Text in English / This research explores the meaning of the first and second-order therapeutic stances with reference to the therapist's professional and personal development. The dominant positivist paradigm was reflected in the therapist's initial position of expert observer, outside of the observed. The observed phenomena were a group of children suffering from thalassemia major, a terminal genetic disease, and their mothers. The initial idea of short-term intervention and focus on the observed evolved into six-year journey where the observer and the observed became an interconnected unit of observation, understanding and change. A first-order stance led to therapeutic stuckness, where the therapist's confrontation with her therapeutic failure and the limitations of the dominant paradigm provoked a deconstruction of the expert position and promoted a self-reflexive therapeutic stance. The author's self-searching process took her back to her personal self, her family of origin and the ''wounded healer". The researcher moved from an initial disconnection between her professional and personal selves to an awareness of the interface between the two and, ultimately, to a unification of her professional and personal selves. Such development involved an individuation process moving from a narcissistic belief in her objective stance towards a therapeutic stance where she sees herself less as a powerful agent of change and moves to an increasingly higher order of integration of the professional and personal selves (Skovholt & Ronnestad, 1992). The process with the children and mothers shifted from a focus on compliance and medical issues to more personal and emotional stories. The therapist's participation and collaborative stance created a context for change, where greatly improved medical compliance was just one of the many transformations experienced by all the participants. The researcher speculates that development of a second-order stance requires second-order change, which comes "at the end of long, often frustrating mental and emotional labor" (Watzlawick et al., 1974, p. 23), promoting integration between the professional and personal selves of the therapist. The researcher therefore contends that this process has important implications for psychotherapy training, supervision and continuing education. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Text in Afrikaans / Hierdie navorsing het die verband tussen vroee adolessenterugbyspelers se doelorientering en selfkonsep, empiries en in die literatuur, ondersoek. Die literatuurondersoek het getoon dat doelorientering oar twee komponente beskik, naamlik taakbetrokkenheid en egobetrokkenheid. Taakbetrokke sportdeelnemers fokus op vaardigheidsontwikkeling en gebruik hulle eie prestasies as maatstaf vir sukses. Hulle beleef sukses wanneer 'n taak bemeester is, leer plaasvind, of daar 'n verbetering in die uitvoering van die taak is. Sukses word toegeskryf aan die mate van inspanning gelewer. Egobetrokke sportdeelnemers fokus op die wenmotief, gebruik normatiewe vergelyking as maatstaf vir prestasie, en beleef sukses wanneer hulle eie prestasies gunstig met die van ander kan vergelyk. Sukses word aan aangebore talent toegeskryf. Die empiriese ondersoek het bevind dat taakbetrokkenheid positief verband hou met die globale, persoonlike, en sosiale self. Egobetrokkenheid hou negatief verband met die fisieke self, en positief verband met kompetisie-angs. / The research investigated, in the literature and empirically, the possible relation between the goal orientation of male adolescent rugby players and their self-concept. The literature study indicated that goal orientation has two components, namely task involvement and ego involvement. In task-involved sport participation, skills development is emphasized, evaluation of achievement is self-referenced, and success experienced when learning takes place, a task is mastered, or when there is improvement in the execution of tasks. Success is attributed to effort. In ego-involved sport participation objective outcomes are emphasized (i.e. winning), evaluation of achievement is norm-based, and success experienced when own achievements are favourably compared to those of other sport participants. Success is attributed to natural ability. The empirical study indicated a positive relation between task-involved sport participation and the global, personal, and social self. A negative relation between ego-involved sport participation and the physical self, and a positive relation between ego involvement and competition-anxiety was found. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Spesialisering in Voorligting)

Text in English / This research explores the meaning of the first and second-order therapeutic stances with reference to the therapist's professional and personal development. The dominant positivist paradigm was reflected in the therapist's initial position of expert observer, outside of the observed. The observed phenomena were a group of children suffering from thalassemia major, a terminal genetic disease, and their mothers. The initial idea of short-term intervention and focus on the observed evolved into six-year journey where the observer and the observed became an interconnected unit of observation, understanding and change. A first-order stance led to therapeutic stuckness, where the therapist's confrontation with her therapeutic failure and the limitations of the dominant paradigm provoked a deconstruction of the expert position and promoted a self-reflexive therapeutic stance. The author's self-searching process took her back to her personal self, her family of origin and the ''wounded healer". The researcher moved from an initial disconnection between her professional and personal selves to an awareness of the interface between the two and, ultimately, to a unification of her professional and personal selves. Such development involved an individuation process moving from a narcissistic belief in her objective stance towards a therapeutic stance where she sees herself less as a powerful agent of change and moves to an increasingly higher order of integration of the professional and personal selves (Skovholt & Ronnestad, 1992). The process with the children and mothers shifted from a focus on compliance and medical issues to more personal and emotional stories. The therapist's participation and collaborative stance created a context for change, where greatly improved medical compliance was just one of the many transformations experienced by all the participants. The researcher speculates that development of a second-order stance requires second-order change, which comes "at the end of long, often frustrating mental and emotional labor" (Watzlawick et al., 1974, p. 23), promoting integration between the professional and personal selves of the therapist. The researcher therefore contends that this process has important implications for psychotherapy training, supervision and continuing education. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)