M.A. (Psychology) / This study set out to try and find some answers to questions pertaining to psychotherapy groups in the admissions ward of a psychiatric hospital. The questions were about the effect of group therapy on: * the system of the psychiatric hospital; * the therapists within the system of the psychiatric hospital; * the members of the groups (the patients). * which prosesses took place within the group therapy that can be regarded as therapeutic, and * which prosesses can be described as anti-therapeutic and destructive? The study is descriptive in nature and looks in turn to group therapy in the context of the psychiatric hospital and the efforts of two clinical psychology interns to run therapy groups in the admissions ward of a psychiatric hospital. The conclusion is made that the effectiveness of group therapy in a psychiatric hospital is limited as long as the epistemological differences between psychiatry and psychology are not attended to and as long as the status of psychologists in general, and interns in particular, stays as it is at present. With this in mind, recommendations are made regarding the context, organisation, goals and structure of group therapy as well as the role of the therapist, training of interns in group therapy and further research.

M.Cur. (Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.A. / The purpose of this study is to illustrate the psychotherapeutic use of Attachment Theory. Attachment Theory is an interpersonal theory which refers to the way an individual internalises an emotional-cognitive model of his relationships with his various attachment figures. These models of ways of relating are reflected in the way an individual speaks. The methodology of the study entailed conducting the semi-structured Adult Attachment Interview to elicit a psychotherapy client's narrative about his attachment relationships. A discourse analysis technique was then conducted to analyse the client's mode of speaking. In the context of the psychotherapy relationship the client showed a capacity for greater integration of previously dissociated thoughts and was able to gain some emotional relief in talking about his attachment relationships. Furthermore, Attachment Theory with its sensitivity to discourse can be seen to provide a useful framework for therapeutic practise.

M.A. (Clinical Psychology) / The context of psychotherapy groups determine which factors are experienced as therapeutic. The nature of inpatient setting, the brief duration of the groups. and the concurrent nature of therapy were hypothesised as having a possible effect on which factors are perceived as therapeutic. For this particular study the added effect of substance dependency was taken into account. Each of these factors were discussed in a detailed review of the literature. The model of research used in the study was the attitudinal survey with the means of a questionnaire. The patients rank-ordered the relative importance of the various treatment experiences offered by Phoenix House. The primary research data was obtained by means of Yalom's (1985) therapeutic statement questionnaire. well validated in terms of reliability and validity. The statements have previously been used in a forced Q-sort method. In this study it was decided to leave it open as more factors may be rated as therapeutic than those achieved in a Q-sort. Time and expediency were also factors taken into account in using the questionnaire rating in an unforced manner. Open ended questions were used to obtain descriptive data regarding the helpfulness of group psychotherapy and their perceptions of concurrent therapy. A nonprobability sampling procedure was used. The present study addressed the following questions: 1. How do inpatients dependent upon substances perceive. in relation to other treatment methods, their group psychotherapy experiences? 2. Which aspects of the inpatient group psychotherapy experiences. as reflected in the therapeutic factors. seemto be perceived as most and least useful to people dependent upon substances? 3. How do the inpatients perceive their concurrent individual and group psychotherapy? 4. Do high and low valuers of inpatient group psychotherapy value different therapeutic factors?

M.A. (Psychology) / It is generally accepted that the management and treatment of individuals addicted to chemical substances or drugs entail challenges for the professions involved in drug contexts. In this dissertation a number of therapeutic systems in drug contexts are explored in aim of the treatment of people with drug addiction. In the literature survey it is indicated that the manner in which therapeutic intervensions are operationalized in drug treatment practices, are influenced by the organization's theoretical-philosophical orientation with regard to therapeutic treatment modes. This aspect is examined in the study on the basis of a critical discussion of the perspectives of the medical model and an alternative model, namely the adaptive model, concerning the therapeutic management of people addicted to drugs. It is further established from the literature that people with drug addiction problems are often treated within the boundaries of a therapeutic community and that various therapeutic interventions, namely individual psychotherapy, family therapy and group therapy, are also implemented in this therapeutic context. The present study specifically concentrates on an alternative approach concerning the therapeutic modes of treatment for individuals with drug addiction. One such an approach, as discussed in this study, entails that therapeutic approaches regarding people addicted to drugs, progress from a causal-theoretical manner of defining these people (for instance the view that individuals addicted to drugs have a progressive disease and that they are unable to take responsibility for their behaviour) to an approach based on the principles of interactional therapy and motivational milieu therapy {for instance the idea that such individuals have the ability to conduct their interpersonal relationships

M.Cur. (Psychiatric Nursing) / The objectives of this study were to describe group nursing therapy as a resource utilized by the psychiatric nurse as a way of facilitating the adolescent's mobilization of resources to cope with the violence in their everyday life and to describe guidelines for group nursing therapy to facilitate the promotion, maintenance and restoration of these adolescent's mental health. The situation of violence makes the adolescent susceptible to mental health problems. The adolescent perceive various degrees of violence in their homes, the community and at school. A combination of these violence related situations predisposes the adolescents to developing unhealthy ways of coping with the effects of violence. The number of adolescents referred to psychiatric community services has increased at an alarming rate. The main reasons for their referral was their poor scholastic performance; they were generally labelled as "a lost generation" and also as being mentally ill. The research was based on Nursing for the Whole Person Theory and the functional approach to nursing research was assumed. This implies that the goal of the research was aimed at improving the quality of patient care. The research design was descriptive and qualitative in nature, which was also contextual. The descriptive single case study method was utilized. Reliability was ensured by using as many steps as possible to operationalize the case study - and the research was conducted as if someone were always looking over the researcher's shoulder. Validity control measures were applied to counteract criticism by ensuring that a sufficient operational set of measures was developed and objective judgements were used to collect data by way of coding transcribed audiotaped material from all the sessions of the group nursing therapy...

M.A. (Clinical Psychology) / In this project, the author explores, analyses and interprets the experiences of a group of students and teachers who worked together at a farm school for almost a year. Certain pertinent questions relating to the nature of therapy, training, research and community work are examined. The dominant view is that therapy and community work are different activities, requiring different sets of skills, for which different training is needed. Fundamental to this discussion is the issue of what is meant by community. The author proposes that community can be usefully conceptualised as the meaning people give to the evolving processes of their inter-connectedness, and their co-creation of ideas. Furthermore, these processes contain the potential for individuals to experience personal shifts that may be described variously as learning/growth/change/transformation. There is impetus for transformation at the interface between connectedness and disconnectedness. This renders unnecessary any differentiation between the process of training students for clinical and community work. Central to all training would be a person's ability to connect and utilise this connectedness, or its counterpart of disconnectedness, in a meaningful way. Essentially all interactions, including those in a training, therapy, research and community context, could then be viewed as a process of co-creation around people's sense of connectedness disconnectedness. The implications of all the above are that the processes of co-creation of community constitute fundamental elements of training, therapy, research and community work. The author uses an alternative research paradigm, subscribing to the principles of ecological inquiry, according to which research and intervention are inseparable.

D.Litt. et Phil. / A plethora of research has been conducted on victims of township violence, detention and political unrest, but there is no research on car hijack victims or the prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which could result from this crime. The implications of this lack of research are important because people are confronted by trauma on a daily basis but there are few guidelines for providing treatment. Hijackings are a somewhat recent phenomenon unlike other traumas such as wars and natural disasters, but the effects of hijacking are no less severe. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) always requires an initiating event which is assumed to be traumatic. The context in which car hijackings occur in South Africa can be considered to meet the criteria for what constitutes a traumatic event, which could possibly lead to the development of PTSD (Myerson, 1995). Not all crime victims who need professional assistance will enter therapy. This is often due to the victim's self-perception of weakness, feelings of embarrassment, or the perception that others will not understand their experience. A group-based intervention offers the advantages of reducing isolation, providing comfort and support, and eliminating feelings of stigma. For this reason it was important to analyse the nature of PTSD and how to intervene to aid the recovery from PTSD, in the South African context. The literature points to the recovery from PTSD as being contingent upon the psychotherapeutic input that the traumatised individual receives. This research focused on the development of a group-based cognitive behaviour intervention programme for victims who developed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of car hijackings. Cognitive behavioural therapy is the only treatment modality that is supported by objective measures of success (Peterson, Prout & Schwartz, 1991) and has been found to be one of the most effective treatments (Kaplan & Sadock, 1993). In order to test the hypotheses, the Beck's Depression Inventory was used to measure the level of depression, the Spielburger's Stai Anxiety scale was used to measure the level of anxiety, and the CAPS and PCL were used to determine whether Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder existed in the individuals who participated in the study and the intensity and frequency of the symptoms.