A dissertation presented on the availability of Pastoral Care and Counselling for mothers whose previously normal, healthy children, developed epilepsy and became intellectually handicapped. The dissertation covers the mothers' reaction to their children's condition, the support they did or did not receive through Pastoral Care and Counselling and the theoretical perspective on pastoral care and counselling. Finally, the dissertation offers a challenge to the Church to seek ways of forming support groups to those suffering from grief. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2003.

This study focuses on the issue of Pastoral Care and Counselling to the parishioners under Church discipline in the North Western Diocese (NWD) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT). The dissertation is concerned with the understanding of Church discipline in the Old Testament, New Testament, from the Early Church up to the present day. The study focuses especially on the history and the practice of Church discipline in the North Western Diocese. The main body of this study is in chapters four and five. Chapter four discusses the danger and the blessings for a parishioner who is under Church discipline. Chapter five discusses the avenues by which to care for and counsel parishioners who are under Church discipline. It is the writer's understanding that the methodology used on how to care for and counsel parishioners under Church discipline can be applied to all parishioners in the Diocese. It is the emphasis of the researcher of this dissertation that there is inadequate care of souls due to lack of training and discipline in the Church. We need discipline in order to challenge our defense patterns of behaviour in the understanding ourselves and others and in knowing and learning to be responsible Christian people. The study calls the Church of the North Western Diocese to rethink the whole issue of how to practise Church discipline in such a way that parishioners are not judged, but comforted by caring and counselling. It is the writer's understanding that the Church has kept discipline because it maintains that God's grace is not cheap. Grace is not a licence to sin. The true aim of Church discipline is to help the sinner to restore his or her relationship 11 with Christ and the Church. To do this, parishioners under Church discipline are urged to repent of their sin and live in fellowship with God. If parishioners under Church discipline refuse to repent they have to carry the fate for their sin. There is no mercy without repentance. It is the writer's belief that the healthy practice of pastoral care and counselling in the North Western Diocese will depend upon the regaining of a balance and the interaction between healing, sustaining, guiding and reconciling models. Through this understanding, pastoral care becomes a Christian response to humanity's need. Therefore one can conclude that pastoral care and counselling can balance and heal the effect of Church discipline. Although this study focuses on the North Western Diocese (NWD), the questions and problems concerning the issue of Church discipline and the way to approach it might be similar in many Churches in Tanzania and also in Africa. Unless otherwise indicated, scriptural quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION (NRSV), copyright @ 1989 by the Division of Christians Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

Thesis (MTh)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Existential crises are now intertwined with the paradigmatic framework and noetic system of people’s lives in their search for meaning, significance and value. In this respect, a close connection exists between thought processes and values. The core issue in the research is to unlock the hermeneutical connection between thinking patterns, philosophical systems, and meaning structures at the level of noetic understanding. The basic hypothesis is that spiritual healing is realized within the qualitative interaction between systemic-hermeneutic networks and the attempt to determine how certain thinking patterns within frameworks, especially schemas of interpretation, the behaviour and attitudes of people regarding the meaning of life is determined. In this regard philosophical counselling in pastoral care can play a crucial therapeutic role. Philosophical counselling differs from Rational Emotive Therapy in the sense that meaning perception comprises more than rational thought categories (cognition) with the possible pathology of irrational thoughts. Sense meaning refers to attitudes as determined by idea-moderate wisdom systems such as embedded in cultural convention, attitudes and value systems that motivate behaviour, and a form of calling and commitment determined by existential pathos. The connection between religious thought and the dimension of God-images must be investigated. In this regard the research works with the basic presupposition that philosophical counselling can play a supportive role in a pastoral diagnosis that focuses on distinguishing between appropriate and inappropriate God-images. It is to examine how ideas about God’s involvement in human suffering (theodicy question) processes suffering within existential realities. Particular attention is given to how P. Raabe’s four-stage model of philosophical counselling can play a role in pastoral care and the making of pastoral diagnosis. Therefore, to look at the connection between faith, hope and meaning. We also look at the dynamics between noetic philosophy, life convictions, life perspectives and processes of conceptualization in a pastoral epistemology. In this respect the research joins the classical connection between wisdom and insight with the tradition of cura animarum (soul care) and the current approach in pastoral theology to enlarge cura animarum with cura vitae (the healing of life). / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Eksistensiële krisisse is nou verweef met die paradigmatiese raamwerk en noetiese verwysingsisteem van mense se lewensoortuigings in hul soeke na na sin, betekenis en waarde. In hierdie opsig bestaan daar ‘n noue verband tussen denkprosesse en waardes. Die kernvraagstuk in die navorsing is om die hermeneutiese verband tussen denkpatrone, filosofiese stelsels en betekenisontsluiting op die vlak van noetiese verstaan te ontsluit. Die basiese hipotese is dat spirituele heling gerealiseer word binne die kwalitatiese interaksie tussen sistemies-hermeneutiee netwerke en die poging om vas te stel hoe dat bepaalde patrone van denkraamwerke, en veral skemas van interpretasie, menselike gedrag en houdings ten opsigte van lewensin bepaal. In hier die verband kan filosofiese berading in pastorale sorg ‘n beslissende terapeutiese rol speel. Filosofiese berading verskil van Rasioneel Emotiewe Terapie in die sin dat dat betekenis/sin meer omvattend is as rasionele denkkategorieë (kognisises) met die moontlike patologie van irrasionele gedagtes. Sin verwys na houdings soos bepaal word deur idee-matige wysheidsisteme soos ingebed in kulturle konvensies, gesindhede en waardestelsels wat gedrag motiveer en ‘n vorm van roeping en toewyding (eksistensiële patos) profileer. Die konneksie tussen religieuse denke en die dimensie van Godsvoorstellinge word ondersoek. In dié verband werk die navorsing met die basiese voorveronderstelling dat filosofiese berading ‘n ondersteunende rol kan speel in ‘n pastorale diagnose wat daarop fokus om tussen toepaslike en ontoepaslike Godsvoorstellinge te onderskei. Dit wil veral kyk na hoe idees oor God se betrokkenheid by menslike lyding (teodiseevraagstuk) die verwerking van lyding binne eksistensiële realiteite bepaal. Daar word veral andag gegee aan hoe P. Raabe se vier fasemodel van filososfiese berading ‘n rol kan speel in pastorale versorging en die maak van pastorale diagnoses. Daarom dat gekyk word na die verband: geloof, hoop en singewing. Daar word ook gekyk na die dinamika tussen noeties-filosofiese lewensoortuigings/lewensperspektiewe en prosesse van konseptualisering in ‘n pastorale epistemologie. In dié opsig sluit die navorsing aan by die klassieke verband tussen wysheid en insig binne die tradisie van cura animarum en die hedendaagse poging in pastorale teologie om cura animarum te verruim met cura vitae (die heling van lewe).

Abstract not available. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1987.

The SANDF organization is divided into four arms of services i.e. SA Army (South African Army), SAAF (South African Air Force), SAMHS (South African Health Military Services), and the SA NAVY (South African Navy). SANDF soldiers have volunteered to work in these four arms of the services. SANDF soldiers are mandated to deploy (either internally or externally) as part of their professional duty and to attend military courses (short and long courses) for promotional purposes in training units. Since the duration of deployments are six months or longer, some of the soldiers are unable to cope with separation from their spouses and they decide to have extra-marital affairs. Some of those who attend long courses also end up having extra-marital affairs. Chaplains who are deployed and those who are working in training units always experience these illicit immoralities that are taking place amongst SANDF soldiers. These illicit immoralities are posing a great challenge and threat to many good marriages of SANDF soldiers. This practice of extra-marital affairs caused some of the soldiers to divorce their spouses. Some of the soldiers’ spouses also divorced their husbands because they could not cope with long periods of separations. The main aim of this study is to equip and guide chaplains to empower SANDF soldiers and their spouses. Chaplains who are equipped will be able to be proficient in their areas of responsibilities to sustain the marriages of the SANDF members. A soldier who has been empowered spiritually by his chaplain will be able to be resilient to work in diverse conditions and to make a sound ethical moral decision. He/she will also display a high standard of discipline during deployments and courses. He/she will remain a loyal and faithful asset of the SANDF organization as well as his/her family. / PhD (Pastoral Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The SANDF organization is divided into four arms of services i.e. SA Army (South African Army), SAAF (South African Air Force), SAMHS (South African Health Military Services), and the SA NAVY (South African Navy). SANDF soldiers have volunteered to work in these four arms of the services. SANDF soldiers are mandated to deploy (either internally or externally) as part of their professional duty and to attend military courses (short and long courses) for promotional purposes in training units. Since the duration of deployments are six months or longer, some of the soldiers are unable to cope with separation from their spouses and they decide to have extra-marital affairs. Some of those who attend long courses also end up having extra-marital affairs. Chaplains who are deployed and those who are working in training units always experience these illicit immoralities that are taking place amongst SANDF soldiers. These illicit immoralities are posing a great challenge and threat to many good marriages of SANDF soldiers. This practice of extra-marital affairs caused some of the soldiers to divorce their spouses. Some of the soldiers’ spouses also divorced their husbands because they could not cope with long periods of separations. The main aim of this study is to equip and guide chaplains to empower SANDF soldiers and their spouses. Chaplains who are equipped will be able to be proficient in their areas of responsibilities to sustain the marriages of the SANDF members. A soldier who has been empowered spiritually by his chaplain will be able to be resilient to work in diverse conditions and to make a sound ethical moral decision. He/she will also display a high standard of discipline during deployments and courses. He/she will remain a loyal and faithful asset of the SANDF organization as well as his/her family. / PhD (Pastoral Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Professional counselling is scarcely available and hardly affordable for the vast majority of the South African society. However, clergy could be a source of help available for those who may not afford treatment expenses for consulting psychologists and psychiatrists. This study looked at the role that clergy working in pastoral situations in a mainline church in the province of KwaZulu-Natal play in the provision of mental health. A questionnaire survey was distributed to 52 licensed clergy investigating the types of problems presented to clergy, how clergy respond to their parishioners’ emotional and psychological problems, and how confident and how competent they feel in dealing with the problems presented to them. It investigated factors that enhance and hinder the helping process. To analyze and interpret the data, a series of statistical procedures were run using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and qualitative content analysis. Findings indicated that a wide variety of emotional and psychological problems were presented to clergy, including bereavement, alcohol or substance abuse, marital conflict, divorce and relationship problems. Clergy had a very positive attitude towards their role in counselling, and its importance in their ministry; however, the training of clergy has been considered insufficient to meet the needs of parishioners with emotional and psychological problems. Clergy reported a high level of perceived self-efficacy that seemed inconsistent with the training clergy have in emotional and psychological difficulties. Clergy tended to refer more severe psychological difficulties to either government, Non-Governmental Organisations or Faith-Based Organisations for specialised intervention. No formal support was reported to be available to clergy who engage in counselling although a large proportion of clergy mentioned getting support from fellow priests. The discussion of findings is focussed on empowering clergy to continue providing counselling for common emotional and psychological difficulties for their parishioners. Clergy may be a valuable resource in promoting mental health of their community members. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

One purpose of teamwork is to pool the skills of individuals in order to produce a better result than that which could be achieved by each individual working on their own. The total effect should therefore be greater. Such sharing of knowledge permits the development of multidisciplinary teamwork. However, the mere existence of a number of different professionals does not guarantee teamwork. Traditional professional boundaries may be threatened and such interchange will only take place in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. Multiple individual consultations may lead to confusion about who is responsible for what. It may also lead to the possibility of repetition and overlap. Teamwork therefore is seldom easy but can be satisfying despite some personal loss of professional autonomy. The multi-disciplinary approach is an opportunity for supporting a patient within the framework of realistic expectations for the outcome of any intervention for a patient or family. The biopsychopastoral approach to patient care is intimately associated with psychology, medicine and theology. This approach differentiate the following separate aspects: emotional care, informational care and counselling. Although the final goal of therapy the ultimate well-being of the patient is, each of the discipliners in the team should have separate clear objectives. Problems are however always complex and changing and no person in the team is likely to have all the answers all the time. The biopsychopastoral model provides an approach to the understanding of the physical disease, psychological problems and theological questions, and of their assessment and management. It outlines the way that all the systems function, whether they are biological, psychological or theological and views health care problems in a holistic way. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1999.

No abstract available / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

Thesis (M.Th. Theology)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998