The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine the meaning that psychotherapeutic patients associate with their self-esteem in order to contribute to a better understanding of what these patients' views of low and high self-esteem entail. A study of literature was conducted to expose different aspects of the term 'self-esteem' from several theoretical approaches. Furthermore, the substructure of the hypno-therapeutic approach (of which the medical hypno-analytical model was the main approach) was especially analysed to ground the psychotherapeutic treatment received by the research participants. Eleven research participants were involved in the study according to the extreme, as well as the confirming and disconfirming case methods of sampling. They were selected on the basis of homogenous characteristics, namely: white, Afrikaans-speaking men in the low to high average socio-economic sphere. This study was done within a qualitative or interpretive paradigm - the study therefore focuses on the understanding (verstehen) of the meaning individuals attach to their self-esteem and not on the explanation (erklärung) thereof. The data gathering techniques were the basic individual interview, the self-esteem induction and observation. The textual data, transcribed from audiocassettes, was analysed qualitatively with the help of the ATLAS.ti-program according to the principles and procedures of grounded theory (including open, axial and selective coding). Data analysis led to, amongst other things, the co-construction of 23 categories (with numerous subcategories) of which the central phenomenon was identified as 'low self-esteem'. Relations could be drawn between the core category and other categories and the following storyline, which could suggest a possible theory, was conceptualised: -Negative suggesting in the patient's past leads to low self-esteem, which is unhealthily handled within his emotional problematics by means of a negative thinking scheme for which therapy is received from a medical hypno-analytical perspective to treat the negative labels in order to facilitate attachment of positive meaning to his self-esteem. The meaning(s) ascribed by psychotherapeutic patients to their self-esteem seem to be, in accordance with the post-modern spirit of the age (Zeitgeist), holistic in nature. / Die doelstelling van hierdie studie was om die betekenis wat psigoterapeutiese pasiente met hul selfagting assosieer, kwalitatief te ondersoek ten einde 'n bydrae te maak tot 'n beter begrip van wat psigoterapeutiese pasiente se siening van lae en hoe selfagting behels. 'n Literatuurstudie is uitgevoer om die onderskeie aspekte met betrekking tot die begrip 'selfagting' vanuit verskillende teoretiese benaderings te belig. Verder is die onderbou van veral die hipnoterapeutiese benadering (waarvan die mediese hipnoanalitiese model die hoofbenadering was) ge-analiseer om die psigoterapeutiese behandeling wat die navorsingsdeelnemers ontvang het, te fundeer. Elf navorsingsdeelnemers is volgens die ekstreme, sowel as die bevestigende en niebevestigende gevallemetodes van steekproeftrekking, by die studie betrek. Hulle is op grond van homogene eienskappe gekies, naamlik: blanke, Afrikaanssprekende mans binne 'n laag tot hoog gemiddelde sosio-ekonomiese sfeer. Hierdie studie is binne 'n kwalitatiewe of interpretatiewe paradigma gedoen - die studie fokus dus op die verstaan (verstehen) van die betekenis wat individue aan hul selfagting heg en nie op die verklaring (erklarung) daarvan nie. Die data- insamelingstegnieke was die basiese individuele onderhoud, die selfagtinginduksie in hipnoterapie en observasie. Die data is as tekstuele data, wat vanaf klankkassette getranskribeer is, op kwalitatiewe wyse met behulp van die ATLASJi-program aan die hand van die beginsels en prosedures van gegronde teorie (waaronder oop, aksiale en selektiewe kodering) ontleed. Data-ontleding het onder andere gelei tot die ko-konstruksie van 23 kategoriee (met talle subkategoriee) waarvan die sentrale verskynsel as 'lae selfagting' geidentifiseer is. Verbande kon tussen die kernkategorie en ander kategoriee getrek word, en die volgende gekonseptualiseerde storielyn wat op 'n moontlike teorie kan dui, is gekokonstrueer: - Negatiewe suggerering in die pasient se verlede lei tot sy lae selfagting wat hy binne sy emosionele problematiek deur middel van 'n negatiewe denkskema ongesond hanteer en dan psigoterapie ontvang vir die behandeling van sy negatiewe etikette sodat 'n positiewe betekenisgewing aan sy selfagting vanuit 'n mediese hipno-analitiese perspektief gefasiliteer kan word. Die betekenis(se) wat die psigoterapeutiese pasiente aan hul selfagting gee, blyk, in ooreenstemming met die postmodernistiese tydgees, holisties van aard te wees. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine the meaning that psychotherapeutic patients associate with their self-esteem in order to contribute to a better understanding of what these patients' views of low and high self-esteem entail. A study of literature was conducted to expose different aspects of the term 'self-esteem' from several theoretical approaches. Furthermore, the substructure of the hypno-therapeutic approach (of which the medical hypno-analytical model was the main approach) was especially analysed to ground the psychotherapeutic treatment received by the research participants. Eleven research participants were involved in the study according to the extreme, as well as the confirming and disconfirming case methods of sampling. They were selected on the basis of homogenous characteristics, namely: white, Afrikaans-speaking men in the low to high average socio-economic sphere. This study was done within a qualitative or interpretive paradigm - the study therefore focuses on the understanding (verstehen) of the meaning individuals attach to their self-esteem and not on the explanation (erklärung) thereof. The data gathering techniques were the basic individual interview, the self-esteem induction and observation. The textual data, transcribed from audiocassettes, was analysed qualitatively with the help of the ATLAS.ti-program according to the principles and procedures of grounded theory (including open, axial and selective coding). Data analysis led to, amongst other things, the co-construction of 23 categories (with numerous subcategories) of which the central phenomenon was identified as 'low self-esteem'. Relations could be drawn between the core category and other categories and the following storyline, which could suggest a possible theory, was conceptualised: -Negative suggesting in the patient's past leads to low self-esteem, which is unhealthily handled within his emotional problematics by means of a negative thinking scheme for which therapy is received from a medical hypno-analytical perspective to treat the negative labels in order to facilitate attachment of positive meaning to his self-esteem. The meaning(s) ascribed by psychotherapeutic patients to their self-esteem seem to be, in accordance with the post-modern spirit of the age (Zeitgeist), holistic in nature. / Die doelstelling van hierdie studie was om die betekenis wat psigoterapeutiese pasiente met hul selfagting assosieer, kwalitatief te ondersoek ten einde 'n bydrae te maak tot 'n beter begrip van wat psigoterapeutiese pasiente se siening van lae en hoe selfagting behels. 'n Literatuurstudie is uitgevoer om die onderskeie aspekte met betrekking tot die begrip 'selfagting' vanuit verskillende teoretiese benaderings te belig. Verder is die onderbou van veral die hipnoterapeutiese benadering (waarvan die mediese hipnoanalitiese model die hoofbenadering was) ge-analiseer om die psigoterapeutiese behandeling wat die navorsingsdeelnemers ontvang het, te fundeer. Elf navorsingsdeelnemers is volgens die ekstreme, sowel as die bevestigende en niebevestigende gevallemetodes van steekproeftrekking, by die studie betrek. Hulle is op grond van homogene eienskappe gekies, naamlik: blanke, Afrikaanssprekende mans binne 'n laag tot hoog gemiddelde sosio-ekonomiese sfeer. Hierdie studie is binne 'n kwalitatiewe of interpretatiewe paradigma gedoen - die studie fokus dus op die verstaan (verstehen) van die betekenis wat individue aan hul selfagting heg en nie op die verklaring (erklarung) daarvan nie. Die data- insamelingstegnieke was die basiese individuele onderhoud, die selfagtinginduksie in hipnoterapie en observasie. Die data is as tekstuele data, wat vanaf klankkassette getranskribeer is, op kwalitatiewe wyse met behulp van die ATLASJi-program aan die hand van die beginsels en prosedures van gegronde teorie (waaronder oop, aksiale en selektiewe kodering) ontleed. Data-ontleding het onder andere gelei tot die ko-konstruksie van 23 kategoriee (met talle subkategoriee) waarvan die sentrale verskynsel as 'lae selfagting' geidentifiseer is. Verbande kon tussen die kernkategorie en ander kategoriee getrek word, en die volgende gekonseptualiseerde storielyn wat op 'n moontlike teorie kan dui, is gekokonstrueer: - Negatiewe suggerering in die pasient se verlede lei tot sy lae selfagting wat hy binne sy emosionele problematiek deur middel van 'n negatiewe denkskema ongesond hanteer en dan psigoterapie ontvang vir die behandeling van sy negatiewe etikette sodat 'n positiewe betekenisgewing aan sy selfagting vanuit 'n mediese hipno-analitiese perspektief gefasiliteer kan word. Die betekenis(se) wat die psigoterapeutiese pasiente aan hul selfagting gee, blyk, in ooreenstemming met die postmodernistiese tydgees, holisties van aard te wees. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)