Training and pastoral supervision in Christian ministry has been in existence prominently since the 1920s, when the development of pastoral education as a distinct discipline and function of ministry arose out of Clinical Pastoral Education. Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) has as it focus the professional education for ministry. This brings students of theology, ordained clergy, qualified laypersons and members of religious orders into supervised encounter with "living human documents" in order to develop their pastoral identity, interpersonal professional competence, and spirituality; including the skills of pastoral care and counselling, pastoral assessment, integration of theology and ministry, group leadership and pastoral theological reflection. The founders of Clinical Pastoral Education, Anton Boisen, William Keller and Richard Cabot, all from the East coast of the United States of America, adapted the methods of professional education in psychiatry, medicine and social work respectively. Some years later Seward Hiltner established a primary identity with theological education and ecumenical Christianity. A survey of literature from the 1960s shows a vitality and variety among CPE supervisors along with research and publications of theologians of note. These influential theologians are Don Browning, John Patton, Charles Gerkin and Steven Pattison to name a few. CPE originated in the USA and spread to Europe and Australia, but does not fit easily into the culture and methods of ministry training in South Africa. For CPE to be valid it must incorporate the cross-cultural customs and traditions in its context. The difficulties with CPE in South Africa centre on some components at the core of the process, and its paradoxical nature within the learning experience with regard to language, gender issues and questions of length and context. These and other specified difficulties open the discussion on the need for adaptation if CPE is to be successfully implemented in the South African context. Important as CPE is in pastoral ministerial training, it is recognised that it is not the only method of training and education in a cross-cultural context. This thesis explores and critiques the methods of CPE and argues that transplanting a process of education, albeit apparently successful, from overseas is not necessarily acceptable in a cross-cultural society. It is suggested that transformation along with a new model for the South African CPE process is necessary, taking into account the diversity of local African cultures. Existing theories, beliefs of CPE and current literature have been explored and applied to and tested in the South African situation. This thesis presents the results in the form of a design of a new model. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001

Thesis (MA (Clinical Psychology))-University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Early maternal loss and its effects on daughters’ development has generated interest internationally. Yet very few studies have been conducted within South Africa, even though the prevalence of South African children growing up with the loss of their mothers is on the increase particularly due to HIV and Aids. This field of study is particularly important as mothers play a significant developmental role in children’s wellbeing. This study focused on exploring NMMU female students’ perceptions of the effects of maternal loss before adolescence on their identity and intimacy development. A qualitative research approach was followed in order to gain in-depth understanding regarding these perceived effects. A purposive, non-probability sampling method was employed to select participants and semi-structured interviews were conducted with them to explore and describe their perceptions. Attachment theory was utilised to provide a theoretical understanding of the potential impact of such loss on identity and intimacy development. Erikson’s psychosocial development theory was employed to describe the nature of personal identity and intimacy. The role of mothers in the South African context is perceived to be of importance with much focus on daughters’ identity development. Childhood maternal loss for daughters was perceived to effect the identity formation of participants in the study. The majority of participants perceived not having been able to spend enough time with their biological mothers to have limited their self-exploration. The participants perceived that this loss also had an effect on their intimacy as it isolated them from their peers and available support systems due to the fear of experiencing losing a person again in their lives.

The present study attempted a cross-cultural investigation of ethnic and national stereotypes in South Africa, a land inhabited by a heterogeneous population. In this country, real or imagined differences due to racial characteristics profoundly influence social interaction. Moreover, such differences are entrenched and underscored by the prevailing legal system while supplying the rationale for many actions of the goverru:tent in power. On the basis of relevant literature it was assumed that differentiation between stereotypes would be based mainly on colour, but that further distinctive differentiations would be present inside the ensuing major groupings ("White and "Non-White"). It was furthermore attempted to show that various groups differed significantly in their judgment of an ethnic stereotype only if they had a dissimilar relationship with the group to be judged. Altogether 760 subjects were tested. These belonged to the six major ethnic and cultural groups in South Africa (Africans, Afrikaners, Coloureds, English-speaking White Gentiles, Indians, and Jews). They were all asked to judge each one of ten concepts by means of the semantic differential technique, which consisted of twenty adjective pairs. Six of these concepts were the names of the South African groups mentioned above, while another three concepts represented the names of groups outside South Africa ("the Americans", "the Germans", and "the Russians") which play an important role in the thinking of South Africans. Finally, the subjects were asked to rate themselves ("Me"- concept). For the sake of better comparison, only first-year students were tested at various universities. The results were analyzed with the aid of a computer (the ICT computers at the University of Cape Town and at Rhodes University). Since a cross-cultural study rests on the theoretical assumption that any tests used for the purpose of comparison are reliable and valid in all cultures to be investigated, a few additional questions had to be asked. The checks undertaken confirmed that in the present study:- 1) The motivation of the subjects as well as their comprehension of the test's basic aims did not differ to any great extent. 2) The six groups did not differ appreciably as regards the social desirability of adjectives used, the semantic structure of the adjective pairs, and the range of scores on the adjective pairs. Furthermore, it was established that male-female differences in attitudes in each of the six groups tested were negligible. The stereotypes were compared with each other inside every one of the groups tested, as well as being compared between all the groups. These comparisons were carried out on the single adjective pairs separately (by means of the Sign Test and the Median Test), and then undertaken in the context of the factorial structure of the concepts. The major results showed that:- 1. The 'colour line' is an important criterion of evaluation in all groups but the Coloureds and the Jews. a) Apart from a 'Black Factor', on which the concepts "the Africans" and "the Coloureds" obtained high loadings, there appeared to be two factors dealing with the evaluation of the White groups. b) The evaluation of the 'Black Factor' by the African subjects was much more positive than the 'Black Factor' found in other groups. c) The Indian subjects did not regard themselves as belonging to the ' Non-Whites' ; neither were they regarded as such by the other subjects tested. 2. The criterion of colour was of less importance in the Coloured and Jewish groups tested. 3. The Jewish subjects appeared to possess the most differentiated stereotype structure, since, in their case, there were four, instead of the usual three factors to be extracted. Moreover, they tended to regard the Non-'White groups more positively than did the other two White groups. 4. The Afrikaans subjects held the most negative opinion of "the Africans"; conversely, "the Afrikaners" were also rejected more strongly than the English-speaking Whites by the Non-Whites tested. 5. Of all groups rated, "the Americans" were the most liked. 6. The stereotypes of "the Russians" and "the Germans" were fairly similar, except in the case of the Afrikaans subjects, who had an exceptionally positive regard for "the Germans". 1. Ratings of the subjects' own group were generally very much more positive than the ratings of the same group by members of other groups, except in the case of the English-speaking White Gentiles. 8. When any two groups rated a concept differently, this could generally be traced back to, on the one hand, differences in the relationships between each one of the judging groups, and, on the other, the group being judged. In conclusion it can be stated that differences between the groups as regards any one stereotype were generally smaller than the differences between the stereotypes of different concepts as held by any one group tested. Where no special relationships existed between a judging group and one being judged, ethnic and national stereotypes tended to be relatively similar in the various cultures and sub-cultures investigated.

This study is about the exploration of the concept of community, using the Mamelodi Counselling Clinic as the context for the exploration. The members who got involved in different phases in the running of the clinic, went through the process of defining and redefining the concept. This process was based on their experiences and their coevolved reality of what the concept means. These experiences will be discussed and in the end, a punctuated end product of the coevolved meanings will given. Furthermore, an account will be given as to how the running of the clinic evolved with the changes in meaning. The author's perception of the division between clinical and community psychology was altered as a result of the findings in the study and this will also be discussed. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

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

M.A. (Clinical Psychology) / The high divorce rate and stress related changes as it appears in South Africa at present has served as motivation to undertake this research. The researcher was further motivated by the possible changes this study could offer, with reference to assist destructive marriage relationships as well as the contribution to couples enriching their relationships.

M.Ed. (Tertiary and Adult Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract.

The extensive amount of research conducted internationally in the field of John Bowlby's attachment theory indicates that an insecure attachment between a child and the primary caregiver has a detrimental effect on both social and emotional development in childhood, as well as having a profound effect on psychological development and functioning in adulthood. The present study aimed to explore and describe the therapeutic process of a nine year old with an insecure attachment style within a therapeutic framework, namely Theraplay. The therapeutic process was embedded within Ann Jernberg's Theraplay framework and the case was further contextualized within Bowlby's attachment theory. The case study method was utilized with a purposive sampling technique employed to select the participant. Irving Alexander's content-analytic framework in conjunction with Guba's model of trustworthiness was employed for data analysis. Two needs emerged during the therapeutic process namely the need for nurturance and affection as well as the need for power, control and safety.

Adolescents in a children’s home are exposed to unique experiences from an early age. These adolescents develop in a system with early deprivation experiences, which may result in developmental and adjustment problems that impact on several spheres of their lives, including their career development. Given the lack of South African career research on adolescents, the present study aimed to explore and describe the career development of adolescents in a children’s home. Specifically, this exploration takes the perspective of the systems theory framework of career development which is comprised of three interrelated systems, namely the individual, social, and the environmental/societal systems. The research approach was exploratory and descriptive in nature and was conducted both within a qualitative and quantitative framework. A workbook titled My System of Career Influences (McMahon, Patton, & Watson, 2003a), was used to collect the data. A non-probability, purposive sampling technique was employed to obtain the sample which consisted of 16 English-speaking adolescents, aged between 13 and17 years. Age, gender and culture were not considered in this study. The qualitative data was subjected to content analysis to identify themes, while frequency counts were used for the quantitative data. The results indicate that the present sample of adolescents is presently in the process of exploring and crystallizing their career choice, therefore fitting well within Super’s (1990) theoretical career stage of Exploration. The majority of the adolescents indicated that their present career situation involves making choices regarding schools, subjects, and participation in activities. Quantitative findings indicate that all influences within the three interrelated career systems have an influence on the career development of adolescents in a children’s home. Based on frequency counts, individual system influences such as personality, health, interests and abilities were identified as prominent influences. Within the social system, prominent xi influences included parents, friends, teachers and reading. Within the environmental/societal system, influences such as financial support, location of universities, availability of jobs, and opportunities to work overseas were identified as prominent influences. In addition, adolescents were able to reflect on their personalized diagram of system influences and thus to examine the inter-relatedness of the three systems. The present study highlights the applicability of both the systems theory framework and the My Systems of Career Influences measure in exploring and describing the career development of adolescents in the unique contexts within which they live. Limitations and recommendations for future research based on the present findings are suggested.