KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in

M.Ed. (Psychology of Education) / The training of psychologists in South Africa is currently under scrutiny. A request from the South African Association for Psychology as well as the Professional Board for Psychologists is to broaden the terrain of psychological services. Therefore, new structures regarding registration have been discussed and will be implemented by the year 2004 (Professional Board of Psychology, minutes 15 September 1999). In South Africa the need far outweighs the supply: both in terms of psychologists and services available in the different communities. The cost to see a professional psychologist -is far greater than what the ordinary man in the street can afford (Kriegler, 1993; Richter, Griesel, Durrheim, Wilson, Surendorff and Asafo-Agyei, 1998). The crime rate in South Africa is one of the highest in the world (Grimbeek, 1998; van Niekerk, 1996). Millions of people, of whom a great percentage are children of school going age, have been traumatised by crime, poor housing, poverty and domestic violence. Unemployment plays an integral part in these problems. People are struggling to find work as well as to remain employed. Stress which is affecting all of us is a serious problem, and needs to be addressed by psychologists in all the realms of life. If we look at these problems that are currently part of our lives in South Africa, it becomes clear that more people with trained counselling skills are needed. The training of therapists and counselors is of great importance if we wish to place people in our communities to assist the vast number of those who experience problems in their lives.

M.A. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Ed. ( Educational Psychology) / The purpose of this study, and the planned contribution to research, is to design and develop a training module with the purpose of filling an existing gap in the field of the education of M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) students. Programme development has been applied in order to design and develop the training module in a formative and summative manner. The research paradigm of the study is of a qualitative nature. Qualitative research and the results thereof are expressed in words rather than in numbers. Methods of data collection that were used include questionnaires, observation and interviews. The data-analysis techniques of Miles and Huberman (1994) were used including data reduction, data display and conclusions. Interviews were transcribed and data-analysis was done by catagorising data into semantic units, presenting the results in the form of dendrograms. Questionnaires were integrated as a method of triangulation. A five-point scale was used to gauge students' perception of the training module. Sufficient provision was made for qualitative remarks by students. The framework for development of Thomas (1984), Rothman (1980) and Nel (1992), as well as the curricular requirements according to Kroger (1980) and Knowles (1984), was used in the development of this training programme.. This comprised. four phases, namely an analysis of the situation, followed by the design, development and evaluation of the course. The phases ran as follows: The analysis phase During the analysis phase, the current situation was analyzed regarding the training problem and the state of existing programmes. It was found that a need for training in bibliotherapy exists among educational psychologists. Educational psychologists receive no meaningful or adequate training with regard to bibliotherapy at any South African university ...

D.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / This study investigates the first year of education and training of students enrolled for. the M.Ed. degree in Educational Psychology with the view to describing and also explaining pertinent problems and processes of professional development, especially with regard to reflective practitioning and the role of experiential learning. The rationale for the investigation was involved from major policy documents which addresses the issue of knowledge and the novice practitioner in the dynamic and challenging milieu of reconstruction and development in South African education. The report of the study commences with a theory framework in which reflective practitioning, experiential learning and professional development are explicated. An important distinction in the literature review is the two main emphases in professional training, namely the normative professional curriculum and the dialectic professional curriculum. Both the theory of reflective practitioning and experiential learning are viewed as exponents of the dialectic curriculum in which contemporary theory of constructivism as view of learning is embedded. In this view a reflective practitioner is considered a lifelong self evaluative learner. In conjunction with the perspective of reflection in practice, experiential learning is viewed as potential knowledge. Rounding off the literature review, various models of reflective practitioning are included emphasising the role of the facilitator as guide and as leader. The theory framework is complemented by a chapter on the design of the field study, substantiating the choice of the format and methods of data collection and analyses with views from the body of knowledge on qualitative research. The field investigation is reported in the ensuing chapters presenting examples of data collection and analyses procedures.

Psychology has become an increasingly popular discipline for study in the South African context, with the number of students enrolling for courses increasing rapidly. The selection and evaluation of trainee psychologists is a complex and contested issue. With so few students reaching Masters level and the changing needs of the South African context, it becomes imperative that only the most suitable candidates are selected for entry into the field of professional psychology. This study focuses on the selection process of trainee psychologists at an institution that incorporates the narrative philosophy in both the selection and training of candidates. The question is raised, whether it is possible to utilize narrative principles in a process that is intended to judge and evaluate candidates? This presents a paradox. The paradox is illuminated in both the intentions behind the narrative questions in the application form and in the candidates' experiences of responding to these. The conclusion reached is that the narrative philosophy makes for an enriching and creative experience of the selection process for candidates but this however, does not ameliorate the negative effects of evaluation and the 'gaze'.

The journey towards becoming a counselling psychologist, in South Africa, includes the completion a 12 month internship. The internship year holds many challenges and demands for novice professionals and aims to assist them in making the transition from student to professional. This study aims to explore the subjective experiences of intern counselling psychologists and the critical incidents which assist them in making this transition. In addition, it aims to identify experiences impacting on the interns’ professional development and professional identity. Three registered counselling psychologists, who completed their internship at a South African university counselling centre within the last year, were recruited and participated in individual interviews. These interviews were semi-structured and followed the Critical Incident Technique method. Each interview was voice recorded and transcribed. The data collected was analysed using thematic content analysis. As the research design is qualitative, using a phenomenological approach, the focus is on presenting information-rich and detailed descriptions of participants “lived” experiences of their internship year. It attempts to understand significant incidents or events which influenced the participants’ professional and personal development as they navigate through this ambiguous period to become independent and ethical practitioners. Four predominant themes emerged from the data collected, which include a discussion pertaining to professional boundaries and limitations, learning within the internship environment, the effects of professional and personal support and, lastly, the transition from dependent to independent professional functioning.

This research aimed to trace the development of psychologists as therapists within a South African context. Two distinct career levels were explored in relation to a competency model, a skills development model, and a developmental phase model of psychotherapists' professional development. Through purposive sampling five intern psychologists and six registered psychologists with at least seven years post-qualification client contact were selected according to the inclusion criteria of the study. Through semi-structured interviews, couched in the social constructionist position, the participants' experiences were thematically analysed. In addition, the researcher's own personal journey of developing as a psychotherapist was reflected upon. The current research study found that a number of aspects fostered the development of psychotherapists. Across the two career levels the life experiences of participants particularly featured events that were personally wounding or placed the participant in the helper role. The theoretical orientation(s) of participants were voiced as influential in their development, yet the ability to adjust their theoretical orientation to clients' needs was of overriding importance. Participants emphasised forming a strong therapeutic relationship with clients as the centrepiece of psychotherapy and depicted the therapeutic process using diverse metaphors. No key differences in use of metaphors emerged between intern and established psychologists. Catalysts for professional growth included personal therapy, "unforgettable cases", group supervision and, in the case of established psychologists, continuing professional development workshops. xiii Shifts in competency were recognised by intern psychologists as they gained more experience, namely, dissolution of naivety, a decrease in anxiety regarding their clinical work, a greater flexibility in the therapeutic process, a decreased sense of inappropriate responsibility for clients' progress, and an ongoing process of negotiating the interface of their personal and professional lives. Established psychologists spoke of having gained more confidence through their years of practice and yet experienced moments of anxiety which they found fostered humility. Limitations of the study and potential future research directions were outlined.

This study explores trainee psychotherapists' experiences of double bind situations and inconsistency between explicit and implicit contexts of training. The epistemological foundations of this text are postmodern, social constructionist and ecosystemic. A review of the relevant literature is presented, which includes aspects such as explicit and implicit contexts, double bind and experiences of trainees in training. This is followed by an account of the qualitative research approach adopted, namely, discourse analysis. Themes that are extracted from the text of the transcribed interviews are assumed to reflect discourses in training and the broader societal contexts in which trainees find themselves. These discourses are seen to inform trainees' constructions of their experiences in training. The findings of the analysis are found to concur with the initial hypotheses of this dissertation, as well as with findings in the literature. Recommendations for future research are offered. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

This study explores trainee psychotherapists' experiences of double bind situations and inconsistency between explicit and implicit contexts of training. The epistemological foundations of this text are postmodern, social constructionist and ecosystemic. A review of the relevant literature is presented, which includes aspects such as explicit and implicit contexts, double bind and experiences of trainees in training. This is followed by an account of the qualitative research approach adopted, namely, discourse analysis. Themes that are extracted from the text of the transcribed interviews are assumed to reflect discourses in training and the broader societal contexts in which trainees find themselves. These discourses are seen to inform trainees' constructions of their experiences in training. The findings of the analysis are found to concur with the initial hypotheses of this dissertation, as well as with findings in the literature. Recommendations for future research are offered. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)