A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Drama Therapy) November 2017 / The research consists of a practical arts-based research component and a research report that surveys the practice. This document serves as the written element of the research and investigates the key theoretical standpoints, methodologies applied and creative outcomes. The research aimed to explore the dynamics of adults and play within Drama Therapy by investigating the relationship between six adult women and their personal play histories. It questioned what play meant to the individual and invited her to share her most memorable playful moments through various forms of expression in a number of individual interview-discussions. Through a practical arts-based research approach, an ethnographic narrative inquiry unfolded about women, play, childhood memory and present adulthood. The research took these shared narratives and presented them back to the six participants through various playful methods. With the use of methodologies such as inter-subjectivity, playful listening, narrative enquiry and Playback Theatre, the research offered a series of representational reflections of the shared stories. The creative outcomes were presented in a storybook representation which used imagery and poetic rhyme to document each narrative, a stop-motion film that used moving image and voice, and an presentation-installation that invited each woman to engage with her playful inner-self reflected back to her. The report is written with these playful elements which attempt to mirror the creative representational outcomes, inviting the reader to access his or her playful self. Thematically, three key factors presented themselves throughout the five-stage research process. These include the emotional experience associated with play, the notion of an inner-child or childhood and play within context. All three elements are discussed in the research report, with the use of the contextual factor symbolised by road signs to represent the intersectionality of play and its relationship to the individual. The research presents a number of key contributing factors to the discussion of adults and play in Drama Therapy. It attempts to explore alternative ways of delving into therapeutic process while respecting individual perspectives and personal narratives. It highlights the fundamental value of play within a drama therapeutic paradigm and how the notion of play and play memories contribute to the adult self. It also affirms the role of arts-based practice as a powerful tool for validation and witnessing of clients. / XL2018

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This thesis enacts a response, rather than provides an answer, to questions of ‘what we are’ and ‘what we might become’, in the context of a poststructural enquiry into (my) practices of art psychotherapy and narrative therapy. My project is inspired by therapeutic meetings with many people over many years, and by the intellectual work of Michael Foucault, Judith Butler and other poststructural theorists, particularly those working at the intersections of poststructuralism with feminist and postcolonial theory. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2001. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Title from certificate page: Both sides of the coin : comparative analyses of narrative process patterns in poor and good outcome dyads engaged in brief experiential psychotherapy for depression. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 182-193). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ66392.

This article sets out to explore the hermeneutical problems in the narrative therapeutic theory of Michael White by investigating his understanding of "story" within its interpretative context. In both White's interpretative approach and his “story" are inconsistencies rooted in a meta-theoretical tension based on his account of the autonomy of a person. This tension lies between the postulation of contingency and the pressure of stability. This is shown by testing the sustainability of White's therapeutic approach against the logical consistency of the underlying theoretical and philosophical foundation. The fundamental meta-theoretical tensions are brought to the fore by means of these contradictions. / Thesis (M.A. (Philosophy))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

This study investigated the effects of a process of metaphor creation on the meaningful understanding of a significant past experience - that of owning and living in a condominium that had been damaged because of excessive rain and poor building practises and/or materials. This natural disaster has affected the Lower Mainland of British Columbia predominantly, and the media have called it "The Leaky Condo Crisis." Theory states that metaphors can be helpful in changing how people feel toward, think about, and deal with their experiences. In this way metaphors can help people toward a more meaningful understanding of those experiences. In order to explore these ideas, a structured intervention was developed and called the MetaForm. It involves the creation of metaphors for an experience in order to explore the similarities and differences between the metaphor and the experience to derive meaning from or add meaning to the experience. To this end, each of four co-researchers was interviewed twice. The Intervention Interview introduced the MetaForm. The participants related their condominium stories, then they created metaphors for various parts of those stories. These parts were named after the elements of drama: setting, mood, props, cast, plot and theme. When a coresearcher suggested a metaphor, it was elaborated into a full story or drama by that coresearcher and myself. The Inquiry Interview explored the MetaForm for evidence of meaningful understanding. Participants reported that the MetaForm intervention helped them, to varying degrees and in different ways, to develop a more meaningful understanding of their experiences of owning and living in water-damaged condominiums.