Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Recovery in schizophrenia was regarded, for a very long time, as a somewhat unattainable goal. In addition, the de-emphasis of the subjective experience of the person living with schizophrenia created an environment where studies on the experience of recovery was disregarded. The dawn of the civil rights movement in the 1960s paved the way for the recovery movement in mental health. A new emphasis was placed on the person living with schizophrenia and his or her individual experience. Together with this, the deinstitutionalisation of long-term patients following the introduction of anti-psychotic medication allowed for recovery in schizophrenia to become a more widely accepted concept. Against this background, this study seemed crucial and focused on how seven participants experienced their recovery from first-episode psychosis in schizophrenia. Each participant was interviewed twice, the interviews transcribed and then analysed with the use of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. It was found that support and its natural corollary, having to care for another, are possibly the greatest contributors to the recovery of persons faced with mental illness. Participants highlighted the important role of spirituality in their recovery, despite it being generally regarded as a controversial topic. Since spirituality has the ability to build resilience, it cannot and should not be overlooked. Stigma was found to be ingrained and pervasive, as it so often is for persons faced with mental illness. It can be a barrier to recovery. The retention or rediscovery of the abilities of those challenged by mental illness was seen as a determining factor for recovery, since it (re)introduces a sense of agency. In conclusion, and without fail, all the participants agreed that talking about their experiences aided them. This points to the fact that there can be no question as to the value of the narrative in the process of recovery. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Herstel (recovery) in skisofrenie is vir 'n lang tyd beskou as 'n ietwat onbereikbare doel. Hiermee saam is die subjektiewe belewenis van die persoon wat met skisofrenie saamleef al minder van waarde geag. Dit het 'n omgewing geskep waar die studie van die belewenis van herstel geminag is. Die opkoms van die burgerregtebeweging in die 1960s het die weg gebaan vir die herstelbeweging in geestesgesondheid. 'n Hernude klem is geplaas op die persoon wat met skisofrenie saamleef en sy of haar indiwiduele belewenis. Tesame hiermee, het die ontslag van langtermynpasiënte uit institusionele sorg as gevolg van die bekendstelling van anti-psigotiese medikasie daartoe gelei dat herstel in skisofrenie meer algemeen aanvaar is. Teen hierdie agtergrond is hierdie studie as noodsaaklik beskou en het dit gefokus op hoe sewe deelnemers hul herstel van „n eerste psigotiese episode beleef. Daar is twee onderhoude met elke deelnemer gevoer. Hierdie onderhoude is getranskribeer en daarna geanaliseer met behulp van Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Daar is gevind dat ondersteuning en daarmee saam, om „n ander te versorg, waarskynlik die grootste bydraende faktore is tot die herstel van persone wat deur geestessiektes uitgedaag word. Die deelnemers het die rol van spiritualiteit, wat dikwels as 'n omstrede onderwerp beskou word, beklemtoon. Aangesien dit kan bydra tot veerkragtigheid, kan en moet dit nie oorgesien word nie. Stigma is diepgewortel en deurdringend bevind, soos dit so dikwels is vir dié wat geestessiektes in die gesig staar. Dit kan 'n hindernis tot herstel wees. Die behoud of herontdekking van die vermoëns van dié wat deur geestessiektes uitgedaag word is 'n bepalende faktor, aangesien dit (weer) 'n gevoel van beheer oor die eie aksies (“sense of agency”) inlei, wat so deurslaggewend is tot herstel. Ter afsluiting, en sonder uitsondering, het al die deelnemers saamgestem dat om oor hul belewenisse te praat hulle gehelp het. Derhalwe, kan die waarde van die narratief in die proses van herstel nie betwyfel word nie.

The aim of the current investigation is to explore potential subtypes of depressive symptomatology from a phenomenological vantage point, focusing on dimensions of positive human functioning and character strengths. The study examines distinct presentational depressive symptom clusters in light of recent research on developmental depression—defined as depressive symptomatology that may characterize periods of major life transition, existential upheaval, and personal growth. To inductively derive clusters, unique homogeneous classes are explored across depressive and positive psychological variables within a large heterogeneous sample of 3,806 emerging adults (aged 18-25, mean = 20.0, SD = 1.9). The present investigation utilizes two latent class analysis (LCA) models, both interpreted in light of the developmental depression hypothesis. Phase I examines a LCA model containing three depressive symptomatology clusters, including mood/anhedonia, somatic, and cognitive areas of depressive functioning. Average scores on spiritual, existential, positive psychological, and relational covariate variables are examined across classes. Phase II produces a LCA model that combines salient depressive symptomatology and positive psychological variables from Phase I into a unified model. Results suggest that distinct subtypes of depression may exist throughout emerging adulthood. An interpretation of these results that supports the developmental depression hypothesis is proposed.

Over the past thirty years, academic dialogue on the relationships between science and religion within historical, theological and philosophical contexts has flourished, with the importance of this dialogue being positively expressed. In particular, at the intersection of psychology and religion there is a triple relationship between these domains and in this thesis, we bring the Hindu tradition of Classical Yoga into this discourse, aiming for a psychological understanding of the Yogasutra of Patañjali as the primary text of this tradition. With a 'psychology in religion' perspective we identify key psychological concepts in the first six sutra of the text, explicate and explore its psychological dimension, through referencing with other key sutra or aphorisms in the Yogasutra. With a robust methodology consisting of a hermeneutic and phenomenological based close reading of the text and rigorous conceptual analysis, we construct a detailed model of the mind contextualised within the principles and practice of Yoga. We discuss the modifications and states of the mind, the underlying subliminal factors; the nature of embodiment, identity and subjective experience, and the affective and volitional aspects of the individual, as explicated from the text. In Section Three of this thesis we take a dialogical and comparative approach at the intersection of psychology and religion. Csikszentmihalyi has asserted that there is a close resemblance between Yoga and Flow, the latter being developed within the domain of Western Positive Psychology. We carry out a detailed comparative analysis of the phenomenology of Flow and Samadhi presented within a proposed methodology and framework of dimensions of subjectivity and consciousness, to investigate this claim. Clarifying the conceptual differences, establishing parallels and demonstrating common topographical and functional areas in the two phenomena, opens the possibility for an empirical investigation, which we propose. Finally, we point out the contributions of this study and suggest future directions for research in this field.

Thesis (MA(Clinical Psychology)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-91).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Dept. of Psychology, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 304-349).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-111).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 269-282).

The purpose of this research was to gain understanding of women's experience of depression using a phenomenological-hermeneutic approach. Data was obtained from psychotherapy sessions with seven women who were diagnosed as clinically depressed. The sessions were audiotaped and then transcribed. The transcripts were analyzed using Van Manen's approach. Several interesting themes emerged from these transcripts: (a) living environment, (b) experience of time, (c) intimate relationships, (d) the body out of balance, (e) language, (f) medication, (g) symptoms, (h) distortions of thought, (i) telling the story, (j) from victim to survivor, and (k) coping strategies. The results of this research indicate that women have a knowledge and understanding of depression that is a valuable resource for clinicians and researchers studying depression. / Graduate

M.A. / In this study the high school youth and ethnic integration in South African socio-political and rugby context is explored. It is hypothesized that sport psychology can make a valuable contribution to the process of integration and transformation in the South African sporting context. The historical context of sport in South Africa and the role of rugby as mediator in the process of racial integration on the high school rugby field is explored, as well as social concepts influenced by transformation and integration such as prejudice, discrimination, racism and territoriality. In South Africa change in the political context has brought about transformation on the sporting field and a resurgence in articulations of sporting identities amongst the youth. For this reason attention is given to different aspects of the high school youth experience, including culture, identity, prejudice and integration. Affiliation with a group offers the individual security, and this is where high school rugby can play a pivotal role in the future. In the context of high school rugby, in South Africa’s culturally diverse society, adolescents are often confronted with opposing viewpoints, especially as pertains to adult influence and peer interaction. Contact theory proposes that experiencing social success in pluralistic settings can break down cognitive barriers. Negative experience of contact however can result in a negative attitude to other races. It is hypothesized that integration in the context of high school rugby may have a significant effect on team cohesion, stress, coping mechanisms, sport devaluation and withdrawal, and collective efficacy and competitive performance. Cohesion can be considered to be one of the most important small group or team variables in rugby. Cohesion is positively and strongly associated with success in sports teams. Stress, particularly acute stress, has been recognized as a major stumbling block to satisfaction and to continued participation among youth sport participants. Sources of stress have unfortunately not in general been widely examined in the sport psychology literature, and among the rugby playing youth in particular. It is suggested that investigating stress caused by integration is imperative to help prevent the high withdrawal rate in youth sport. Participating in sport can place specific technical, physical and psychological demands and constraints on rugby players in terms of coping. In the high school rugby context, coping with stress caused by integration is explored. Factors such as selection based on merit and the quota system contributes to determining the attitude of high school rugby players towards ethnic integration. The need for rugby skills identification and development and concomitant issues such as sport devaluation and withdrawal are tentatively explored. Emphasis on skill and merit on the sporting field plays an important role in the avoidance of sport devaluation. Devaluation is reflected in players developing a negative attitude toward sport wherein they stop caring about the sport and their performance and as a result withdraw from sport. The development of qualitative methodologies such as phenomenology and hermeneutics has played a vital role in especially cultural studies in developing grounded analyses. This includes analysis of the complex ways in which people come to understand identity and culture as dynamic social processes, as well as connecting the acted experience of individual and collective people to wider structures of power. Qualitative analysis deals with explaining meaningful action, as well as with the concept of culture as the result of the process of interaction. In this research project, a qualitative approach to psychological research was followed. Use was made of non- empirical and subjective phenomenological research methodology. The purpose of this study was to examine high school rugby players’ perspectives in order to identify points of sameness and difference between players’ perspectives. The goal was to gain insight into the phenomenon of integration in rugby at a high school level. Interviewing players provide a rich source of information, which can potentially shed insights on key facets related to the issue. The Golden Lions Rugby Union (GLRU) expressed an interest in this study, and volunteered the use of their own research as well as high school rugby players as participants for the purpose of this study. Black, coloured and white GLRU players between the ages of 16 and 18 yrs participated in the study. Research took the form of an individual interview with the researcher. Written consent to record and transcribe the interviews were obtained from each participant. Participants were assured of confidentiality and anonymity. The interviews were taped, and the themes that emerged from this process as well as from the literature review was used as guide to determine, focus on and refine the final constructs. The participants in this study’s phenomenological experience of ethnic integration on high school rugby showed wide variations. The historical influence of South Africa’s past had a different effect on how the participants of the various races experience concepts such as prejudice, discrimination, racism and the influence of language on the high school rugby field. These areas all have an influence on how factors such as stress, coping mechanisms, group cohesion and the quota system is experienced, and this in turn affects on the one hand individual sport devaluation and withdrawal and on the other collective efficacy and the competitive performance of the team as a whole. The participants shared the vision that in the future rugby can play a positive role in the integration process of South Africa. In this respect rugby as a shared territory can provide an essential service in the process of integration and transformation in South Africa. This study may be exposed to several limitations that should be acknowledged for future research in this area. Examples, inherent in qualitative research, include the possible presence of interviewer bias, social desirability, and problems associated with self-report. Due to the paucity of exploration of the integration process in sport psychology literature, extensive use of the general (non-sport) psychology literature was needed to establish a conceptual framework. The researcher did not have the opportunity to present the participants with a final account to validate findings. A word of caution about this study concerns certain characteristics of the present sample. This study exhibited several strengths. Through the use of phenomenological methodology, the participants were given the opportunity to describe their experiences in their own words. The participants were also given an opportunity to voice their feelings about the process of integration on the high school rugby field. The study illustrated that in the South African context the fields of social- and sport psychology cannot be separated from each other. The adoption of a phenomenological stance allowed the researcher to become absorbed by the essence of the social and cultural construction of sport in general and the world of high school rugby specifically. The fact that the researcher is a woman added an empathic dimension to this study. In terms of recommendations for future research it is recognized that coaches and administrators have a wealth of experiential knowledge that can contribute to sport psychology knowledge. Quantitative research about the topic of ethnic integration on the high school rugby field needs to be undertaken. This type of research should ideally be done using longitudinal and cross-sectional methods in order to be able to report on the progress of the integration process in high school rugby. In addition, this type of research needs to be done on all levels of participation in South African rugby, from primary school- to national level. Future studies could also explore the possibility of developing therapeutic interventions to help the rugby playing youth of South Africa to deal with negative experiences of ethnic integration, to develop strategies to cope with stressful situations, and to increase high school rugby teams’ collective efficacy and competitive performance. It seems that sport in general and rugby in particular can be instrumental in the forging of a positive, integrated high school youth sport culture. Hopefully, this study will contribute to the further understanding of the phenomenological experience of high school youths of ethnic integration on the rugby field, and also have heuristic effect.

D.Litt et Phil. / The present study employed an existential phenomenological research method in order to explore the experience of violence in adolescent girls. Five young women between the ages of 13 and 18 years, and from different ethnic groups and cultures participated in the study that was conducted in the area of Johannesburg, Gauteng. Participation was on a voluntary basis and followed a presentation on the issue of violence by the researcher to learners at various schools within the environs of Johannesburg. Only girls whose parents or caregivers gave consent were included in the study. A central research question was formulated and put as follows to each participant in a recorded interview: Tell me in as much detail and as honestly as possible about experiences of violence that have been most meaningful to you. Van Kaam’s (1969) method of analysing phenomenological data, which was employed for the study, revealed that violence took place predominantly in an interpersonal context, mainly within the confines of the home. It occurred mostly at the hands of persons known to the young women and the prime aggressors were male. Various forms of violence were experienced, including sexual violations and verbal, physical and emotional abuse. Exposure to domestic violence was a common experience. A number of themes were identified and explored from within the framework of a phenomenological approach that focused on the life-worlds of participants. Central themes included feelings of powerlessness, isolation, loss of life purpose and direction, and a sense of meaninglessness. Without exception all the participants had considered, or attempted, suicide as a result of their experiences. A life-span perspective directed attention towards the cultural and historical influences that underlie the violent experiences of adolescent girls. Feminist theory was utilised to further explore these influences and to examine the social construction of gendered power and violence in South Africa. The biological, psychological and social changes that characterise the adolescent stage of development were also considered. Participants’ descriptions of their experiences suggested that violence prevented them from satisfying relational needs and that this had consequences for the development of an identity. In particular, self-esteem was adversely affected and participants were unable to envisage a future role for themselves. Disturbances in peer relationships that are central to the development of adolescent girls, limited opportunities to benefit from more positive experiences in a social context. Heterosexual interactions were also negatively affected. The abstract thinking abilities that emerge in adolescence were discussed in the context of existential concerns and conflicts. The study indicated that when participants could become active in the design of their life, their actions were experienced as meaningful and restorative. This suggested the usefulness of an existential approach that emphasises the necessity of choice, an awareness of the possibilities of life, and an acceptance of the responsibility for bringing about change within the limitations of a person’s existence. The study recommends that this approach could be utilised in a group context where participants would also be given an opportunity to express themselves, to be heard and to experience a sense of community in interaction with their peers. It is suggested that in a school setting, the group could provide an accessible and affordable means of support, particularly in disadvantaged communities. Peer counselling is also advocated as a way of responding to the needs of young women who have had negative life experiences. Further research was encouraged in order to obtain a better appreciation of the ways in which adolescent girls understand their life-worlds and to explore what they deem to be of significance in those worlds. This would provide a basis for the structuring of interventions to assist young women in meeting the challenges that confront them in adolescence.