published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

A multiple case study approach was employed in this intensive thematic analysis of the process of nondirective play therapy. Using a naturalistic research paradigm, this study undertook to identify and describe the principal verbal and play themes and their transformations emergent over a course of play therapy, as well as to identify and describe similarities and differences between the themes emergent in those two domains. Play and verbalization, two types of symbolic expression, were considered routes of access to the child’s evolution of personal meaning. The research participants in this multiple case study were 4 preschoolers, aged 3 to 4. Each participant received 20 weekly play therapy sessions which were videotaped and transcribed. Running notations were made on the verbatim transcripts as to participants’ play activities. Separate coding schemes were devised for the emergent play and verbal themes. Supplemental data collection, organization, and analysis procedures included a field notebook with post hoc descriptions of the sessions, session summary sheets profiling play and verbal themes, charts, and memos. This study, discovery-oriented and exploratory in nature, yielded rich descriptions of the intricacies of therapeutic change on two symbolic levels. From these descriptions were extracted not only information on the transformations in play and verbal themes but also an understanding of the qualitative changes which denote the phases of therapy, and insight into the process of evolving meaning across these phases. A central finding of this study was that the arrays of play and verbal themes and their patterns of transformations were highly individualized. However, a number of themes emerged in common to all cases: Exploration, Aggression, Messing, Distress, and Caregiving or Nurturance. Participants were observed to work through contrasting themes, with preschoolers’ therapy characterized as an active struggle with such intense, oppositional forces as birth and death, injury and recovery, loss and retrieval. Typical thematic transformations included movement from infantile vulnerability to mastery, from grief toward resolution, from fear to safety and protection. The beginning phase of therapy was found to be typified by exploratory play. The middle phase was typified by intensified involvement in play and by experiences of disinhibition. The end phase was characterized by two contrasting yet not mutually exclusive tendencies, namely, the introduction of a sense of hopefulness, confidence, and integration; and an improved capacity to deal with difficult psychological material. Entry into the middle and end phases was signalled by qualitative shifts in the child’s attentional, tensional, or relational state. The theoretical implications of this study included insight into the critical role of the child’s initiative and of the therapist’s permissiveness in the unfolding of symbolic expression. Each individual case contained specific theoretical implications for such classic problem and treatment phenomena as developmental delay and play disruptions. The practical implications of this study include emphasizing the need for practitioners to counterbalance attention to the child’s verbal expression with attention to transformations in play activity and play material usage. It is suggested that further research extend the ramifications of this exploratory study by examining the themes occurring in treatment within homogeneous populations according to problem configuration.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the hermeneutic value of the Daseinsanalytic approach to dream interpretation in the process of psychotherapy. After delineating the Daseinsanalytic view on dream interpretation, with emphasis on the conceptualization of Medard Boss, the study explores the usefulness and validity of the case study as a method of investigating the content and process of psychotherapy. A psychodynamic formulation of the presenting problem is based on the conceptualization of the nature and etiology of neurosis as delineated by Andras Angyal, with particular reference to the pattern of noncommitment. The dreams included in the case material are then examined to determine to what degree they facilitated insight into the subjective experience and phenomenological existence of the dreamer, and what effect the dream interpretation based on the Daseinsanalytic approach had on the process of therapy. It is established that a phenomenological understanding of the client's dreams corresponds with his subjective experience of his emotional and existential condition, and that positive changes in the content of the dreams during the course of therapy correspond with overt, observable changes in his behaviour, ideation and mood. Based on these findings, the case study leads to the conclusion that the Daseinsanalytic approach to dream interpretation has hermeneutic value in the process of psychotherapy.

M.Ed. / After the legalization of abortions (Number 92 of 1996), the question that arose was: How does the adolescent girl experience the abortion she underwent? This question is also seen against the background of the adolescent's developmental phase and development tasks. To ascertain the adolescent girls' experience I made use of a research design that is qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual of nature. This research took place in two phases: In Phase one, in depth phenomenological interviews were conducted. In Phase two, I made use of logical inference to generate guidelines for educational psycologists and healthworkers who were to counsel the girls who had undergone abortions. The experiences of the adolescent girls can be divided into three dimensions, namely the physical, psychological and spiritual dimension. The guidelines that were set, are as follow: Giving of information before, during and after the abortion; Counseling for lifeskills, namely decision making, management of conflict situasions and the verbalisation of emotions; Counseling adolescent girls to develop a more positive self-image and the handling of feelings of guilt.

D.Litt. et Phil. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

A multiple case study approach was employed in this intensive thematic analysis of the process of nondirective play therapy. Using a naturalistic research paradigm, this study undertook to identify and describe the principal verbal and play themes and their transformations emergent over a course of play therapy, as well as to identify and describe similarities and differences between the themes emergent in those two domains. Play and verbalization, two types of symbolic expression, were considered routes of access to the child’s evolution of personal meaning. The research participants in this multiple case study were 4 preschoolers, aged 3 to 4. Each participant received 20 weekly play therapy sessions which were videotaped and transcribed. Running notations were made on the verbatim transcripts as to participants’ play activities. Separate coding schemes were devised for the emergent play and verbal themes. Supplemental data collection, organization, and analysis procedures included a field notebook with post hoc descriptions of the sessions, session summary sheets profiling play and verbal themes, charts, and memos. This study, discovery-oriented and exploratory in nature, yielded rich descriptions of the intricacies of therapeutic change on two symbolic levels. From these descriptions were extracted not only information on the transformations in play and verbal themes but also an understanding of the qualitative changes which denote the phases of therapy, and insight into the process of evolving meaning across these phases. A central finding of this study was that the arrays of play and verbal themes and their patterns of transformations were highly individualized. However, a number of themes emerged in common to all cases: Exploration, Aggression, Messing, Distress, and Caregiving or Nurturance. Participants were observed to work through contrasting themes, with preschoolers’ therapy characterized as an active struggle with such intense, oppositional forces as birth and death, injury and recovery, loss and retrieval. Typical thematic transformations included movement from infantile vulnerability to mastery, from grief toward resolution, from fear to safety and protection. The beginning phase of therapy was found to be typified by exploratory play. The middle phase was typified by intensified involvement in play and by experiences of disinhibition. The end phase was characterized by two contrasting yet not mutually exclusive tendencies, namely, the introduction of a sense of hopefulness, confidence, and integration; and an improved capacity to deal with difficult psychological material. Entry into the middle and end phases was signalled by qualitative shifts in the child’s attentional, tensional, or relational state. The theoretical implications of this study included insight into the critical role of the child’s initiative and of the therapist’s permissiveness in the unfolding of symbolic expression. Each individual case contained specific theoretical implications for such classic problem and treatment phenomena as developmental delay and play disruptions. The practical implications of this study include emphasizing the need for practitioners to counterbalance attention to the child’s verbal expression with attention to transformations in play activity and play material usage. It is suggested that further research extend the ramifications of this exploratory study by examining the themes occurring in treatment within homogeneous populations according to problem configuration. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this study is to understand clients’ experience of the e-counselling service provided by the Directorate: Counselling and Career Development (DCCD) at the University of South Africa. The research questions focused on clients’ expectations and experience of the e-counselling service. A sequential mixed methods design was employed to collect and analyse quantitative and qualitative data in two phases. Data for phase 1 of this study were collected with an online survey (n = 669) and data for phase 2 were collected with interview questions completed by e-mail (n=10). Quantitative data analysis employed frequency counts and qualitative data analysis was based on procedures outlined by Auerbach and Silberstein (2003). The study shows clients’ preference for text-based electronic services and regard the e-counselling service as a valuable addition to services. Factors that contribute to clients’ positive and negative experiences of e-counselling were identified. Findings and recommendations of this study may be implemented by the DCCD to enhance the e-counselling service. / Psychology / M.Sc. (Psychology)

The purpose of this study is to understand clients’ experience of the e-counselling service provided by the Directorate: Counselling and Career Development (DCCD) at the University of South Africa. The research questions focused on clients’ expectations and experience of the e-counselling service. A sequential mixed methods design was employed to collect and analyse quantitative and qualitative data in two phases. Data for phase 1 of this study were collected with an online survey (n = 669) and data for phase 2 were collected with interview questions completed by e-mail (n=10). Quantitative data analysis employed frequency counts and qualitative data analysis was based on procedures outlined by Auerbach and Silberstein (2003). The study shows clients’ preference for text-based electronic services and regard the e-counselling service as a valuable addition to services. Factors that contribute to clients’ positive and negative experiences of e-counselling were identified. Findings and recommendations of this study may be implemented by the DCCD to enhance the e-counselling service. / Psychology / M.Sc. (Psychology)

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Aims: It is argued that one’s sense of self is threatened and eroded by mental illness. According to the narrative perspective, one’s personal life narrative is displaced and maintained by a story of illness. However, dialogical self theorists argue that mental illness limits the number of ‘I’ positions available within an individual, resulting in the positions/voices becoming rigid and being dominated by a singular, monological position. The aims of this qualitative study are to attempt to understand and examine psychiatric inpatients’ personal lived experiences of an art group. The goal of the study is to focus on the impact of the art-making process on these patients with regards to the construction of their sense of self. Design: A qualitative research design was used in the study. Method: Four psychiatric in-patient art group members – three male and one female, between the ages of 27 and 40 – were interviewed. A semi-structured interview schedule consisting of sixteen questions focusing on the interviewees’ experiences of the art group was used. The interviews were analysed using an interpretive phenomenological analysis. Results: Three superordinate themes emerged: What the Participants Gained From the Art Group, Sense of Community and Leaving a Mark, and The Experience of Self in the Art group. All three Superordinate themes fall within the participants’ experience of the art group. Conclusion: All four of the participants expressed positive feelings and enjoyment towards the art group. Participation in the art group provided the participants with a sense of pride, achievement and hope within their lives. As a result of participation on the art group, one of the four participants was able to construct a thin alternative experience and sense of self.