The development of the concept of irreverence is examined in terms of its historical, theoretical and metatheoretical contexts. The underlying assumptions of the concepts of neutrality, curiosity, and irreverence are distinguished and contextualised. Neutrality is discussed with reference to Milan systemic therapy and first- and second-order cybernetics, while curiosity is examined in the light of constructivist and narrative approaches to psychotherapy. It is argued that these two concepts represent two sides of a dualism, which is transcended through irreverence. Irreverence is interpreted as a postmodern stance, involving the questioning and relativising of therapists' basic assumptions. The pragmatic components of an irreverent stance, namely self-reflexivity, orthogonality, flexibility and accountability, are explored with reference to related concepts in the work of other authors. Throughout the text metalogues are used in an attempt to engage reader and author in a collaborative enterprise of acknowledging and reevaluating their own basic assumptions. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Psychotherapy is an interpersonal encounter where a therapist collaborates with clients to facilitate a healing process. Due to the personal nature of the therapeutic encounter, the therapist requires the necessary skills and knowledge, as well as a differentiated sense of self. The importance of supporting the psychotherapy trainee’s own differentiation process seemed to have been neglected in research in recent years. In South Africa there has recently been increasing pressure to select larger groups of trainees which has the risk that the tending to differentiation would further be neglected. The purpose of this research study is to reemphasise the importance of differentiation of self of the psychotherapy trainee by examining my own process of differentiation during my psychotherapy training. This study introduces the reader to these concepts and explores psychotherapy training in general and the Unisa training method specifically. The research design of this study is autoethnography which falls in the realm of social constructionism and the coding method is Thematic Data Analysis. The research findings as reflected in the two global themes namely individuation; and gaining and strengthening authentic relationships, seem to accurately reflect the process of differentiation. The specific training method of the Unisa training team in combination with the way in which I engaged with this process seemed important for the facilitation of this process of differentiation. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

La recherche explore la pratique des premiers entretiens dans deux contextes culturels, à travers la façon dont l’analyste témoigne de son cheminement intérieur. Les données émanent de l’analyse qualitative thématique de contenu de 15 entretiens de recherche, réalisés auprès de psychothérapeutes psychanalytiques et de psychanalystes, de 3 à 37 ans d’expérience clinique, en France et au Québec. Au vu des résultats, le cheminement intérieur de l’analyste s’organiserait selon une trame d’écoute préétablie, dont le niveau d’explicitation varierait avec l’expérience clinique. L’élaboration, à la fois secondarisée et intuitive, s’appuierait sur le matériel clinique présent et absent, la théorie et l’expérience clinique, réalisant toujours une forme d’évaluation prédictive. De façon similaire, les analystes tiendraient compte dans leur décision de l’évaluation de la demande, du fonctionnement psychique, et des potentialités de rencontre dans un « lieu transférentiel ». Des hypothèses psychodynamiques seraient à l’œuvre dès les premiers entretiens, intervenant dans les aménagements du cadre à proposer au patient. Les dispositions contre-transférentielles projetées sur l’évaluation influenceraient la nature des prédictions quant à l’issue du travail analytique. Le « désir de l’analyste » pèserait manifestement sur l’évaluation des possibilités de travail analytique, avantageant les évaluations favorables ou de potentialités d’évolution, au détriment d’éléments défavorables. Le contexte culturel n’influencerait pas le processus d’élaboration de la décision, mais modulerait la demande et les possibilités de l’analyste d’y répondre, résultat ouvrant des pistes de recherches futures. / This research explores clinical practice of first interviews in two cultural contexts, through the way the analyst accounts for his/her internal psychic development of thought. The data comes from the qualitative analysis of the thematic content of 15 research interviews, performed with psychoanalytic psychotherapists and psychoanalysts with 3 to 37 years of clinical experience, both in France and Quebec. According to the results, the analyst’s internal psychic development of thought would follow a pre-established organic listening structure, of which the level of explicitation would vary with clinical experience. The analyst’s elaboration, both secondary and intuitive, would be based on present and absent clinical material, theory, and clinical experience, always carrying out a form of predictive assessment. Similarly, the analysts would take into account in their decision the assessment of the demand, psychic functioning, and possible meeting within a “transference context”. Psychodynamic hypotheses would be at work as soon as the first interviews, involved in the adjustments of the framework proposed to the patient. The counter-transferential dispositions –projected onto the assessment– would influence the nature of predictions about the outcome of psychoanalytic work. The "desire of the analyst" would clearly influence the evaluation of analytical work opportunities, advantaging favourable assessments or potential evolution, to the detriment of hindering elements. The cultural context would not influence the decision making process, but would modulate the demands and the analyst’s possibilities to answer, opening the door to future line of research.

Text in Afrikaans / During the initial stages of Gestalt play therapy qualitative assessment is vital within the therapeutic relationship, to gain information about the child in order to strengthen this relationship, enhance awareness and for further interventions. Research confirmed the lack and problems with current assessment tools, within various helping professions, which were addressed in this study. The board game, as a Gestalt assessment tool, was compiled for the primary school child and focuses on the therapeutic relationship, sensory stimulation and the process of the child (Schoeman-3-aspect model). Information was gathered by a literature review, semi structured interviews with two professionals and by observing the application of the board game. Valuable information was gathered concerning the child and was strengthened by literature. Relevant conclusions and recommendations were made. This board game can be effectively used by play therapists in the initial stages of assessment with the primary school child, for relationship building, sensory stimulation and determining the child's process. / Social Work / M.Diac.

High-quality group psychotherapy training is considered more important than ever in the current mental health care environment. With the need for ongoing education and development in the field of group psychotherapy, concern has been raised regarding the lack of group psychotherapy training guidelines for trainee psychologists. Findings from numerous empirical studies show that at present, most training courses often maintain a rather unstructured format for fostering an experiential group process. The literature suggests that without standardized course objectives, students are vulnerable to harm, they are ill equipped to meet professional demands, and trainers are not provided with adequate guidelines for instruction. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to review the relevant literature in order to describe the principles of group psychotherapy as they manifest in group interaction, and to compare the subjective experiences of trainee group psychotherapists with the findings from the literature. The aim of this investigation was to generate hypotheses about the effectiveness of the use of an experiential group as a training medium, in group psychotherapy. Further objectives included exploring the merits of an experiential approach to training in group psychotherapy, and identifying factors that could potentially aid/hinder trainee development. In order to adhere to the objectives of the investigation, a qualitative, exploratory research design was used. Data for the study was gathered by means of a client-centered interview conducted with five group psychotherapy trainees who received training in a Clinical Psychology Masters program. In addition, these trainees were also required to complete a semi-structured questionnaire. The interview focused on how the trainees' subjective, affective experiences influenced their perceptions of the qualitative aspects of group life, while the questionnaire was designed to elicit information about the ways in which trainees cognitively conceptualized their understanding of group process, group dynamics and group facilitation skills. The results of the study were analysed through the qualitative method of content analysis. Results showed that, while trainees may have perceived that they gained tremendous benefits through exposure to the experiential group, an analysis of their interaction patterns highlighted certain areas which can be considered problematic. For example, it was found that trainees did not have a theoretical understanding of group process and group dynamics, and were therefore, not equipped with the necessary skills required to facilitate groups. This is further substantiated by the finding that the group facilitator had a pervasive influence on the development of the individual trainee and on the development of the group as a whole. Furthermore, results obtained raised certain concerns regarding the suitability and adequacy of using an experiential group as a tool for training, in group psychotherapy. The research findings suggest that, while the experiential group may provide the trainee with an invaluable experience, it alone is insufficient as a training method, in group psychotherapy. This study also raises questions about the ethics of such a training program in its current form. One of the major conclusions of this investigation is that there is a need for ongoing research and evaluation of the training programs. Finally, recommendations are made for improving the group psychotherapy training experience. These recommendations are based on the evaluation of the trainees' subjective experiences / Psychology / (M.A.(Clinical Psychology))

This study is qualitative in nature. It reflects on the rich and varied experiences I encountered during training to be a psychotherapist. The content and process information around training is explored. My personal biases and prejudices towards training are made explicit. The experiences reflected upon are contextualized within the Unisa academic and the hospital clinical internship training contexts. The two contexts of training are contrasted accordingly showing their epistemological stance in their contribution to training of trainee therapists. The primary data in this research is the trainee researcher who is also the only participant subject in the study. The rest of the data is drawn from the experiences of the subject in interaction with others in different systems and subsystems. Through the creative synthesis step in the heuristic research approach the inferred theme is integrated in the analysis. Finally the research shows the limitations and implications involved. / Psychology / M.A. Psychology

Text in Afrikaans / It is alarming that psychologists are in many cases insufficiently trained with regard to homosexuality. Against this background and on the basis of a literature study and empirical research, this study aims to provide guidelines to educational psychologists on working with homosexual clients. Within the Educational Psychology, a person's self actualisation rests on three pilars, namely experience, meaning assignation and involvement. The premise of the qualitative research (focus group interviews) used in this study is homosexual persons' experience of psychologists - the investigation was therefore approached from an Educational Psychology viewpoint. Altogether 75% of the focus group respondents' experience of psychologists was negative. The possibility exists that insufficient training may cause insufficient knowledge and insight, which in turn may lead to homosexual persons' negative experiences of psychologists. It is therefore imperative that the aspect of training of psychologists with regard to homosexuality will receive attention. / Educational Studies / M.Ed.

Training in psychotherapy needs to involve more than merely skills and techniques. The field of psychotherapy needs to involve more than the application of formulas in a modernistic framework. This study proposes an approach to training in psychotherapy where the emphasis is on the client and the therapeutic relationship. Psychotherapy training should be an ongoing process and this study aims to facilitate and enhance that process for students. The study combines basic therapeutic skills and interpersonal psychotherapy to form a training programme referred to as the Basic Relational Skills Training (BRST) programme. The first part of the study provides a historical perspective of basic therapeutic skills, followed by a review of the relevant literature. The second part of the study constitutes a possible format for a training manual for the proposed BRST programme. The researcher hopes that the proposed BRST programme be utilised by trainers to assess the programme's efficacy. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Text in English / The training of psychotherapists not only determines what new therapists learn about the practice of therapy, but influences significantly their identity and the development of a professional self. This dissertation explores the professional development of a trainee therapist, taking into consideration the training context and training approach, the trainee's unique training needs and the influence of own interactional style. The study was undertaken from an action research perspective, therefore emphasising solving a problem in the field and feeding this information back into the system during the course of the research project. The researcher describes how the training context (in this case, the Agape Healing Community in Mamelodi, South Africa), the training approach (systemic family therapy), and his personal style shaped his professional sense of self. He found however, that it was the process of action research which encouraged movement from feelings of inadequacy to competence in his professional development. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

The tone of this dissertation is in the first person as allowed by the lens of constructivism used in it. Being constantly self-reflective, the author takes the reader through his personal journey to be a therapist, and the ethical dimensions encountered in the process, to indicate that one cannot do therapy \\'ithout considering ethics in the fusion of the professional and personal selves of the therapist.- What is lost in the delineated field of observation is hoped to be gained, in the richness of its personal material. Not aiming at drawing any generalisable arguments, the purpose of the dissertation is to provoke a dialogue about our ethical conduct with clients, indicating that our therapeutic conduct is enriched by constantly involving ourselves in the ethical dilemmas that emerge in the therapeutic process. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)