The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs and attitudes of United States Marines towards mental health services.

A study was conducted to describe and interpret the personal strategies that South African Police Service officers in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, use in their line of work. These are strategies to deal with the impact of the primary victims’ critical incidents of rape, domestic violence, murder and road accidents. The focus was on describing the impact of the critical incidents that the officers are exposed to, which manifest in a form of traumatic stress, namely, vicarious traumatisation, and management of this impact. Twenty participants were selected through purposive and theoretical sampling techniques from the family violence, child protection and sexual offences, domestic violence, field training, detective and social crime prevention units. Unstructured open-ended interviews, diaries and follow-up telephone interviews were used as data collection methods and data were collected in the participants’ home languages, Tshivenda and Xitsonga. Data gathered necessitated looking into both the aspects of the officers’ organisational and operational work. Data were thus analysed through the content thematic and constant comparative data analysis methods. The results first presented a profile of police vicarious traumatisation in the Vhembe District, which include the types of critical incidents exposed to, the organisational and operational stressors that lead to vicarious traumatisation, and the description of vicarious traumatisation symptoms. Second, a theoretical framework of the process of police critical incidents impact management (PCIIM) was developed. The framework shows that the management of the impact of the encountered incidents is inspired by various coping needs and subcultures of the officers, and the management takes place through the use of two styles of trauma management, namely, the linear and multilateral styles, which refer to application of coping strategies successively and the combination of horizontal and vertical application of coping strategies, respectively. The coping strategies used by the officers help them to have an objective understanding of the critical incidents encountered, have less severe symptoms of vicarious traumatisation, some symptoms last for shorter periods than before, and other symptoms are no longer experienced. Resilience to the encountered incidents is shown through the development of coping strategies to handle the incidents, facing them, and showing cognitive hardiness. The officers also manage to reflect on the experiences encountered, engage in narratives about them and mutual help thus still working towards attaining posttraumatic growth. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

The purpose of this study was to examine the role childhood sexual abuse (CSA), social support and a person's worldview (i.e., optimistic or pessimistic attitudes) had on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

This study investigates the relationship between traumatic events and PTSD among police officers in KwaZulu-Natal and the mediating effects of coping and social support. The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of PTSD among police officers and whether coping and social support structures act as mediating variables in the stress-illness realtionship. In order to achieve this aim an assessment battery containing Biographical Checklist, the Ways of Coping Checklist, The Index of Social Support and the Dutch Post Traumatic Stress Scale was distributed to a sample of police officers in Kwazulu-Natal. The findings indicate a high incidence of PTSD, among policemen although no significant relationship was found between exposure to traumatic events and PTSD. Further, emotion­ focused coping strategies, namely, self-blame and wishful thinking, were found to be predictive of PTSD. No significant relationship was established between the availability of social support and satisfaction with social support and PTSD. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Text in Afrikaans / The aim of the study is to describe the ecology of ideas in a family after the traumatic experience of a child. The focus is on developing a new context through which set meanings can expand. Therapeutic conversations and flexible hypnotic techniques, as part of a co-constructured process, are the "instruments" through which new ideas can be formed. The epistemological and theoretical framework of the study is postmodern, social constructionist ideas. Modernistic explanations are provided to fit in with the postmodern "both/and" focus of the study. A social constructionist position implies that the focus is placed on the multiple trauma perceptions of the family and social-cultural domain. Symptoms are viewed as part of the meaning systems in the family. The interconnection between dominant and non-dominant trauma stories is explained. Themes and relationship patterns are exposed and described according to the researcher's own epistemology, reflections and interpretations of the literature. / Clinical Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

This thesis investigates the literature on trauma and grief in order to explore the existence of the phenomenon of traumatic grief in children. Appropriate therapies are explored for treating traumatic grief in children. The focus in this research is on non-directive art therapy as the literature has found it to be useful in traumatic circumstances. The therapeutic relationship and the focus on containment are valuable in addressing the primary need of the child in therapy especially when traumatic grief is to be addressed. A qualitative case study approach was chosen. Two case studies were selected to investigate the phenomenon of traumatic grief in children. Purposeful sampling was used to select the cases to observe the phenomenon of traumatic grief. The case studies included pre-therapy and post-therapy assessments, which included cognitive, emotional and behavioural assessments. Art therapy was found to address the problems in the two cases. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.

Text in Afrikaans / Euro-centric (Western) therapeutic approaches in psychotherapy are criticized by several authors as being unsuitable in an African context. The reconciliation of the contrasting approach of world- and human views regarding individualism (Western) and collectivism (Africa) is being questioned. In this research a qualitative approach was used. The objectives were to explore, describe and to explain the use of gestalt play therapy with the adolescent who suffered trauma due to the loss of one or both parents, in a multicultural context. Case studies were done on three adolescents in eight therapeutic sessions of Gestalt play therapy. The finding and conclusion of this research showed that Gestalt play therapy could be used with the traumatised adolescent in a multicultural context. The child could be understood from a holistic point of view as the individual as well as a member of a cultural group. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

Text in Afrikaans / This study is aimed at the development of strategies for therapists to be used with adolescents and late adolescents (15 to 20 years of age) who have lost a loved one. This will be done by focussing on the redefining of identity as a way of becoming. The starting point of the study is to be found in the problem formulation that the process of becoming of adolescents who have suffered the loss of a loved one, may be blocked because they do not have the necessary skills to overcome the loss. The second problem is that therapists do not have the necessary skills to empower these adolescents so that the redefining of identity can be achieved. / Social work / D. Diac. (Spelterapie)

Convergence of technology has made access to the Internet faster, easier and cheaper. Criminals, including paedophiles, child abusers and pornography traders make use of this technology to commit criminal offences. Computer Forensic Examiners (CFEs) are members of the Cyber Crime Unit, a professional, specialised unit of the South African Police Service (SAPS) who are responsible for computer forensic examination including the investigation of child pornographic images. The aim of the study was to seek understanding on what psychological effects the CFEs experienced when working with the images and was conducted from within the social constructionism and the narrative frameworks. The images had a severe impact on the CFEs as was clearly uncovered in the stories of six CFEs who participated in this study. The participants' stories were recorded and transcribed after which the application of thematic content analysis found that the participants all suffered similar negative effects. These findings were integrated with the findings of a focus group as well as with the findings of a similar study that was conducted during the same time by the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire and resulted in identifying symptoms of trauma and stress experienced by the CFEs. Based on these results recommendations regarding the support for the CFEs were made. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Total institutions' (which include prisons) unique context prescribes "confinement" of inmates. Coping mechanisms applied "outside" (especially the ability to create distance from stressful events) is thus ineffective. Another common feature is lack of privacy, which may result in "forced intimacy" - individuals being forced into a situation of physical and psychological "invasion" (beyond the norm) of their person/personal space. Victims lose control over intimate decisions, including who may and may not be intimate with them. Within prisons, gangs "force intimacy" by sexually victimizing inmates, taking advantage of the context to heighten their power, and to control inmates "under" them. Four (subjects) victims' experiences and means of adaptation/ empowerment were investigated phenomenologically. Results indicated that inadequately empowered victims suffer prolonged and repeated victimization - a continued "posttraumatic stress disorder" - which is more traumatizing and draining than one circumscribed traumatic event (due to its intensity, immobilization and resulting drastic change of "personality"). / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)