being. These may include needs for mastery, acknowledgement, social interaction and care. In this study the term “older people” refers to individuals aged 60 years and older. The group of older people who participated in this study all live in a residential facility for older people. “Residential facility” refers to premises or a building where older people are provided with accommodation and access to 24-hour care. Previous research concerning the needs of older people focused mainly on their physical care, in the context of deteriorating health. Considering that many older people are leading healthy, vigorous lifestyles, however, it is also important to explore the psychosocial needs of the more functional older people in residential facilities. Psychosocial needs were initially described by Maslow, within a hierarchical system, whereby psychosocial needs emerge only when biological needs have been satisfied. In view of the exceptions described in the literature of older people who overcome the inevitable physical strains that accompany ageing, Maslow’s bottom-up approach is seen as restrictive in its view of older people. In the present study self-determination theory (SDT) has been found to be applicable in exploring psychosocial needs, because of its holistic and adaptive view of people possessing the potential to address their needs within a social environment. SDT views people as motivated to gratify their needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness. A qualitative approach was used to describe the psychosocial needs of the older people studied. The research was conducted in a residential facility for older people in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The older participants comprised 16 residents, including 3 males and 13 females, aged 65 and older. Data-gathering was conducted by using the Mmogo-method®. This required each participant to use a lump of clay, sticks and beads to make something that represents their experiences of life in the residential facility. Prompting questions were asked and each participant was given an opportunity to describe his or her visual presentation. Group discussions allowing for confirmation or revision of perspectives of experiences followed. Data were analysed by means of secondary, thematic and visual analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured by carefully applying specific guidelines which were produced by considering different models aimed at ensuring rigour in qualitative research. These guidelines included clear and coherent writing; conceptual coherence; ensuring a trustworthy procedure through member-checking, multiple perspectives and clarification, as well as the researcher’s attentiveness to her own biases. The research was approved by the ethical committee of North-West University. The researcher applied ethical guidelines as prescribed by the Health Professions Council of South Africa while the research was conducted, and afterwards. Findings revealed four psychosocial needs, namely a need for autonomy, interpersonal interaction within a specific context, a sense of safety, and transcendental needs. The need for autonomy included freedom of personal preference, independent living and active participation. On the interpersonal level, there was a need for general relationships, in which sharing, acknowledgement and caring were present (both instrumental and emotional), as well as close family and friendship relationships. The need for safety covers both physical and organisational safety. On the transcendental level, there is a need for space and opportunities to express and address spiritual needs. These findings may be used to facilitate the development of policies and programmes which aim to address the psychosocial needs of older people in residential facilities as well as in other living arrangements. / MSc (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This research formed part of a broader research project that explored respect in relationships between young female adults and older people (60+ years) in a South African context. Different themes emerged from this research such as the motivation younger people have for respecting older persons; as well as different forms of giving and receiving respect. This research will specifically focus on themes that emerged inductively about the relational context in which the experiences of respect were expressed and the challenges of respect in the interpersonal experiences. It has been recorded in literature on intergenerational relationships that respect is not only an essential element in these relationships but also that it contributes to constructive relationships. Most of the research about respect has been conducted in Asian and Western countries, while some research has also been done in Ghana, Africa. The above mentioned research findings identified specific behavioural forms of respect, and attitudes and/or emotions associated with respect. Furthermore it has been found that respect can either be earned or deserved, or not, depending on whether and to what extent the person concerned is considered to have met certain requirements. Little research has been done on how people, especially young female adults in South Africa, experience respect in intergenerational relationships. Experiences of respect between people from different generations always take place in an interpersonal context and therefore the Self-Interaction Group Theory (SIGT) was used to understand young female adults’ experiences of respect in relationships with older people. Following SIGT, for the purposes of this study respect is defined as the subjective experience of the relational interactions between people. The focus in this study falls on the experience of respect in relationships with older people from young female adults’ perspective. Traditionally female gender roles have been associated with care. However, these roles changed to more flexible gendered roles and today women are not able to adopt many different roles. The past generations’ women took care of their older parents, whereas in the present women also pursue careers and this may have an influence on their interactions with older people as they may not necessarily be able to take care of the older people anymore. The research project was approved by the Ethics Committee of the North-West University. A qualitative research method informed by an exploratory and descriptive approach was used in an attempt to describe the participants’ subjective experiences of respect in the relationships they have with older people. A purposive sample was used and 26 women (between 21 and 28 years old) who are post-graduate psychology university students in the North West, South Africa, participated in the study. The study used a homogenous group of participants in order to get a detailed picture of their experiences. Young adults are in a transitory phase of their lives and research indicated that it is important to investigate their attitudes towards older people because they are likely to form new values, because their lives and behaviours are more influenced by their peers and because they have less parental supervision. Data was collected in three data-gathering sessions over the period of three days. Textual and visual data was collected through the use of the Mmogo- method®, a projective visual research method which uses a focus group approach. The Mmogo- method® material consists of a lump of malleable clay, different sizes and colours of beads and dried grass stalks of different lengths. Participants are provided with the open-ended materials and based on an open-ended prompt, they are requested to create a visual representation, which in this research was: Please use the material provided and create anything that can tell us more about how you perceive respect in relation to a person, or persons older than 60 years of age. After the exercise participants were asked to explain what they have created. A collaborative effort of co-constructed meanings took place as the visual representation of each participant became the stimulus material for group discussions. The visual representations of participants were photographed and analysed using visual analysis, while the digital recordings of the individuals’ explanations of their visual representations as well as the group discussions were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured by applying four strategies, including: credibility, transferability, dependability and conformability of the research findings. The findings revealed that the relationship with older persons is subjectively described in terms of emotional or cognitive experiences and associated with specific relational contexts. In the familial and social context the experience of respect were linked with care and most of these relationships were described as affectionate/emotional. In the familial and social contexts, older persons were placed in a one-up position with the young adults, since the young adults want to obey and/or honour them. Some described the relationship as a relationship where they interacted as equals. In different contexts, work related, educational and familial, young adults expressed ambivalent emotions: some expressed admiration and love, while others expressed frustration and anger. In the work-related and educational relational contexts, the relationships were experienced as being formal and described in cognitive terms. In these relationships young adults expressed frustration and anger if their needs were not addressed based on how the relational context defined the relationship. For example in the educational contexts, the needs of the young adults were to get clarity on learning content, to receive support to reach their goals, and to reach emotional safety. Young female adults indicated that respect towards older persons is no longer based on the age of older persons. It rather depends on the reciprocal actions and reactions between young adults and older persons; and that it depends on how the relationship between the generational members develops over time, as well as the ability of generational members to bridge the distance between them and to adopt each other’s life worlds, whilst refraining from judgemental and stereotypical assessment of older persons. This study hence holds important implications for the creation of intergenerational programmes in order to enhance relationships between young adults and older people. A specific contribution of the findings is that when planning interventions intergenerational programmes should be designed to take into consideration the specific interpersonal context. Furthermore, the definitions of respect as held by both of the generational members should be considered in planning intergenerational interventions in specific interpersonal contexts. / MA (Research Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Literature on intergenerational relationships has indicated the importance of respect in these relationships. To date, research has focused mainly on defining the construct of respect or looking at how it presents itself within intergenerational relationships. Little attention has been paid to the experience of respect, leaving a gap, more specifically in the study of the way in which older persons experience respect within intergenerational relationships. Respect has been defined in current literature as a combination of behaviours, attitudes and feelings. Respect is always experienced in relationships between people and accordingly the self-interactional group theory (SIGT) was used as a theoretical framework for understanding older persons’ experience of respect in their relationships with middle adolescents. The focus was specifically placed on their relationships with middle adolescents because of rifts relating to their experience of relational interactions that have been found to exist in these relationships in studies focusing on older youth. Research was conducted in the economically vulnerable community of Vaalharts, situated in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, in which the importance of supportive relationships for older persons is especially relevant. The findings of the study could potentially lead to the development of programmes to strengthen these relationships. Twelve participants (9 female and 3 male) over the age of 60 took part in Mmogo-method® sessions in order to gain an understanding of their subjective experience of the construct of respect. By using the Mmogo-method®, visual data (photos of their presentations made for the Mmogo-method®) and textual data were obtained. In addition, self-reflective journals containing open-ended questions (completed voluntarily by the participants) added to the trustworthiness of the study by using more than one data-gathering method. All data were analysed to derive themes that painted a vivid picture of the older persons’ experience of respect. The photos taken during the Mmogo-method® sessions were visually analysed while textual data were analysed thematically. Findings indicated that the older persons linked respect to the constructs of care and love. It was also seen that certain behaviours, such as using appropriate language and appropriate forms of address, were important aspects of respect. Respect in the relationships between the older persons and middle adolescents has a reciprocal nature and the older persons portrayed attitudes of mutual respect in these interactions. They also expressed their need for middle adolescents to demonstrate their gratitude and, for their part, to have opportunities to model respectful behaviour to middle adolescents. Respect as a construct is experienced by the older persons as an interactional manifestation of the current definitions and forms of respect as presented in literature. It is recommended that similar studies be done with other groups of older persons in order to obtain a broader view of how members of economically vulnerable communities experience respect in their relationships with middle adolescents. The data in this study demonstrate what current literature says about respect, and adds to previous research by achieving an understanding of how older persons’ experience the construct rather than exploring only the definition of respect or how it presents in intergenerational relationships. / MSc (Research Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This study, which is part of a research project conducted to explore the experiences of quality of life of older people living in a residential facility, focuses specifically on the psychosocial needs of these residents. Psychosocial needs refer to the innate psychological nutriments that prompt older people to take purposeful, self-directed action in an attempt to satisfy these needs and ultimately foster well-being. These may include needs for mastery, acknowledgement, social interaction and care. In this study the term “older people” refers to individuals aged 60 years and older. The group of older people who participated in this study all live in a residential facility for older people. “Residential facility” refers to premises or a building where older people are provided with accommodation and access to 24-hour care. Previous research concerning the needs of older people focused mainly on their physical care, in the context of deteriorating health. Considering that many older people are leading healthy, vigorous lifestyles, however, it is also important to explore the psychosocial needs of the more functional older people in residential facilities. Psychosocial needs were initially described by Maslow, within a hierarchical system, whereby psychosocial needs emerge only when biological needs have been satisfied. In view of the exceptions described in the literature of older people who overcome the inevitable physical strains that accompany ageing, Maslow’s bottom-up approach is seen as restrictive in its view of older people. In the present study self-determination theory (SDT) has been found to be applicable in exploring psychosocial needs, because of its holistic and adaptive view of people possessing the potential to address their needs within a social environment. SDT views people as motivated to gratify their needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness. A qualitative approach was used to describe the psychosocial needs of the older people studied. The research was conducted in a residential facility for older people in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The older participants comprised 16 residents, including 3 males and 13 females, aged 65 and older. Data-gathering was conducted by using the Mmogo-method®. This required each participant to use a lump of clay, sticks and beads to make something that represents their experiences of life in the residential facility. Prompting questions were asked and each participant was given an opportunity to describe his or her visual presentation. Group discussions allowing for confirmation or revision of perspectives of experiences followed. Data were analysed by means of secondary, thematic and visual analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured by carefully applying specific guidelines which were produced by considering different models aimed at ensuring rigour in qualitative research. These guidelines included clear and coherent writing; conceptual coherence; ensuring a trustworthy procedure through member-checking, multiple perspectives and clarification, as well as the researcher’s attentiveness to her own biases. The research was approved by the ethical committee of North-West University. The researcher applied ethical guidelines as prescribed by the Health Professions Council of South Africa while the research was conducted, and afterwards. Findings revealed four psychosocial needs, namely a need for autonomy, interpersonal interaction within a specific context, a sense of safety, and transcendental needs. The need for autonomy included freedom of personal preference, independent living and active participation. On the interpersonal level, there was a need for general relationships, in which sharing, acknowledgement and caring were present (both instrumental and emotional), as well as close family and friendship relationships. The need for safety covers both physical and organisational safety. On the transcendental level, there is a need for space and opportunities to express and address spiritual needs. These findings may be used to facilitate the development of policies and programmes which aim to address the psychosocial needs of older people in residential facilities as well as in other living arrangements. / MSc (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Researchers often benefit from gathering data from participants without any regard for the participants’ needs. In other words, the data gathering process is often not reciprocal in nature, as the researcher is often the only beneficiary. The Mmogo-method® is proposed as a data gathering method that also benefits participants. Three distinct phases are distinguished in applying the Mmogo-method®. During the first phase the researcher gains entry into the research context an ethically sensitive manner. Participants are asked to arrange themselves into groups (not more than eight to ten people participate in a session). They are duly informed of the nature of the research topic and what it entails; namely that they will be requested to make visual representations of specific experiences by using unstructured materials such as malleable clay, dried straw and different colours and sizes of beads. The participants are also informed that only partial confidentially of the information that they share can be ensured because of the group context in which the data are obtained. The participants are, however, asked to treat all shared information as confidential. The Mmogo-method® is usually applied in a group context to allows the dynamics of group processes to inform and enrich the research context. The second phase is introduced by an open-ended prompt that requests the participants to use the unstructured material to visually represent their experiences. In this study, mental health workers were asked to visually represent their coping strategies. On completion of the visual representations, the third phase is initiated. A team of researchers (including counsellors and if needed interpreters) engage in a process of individual and group discussions. Individual participants explain the meaning of each object and action(s); the relationship between the objects and the relevance of the objects in relation to the research prompt; and finally the symbolic value of the objects. After the individual participant has explained the visual representation, the rest of the group is asked to complement the individual participant’s explanation with their perceptions or experiences. Little or no literature is available on how participants experience a visual research method (Mmogo-method®). In this study, the researcher used the Mmogo-method® to elicit mental health workers' coping strategies from a positive participatory perspective and to describe the participants’ experiences of participating in the Mmogo-method® as a data gathering method to elicit the coping strategies of the mental health workers. Mental health workers (telephone counsellors, trauma counsellors, social workers, social auxiliary workers and other professionals) are required to engage with the challenges their clients face and to assist them by means of psycho-social interventions on a daily basis. The mental health workers from Childline who work with children deal with clients who undergo various traumatic experiences, such as severe violence and neglect; physical, emotional and sexual abuse; abduction, homelessness and prostitution. The coping of these mental health workers is important because violence against children is one of the most prominent manifestations of violence in South Africa. More than half of the reported cases against children during the financial year of 2010 were sexual offences. There is a significant shortage of mental health workers to address children’s psycho-social needs in South Africa. Due to the traumatic nature of the mental health workers’ work, they often experience burnout, vicarious traumatisation and compassion fatigue. The management of Childline requested an investigation into the coping strategies of their mental health workers. Childline is a non-governmental organisation that provides a 24-hour toll-free helpline, as well as online counselling services to children and their families. Permission to conduct the research was obtained from the North-West University’s ethical committee, as well as from the heads of departments of the relevant mental health workers. The mental health workers from Childline were invited to participate in the research. The Mmogo-method® was specifically applied from a positive participatory approach and allowed for the positively focused subjective contributions of research participants to the research process. Qualitative research with a case study design was applied. Textual and visual data were gathered and analysed in two phases. First, by the researcher and participants during the research process, and second, by using thematic analysis for the textual data, and visual data analysis of the visual data. Findings revealed themes related to the coping strategies of the mental health workers on an intrapersonal and an interpersonal level, which is not the focus of this study. In terms of the application of the Mmogo-method®, the mental health workers experienced the research context of unconditional positive regard and acceptance as a therapeutic intervention. The applied method supported the mental health workers in making a positive appraisal of their coping strategies and environment. They gained insight into their level of appreciation for their current occupation and interpersonal relationships. They also became more aware of their coping strategies in these contexts. The positive and supportive research context, the material used in applying the method and the group processes experienced were identified as factors contributing to the therapeutic experience of the process. These aspects lead the mental health workers to awareness, maintaining their focus and allowing for shared experience. The findings highlighted that research is not only a matter of obtaining data from participants, but should also allow participants to benefit from the process. Further research is recommended to explore other methodologies that could serve a dual purpose of addressing the needs of both the researcher and participant. / MSc (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Researchers often benefit from gathering data from participants without any regard for the participants’ needs. In other words, the data gathering process is often not reciprocal in nature, as the researcher is often the only beneficiary. The Mmogo-method® is proposed as a data gathering method that also benefits participants. Three distinct phases are distinguished in applying the Mmogo-method®. During the first phase the researcher gains entry into the research context an ethically sensitive manner. Participants are asked to arrange themselves into groups (not more than eight to ten people participate in a session). They are duly informed of the nature of the research topic and what it entails; namely that they will be requested to make visual representations of specific experiences by using unstructured materials such as malleable clay, dried straw and different colours and sizes of beads. The participants are also informed that only partial confidentially of the information that they share can be ensured because of the group context in which the data are obtained. The participants are, however, asked to treat all shared information as confidential. The Mmogo-method® is usually applied in a group context to allows the dynamics of group processes to inform and enrich the research context. The second phase is introduced by an open-ended prompt that requests the participants to use the unstructured material to visually represent their experiences. In this study, mental health workers were asked to visually represent their coping strategies. On completion of the visual representations, the third phase is initiated. A team of researchers (including counsellors and if needed interpreters) engage in a process of individual and group discussions. Individual participants explain the meaning of each object and action(s); the relationship between the objects and the relevance of the objects in relation to the research prompt; and finally the symbolic value of the objects. After the individual participant has explained the visual representation, the rest of the group is asked to complement the individual participant’s explanation with their perceptions or experiences. Little or no literature is available on how participants experience a visual research method (Mmogo-method®). In this study, the researcher used the Mmogo-method® to elicit mental health workers' coping strategies from a positive participatory perspective and to describe the participants’ experiences of participating in the Mmogo-method® as a data gathering method to elicit the coping strategies of the mental health workers. Mental health workers (telephone counsellors, trauma counsellors, social workers, social auxiliary workers and other professionals) are required to engage with the challenges their clients face and to assist them by means of psycho-social interventions on a daily basis. The mental health workers from Childline who work with children deal with clients who undergo various traumatic experiences, such as severe violence and neglect; physical, emotional and sexual abuse; abduction, homelessness and prostitution. The coping of these mental health workers is important because violence against children is one of the most prominent manifestations of violence in South Africa. More than half of the reported cases against children during the financial year of 2010 were sexual offences. There is a significant shortage of mental health workers to address children’s psycho-social needs in South Africa. Due to the traumatic nature of the mental health workers’ work, they often experience burnout, vicarious traumatisation and compassion fatigue. The management of Childline requested an investigation into the coping strategies of their mental health workers. Childline is a non-governmental organisation that provides a 24-hour toll-free helpline, as well as online counselling services to children and their families. Permission to conduct the research was obtained from the North-West University’s ethical committee, as well as from the heads of departments of the relevant mental health workers. The mental health workers from Childline were invited to participate in the research. The Mmogo-method® was specifically applied from a positive participatory approach and allowed for the positively focused subjective contributions of research participants to the research process. Qualitative research with a case study design was applied. Textual and visual data were gathered and analysed in two phases. First, by the researcher and participants during the research process, and second, by using thematic analysis for the textual data, and visual data analysis of the visual data. Findings revealed themes related to the coping strategies of the mental health workers on an intrapersonal and an interpersonal level, which is not the focus of this study. In terms of the application of the Mmogo-method®, the mental health workers experienced the research context of unconditional positive regard and acceptance as a therapeutic intervention. The applied method supported the mental health workers in making a positive appraisal of their coping strategies and environment. They gained insight into their level of appreciation for their current occupation and interpersonal relationships. They also became more aware of their coping strategies in these contexts. The positive and supportive research context, the material used in applying the method and the group processes experienced were identified as factors contributing to the therapeutic experience of the process. These aspects lead the mental health workers to awareness, maintaining their focus and allowing for shared experience. The findings highlighted that research is not only a matter of obtaining data from participants, but should also allow participants to benefit from the process. Further research is recommended to explore other methodologies that could serve a dual purpose of addressing the needs of both the researcher and participant. / MSc (Clinical Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Studies of MHWs, (social workers, social auxiliary workers, trauma counsellors, and telephone counsellors), who work with trauma and stress, often focus on pathological symptoms and on the need to develop psycho-education programmes (Figley, 2002; Johnson & Hunter, 1997; Mac Ritchie & Leibowitz, 2010; Mikulincer, 1994; Stiles, 2002). A gap was identified how MHWs, who continuously intervene with traumatised children, cope with the stressors associated with their work. The purpose of this research was to explore the coping strategies of Mental Health Workers (MHWs) exposed to Secondary Trauma (ST)as a result of having to deal day to day with children (younger than 18) who have experienced trauma, including sexual, physical and emotional abuse, as well as the witness of violence. The MHWs’ coping responses were investigated using a qualitative case study approach. The investigation showed how MHWs constructed their realities by examining their coping strategies and the individual meanings they assigned to these. A convenience sample, based on the availability of participants, was selected. Nine women and one man, ranging in age from 26 to 57 years, employed at Childline Gauteng, participated in the research. The Mmogo-Method®, a projective visual research technique, explored the MHWs’ coping experiences through qualitative data collection methods. Visual and textual data were gathered and analysed thematically. It was found that the MHWs at Childline Gauteng displayed two main coping styles, namely intrapersonal and relational coping strategies. In the face of their daily stressors, MHWs managed to cope successfully by using strategies that are embedded in their daily activities. Their ability to find alternative ways to cope, despite continuous exposure to children’s trauma, allowed the MHWs to fulfil their work obligations. Their intrapersonal coping strategies reflected an ability to draw on their inner resources. Being aware of their environment and how it affects them, MHWs were able to regulate themselves and their environments by adopting positive attitudes. These attitudes, and the MHWs’ dispositions, positively affected their outlook on life. Moreover, MHWs maintained a healthy distance from their stressful environment by means of meaningful disengagement. Meaningful disengagement was fundamental to creating solitude as a coping strategy. Personal and professional boundaries, self-care and being able to draw on spirituality were further coping resources. MHWs’ discussions about finding meaning in their work revealed that they would not be able to do their work if they did not experience it as spiritually significant. Drawing on external resources, relational coping strategies included supportive relationships with family, friends and colleagues. Reciprocal unconditional acceptance significantly contributed to coping because it was important for MHWs to experience family and friends' attitudes as supportive and non-judgemental. MHWs encountered an organisational culture of care in the form of freedom to interact with colleagues and managers and sharing experiences. This interaction contributed to successful coping because MHWs felt comfort in the knowledge that they were not alone when dealing with children's trauma. This interaction facilitated coping because MHWs were able to interface successfully with their environment, even in difficult circumstances. In conclusion, the MHWs provided nuanced descriptions of the ways in which they experienced coping strategies. They coped with the demands of their profession by using internal and external resources, including intrapersonal and relational coping. / MA (Research Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Studies of MHWs, (social workers, social auxiliary workers, trauma counsellors, and telephone counsellors), who work with trauma and stress, often focus on pathological symptoms and on the need to develop psycho-education programmes (Figley, 2002; Johnson & Hunter, 1997; Mac Ritchie & Leibowitz, 2010; Mikulincer, 1994; Stiles, 2002). A gap was identified how MHWs, who continuously intervene with traumatised children, cope with the stressors associated with their work. The purpose of this research was to explore the coping strategies of Mental Health Workers (MHWs) exposed to Secondary Trauma (ST)as a result of having to deal day to day with children (younger than 18) who have experienced trauma, including sexual, physical and emotional abuse, as well as the witness of violence. The MHWs’ coping responses were investigated using a qualitative case study approach. The investigation showed how MHWs constructed their realities by examining their coping strategies and the individual meanings they assigned to these. A convenience sample, based on the availability of participants, was selected. Nine women and one man, ranging in age from 26 to 57 years, employed at Childline Gauteng, participated in the research. The Mmogo-Method®, a projective visual research technique, explored the MHWs’ coping experiences through qualitative data collection methods. Visual and textual data were gathered and analysed thematically. It was found that the MHWs at Childline Gauteng displayed two main coping styles, namely intrapersonal and relational coping strategies. In the face of their daily stressors, MHWs managed to cope successfully by using strategies that are embedded in their daily activities. Their ability to find alternative ways to cope, despite continuous exposure to children’s trauma, allowed the MHWs to fulfil their work obligations. Their intrapersonal coping strategies reflected an ability to draw on their inner resources. Being aware of their environment and how it affects them, MHWs were able to regulate themselves and their environments by adopting positive attitudes. These attitudes, and the MHWs’ dispositions, positively affected their outlook on life. Moreover, MHWs maintained a healthy distance from their stressful environment by means of meaningful disengagement. Meaningful disengagement was fundamental to creating solitude as a coping strategy. Personal and professional boundaries, self-care and being able to draw on spirituality were further coping resources. MHWs’ discussions about finding meaning in their work revealed that they would not be able to do their work if they did not experience it as spiritually significant. Drawing on external resources, relational coping strategies included supportive relationships with family, friends and colleagues. Reciprocal unconditional acceptance significantly contributed to coping because it was important for MHWs to experience family and friends' attitudes as supportive and non-judgemental. MHWs encountered an organisational culture of care in the form of freedom to interact with colleagues and managers and sharing experiences. This interaction contributed to successful coping because MHWs felt comfort in the knowledge that they were not alone when dealing with children's trauma. This interaction facilitated coping because MHWs were able to interface successfully with their environment, even in difficult circumstances. In conclusion, the MHWs provided nuanced descriptions of the ways in which they experienced coping strategies. They coped with the demands of their profession by using internal and external resources, including intrapersonal and relational coping. / MA (Research Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014