Previous research on self-change in support groups has focused on the ways individuals accomplish self-change in the "local cultures" of the support group settings. This ethnographic study of the 12-step self-help group Debtors Anonymous (DA) departs from that tradition by focusing on the ways that DA members achieve self-change by employing "recovery" strategies learned from the group in their everyday lives. DA members enter the group during financial crises, and often believe they cannot manage their own personal finances. By learning techniques of financial management taught by the group, DA members gradually gain "sobriety" and financial management skills. This analysis highlights the important role played by various technologies of self-construction in DA members' recovery efforts. Drawing on narrative and governmentality theories, this analysis shows how DA members accomplish self-change by learning to become self-monitoring and self-restrained financial managers and consumers.

<p>This descriptive study investigated the utilisation of and perceptions about service delivery by Philippi Trust in the HIV/AIDS support groups in the Helderberg region. A questionnaire and individual interviews were applied to gather the data from the HIV/AIDS support group members and their facilitators. The quantitative data analysis was done, using the Statistical Packaging for Social science (SPSS) aiming to determine the descriptive statistics of the database and variables. The qualitative analysis was conducted using thematic analysis. Anonymity was assured but complete confidentiality was not possible as the investigator had knowledge of the HIV status of the study population, however no names appeared in the research report.</p>

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur en gruppverksamhet vars mål är att ge psykosocialt stöd och fysisk aktivitet till män diagnostiserade med prostatacancer bör utformas och presenteras för att tilltala målgruppen. Metod: Studien hade en kvalitativ, deskriptiv ansats och baserades på fem individuella intervjuer och en fokusgruppsintervju . Samtliga intervjuer var semistrukturerade och spelades in. Huvudresultat: Innehållsanalyser av intervjuerna resulterade i följande tre kategorier; ”Presentation av gruppverksamhet”, ”Attityder” och ”Innehåll i gruppverksamhet”. Varje kategori hade även ett antal subkategorier. Tillsammans åskådliggjorde kategorierna vad män med prostatacancer ansåg att en rehabiliteringsgrupp som Rehabilitering med samtal och yoga [RSYG] ska innehålla samt hur den kan presenteras. Det mest överraskande resultatet var att av de män som tidigare inte deltagit i RSYG så var det flera som var intresserade av att delta och angav tidsbrist som främsta orsak till att de uteblivit. Slutsats: För att män skall delta i RSYG krävs inte enbart ett väl utformat flygblad eller en god synlighet, inte heller räcker det med att vårdpersonal säger åt männen att gå till RSYG, utan innehållet i Rehabilitering med samtal och yoga bör även individanpassas då alla män inte lider av samma symptom då de har och behandlas för prostatacancer. Anhöriga bör även involveras då de också påverkas av männens sjukdom och en blandning av alla dessa strategier bör därför prövas och utvärderas. / Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate how a support group, offering psychosocial support and physical activity to men diagnosed with prostate cancer, should be presented and what it should comprise of. Method: A qualitative descriptive approach was used. Five individual interviews and one focus group interview were conducted. All interviews were semi-structured and recorded. Main results: The content analysis of the interviews resulted in the following three categories; “Presentation of the support group”, “Attitudes” and “Content of the support group”. Each category had a number of subcategories assigned to them. Together, the categories described the views of men, diagnosed with prostate cancer, regarding the presentation and the content of Rehabilitation with conversation and yoga [RSYG]. The most surprising result was that several men, who had not participated in RSYG, expressed an interest in participating. Their main reason to not having participated was lack of time. Conclusion: In pursuit of more participants for RSYG, the persons in charge must not only design an appealing flyer or become more visible to the men. Nor is it enough that other health professionals, such as doctors and nurses, order the men to attend. The content of the support group must become more adaptable to the individual needs of the men since every man suffers different symptoms from prostate cancer. The spouses of the men should be included in the support group since they too get affected by the cancer. A mix of the strategies mentioned above should be tried and evaluated.

<p>This descriptive study investigated the utilisation of and perceptions about service delivery by Philippi Trust in the HIV/AIDS support groups in the Helderberg region. A questionnaire and individual interviews were applied to gather the data from the HIV/AIDS support group members and their facilitators. The quantitative data analysis was done, using the Statistical Packaging for Social science (SPSS) aiming to determine the descriptive statistics of the database and variables. The qualitative analysis was conducted using thematic analysis. Anonymity was assured but complete confidentiality was not possible as the investigator had knowledge of the HIV status of the study population, however no names appeared in the research report.</p>

Online support groups have shown a strong potential to foster resourceful environments for people living with depression without restrictions of time, space, and stigma. Research has found that users of those groups exchange various types of support. However, due to the scarcity of research, many other aspects of depression online support groups remain inconclusive. In particular, how the support exchange contributes to the everyday lives of users living with depression remains unclear. To contribute to filing some of the knowledge gaps, the present study explored what kinds of support were requested and provided in a depression online support group. By doing so, this study aimed to examine the roles of the depression online support group in the management of depression. Mixed methods were employed with a concurrent triangulation strategy. A sample of 980 posts were selected systematically from the support group. Demographic and clinical information of the users who made those posts were recorded. Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were conducted to examine the types of support being exchanged through those posts. Inter-coder reliability was calculated to ensure the consistency of the coding process. The results indicate that users sought informational support, various types of emotional support and coaching support, and social companionship. Users not only sought listening ears, but also practical advice to cope with the situations they were going through. The group appeared to serve its users as a place to meet others with similar experience; to manage loneliness; to discuss what they could not discuss elsewhere; to "just vent"; to gain advice from multiple perspectives on an issue that had been magnifying the impact of depression; to share the experience with formal care provision systems; to express immediate support needs; to share useful discoveries, accomplishments, and creative ways to manage depression; and to experience the value of helping others. This study supports the idea that depression online support groups have the strong potential to contribute to the everyday lives of people living with depression in a way that is not available elsewhere and in a way that complement to the overall framework of existing care provision systems.

The general objectives of the study were to evaluate a social work support group programme with informal caregivers that aimed to enhance the quality of care provided to older persons in an urban and rural community setting in Namibia. In order to achieve the general objectives of the study, the following specific objectives were formulated: * To explore how informal caregiving situations in urban and rural communities lead to elder abuse and neglect. * To describe existing literature on the various factors that contribute to elder abuse and neglect within community settings. * To develop a support group programme for informal caregivers of older persons in urban and rural community settings that aimed at preventing elder abuse and neglect. * To implement and evaluate the effectiveness of the support group programme for informal caregivers that aimed at preventing elder abuse and neglect. The thesis consists of 5 sections: Section A consists of the problem statement, research objectives, central theoretical argument and the theoretical approaches that underpin the study. Furthermore, the research methodology, the definition of key concepts and the limitation of the study are presented. Section B contains four articles that together formed part of the research outcomes. Each article can function independently with it’s own objectives and distinctive content. However, each article is also a sub-project of the umbrella research study. Therefore, some of the data have to be repeated in different sections. The four articles are: Article 1: Informal caregiving, elder abuse and neglect in urban and rural areas of the Khomas region in Namibia: A needs assessment A needs assessment on informal caregiving situations and how it may lead to elder abuse and neglect of older persons from an urban and rural constituency in the Khomas region was explored. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with professional and community leaders. In addition, focus group discussions were held with older persons and informal caregivers in the urban and rural constituency. Article 2: Factors contributing to elder abuse and neglect in community settings In this article, a comprehensive review of the literature pertaining to the risk and protective factors to elder abuse and neglect was done. The ecological theory was worthwhile to describe the risk factors to elder abuse and neglect. Article 3: Designing a social work support group programme with informal caregivers of older people in Namibia A social work support group programme was developed for informal caregivers of older persons in community settings. The eight-week support group programme was developed based on a needs assessment and a comprehensive literature review, and included the following topics; the normal processes of aging, handling of difficult caregiving situations, caregiver stress, self-care of the caregiver, elder abuse and neglect and caregiver grief and loss. The planning model for group work was also utilised to design the group. Article 4: Evaluation of the effectiveness of a support group programme with informal caregivers to prevent elder abuse and neglect An eight-week support group programme with ten female informal caregivers from an urban group and twelve informal caregivers from a rural group setting was implemented and evaluated. Standardized measuring instruments that assessed the outcome of the group at pre-test, post-test and postponed post-test were the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), Potentially Harmful Behaviour (PHB) scale and the Caregiver Abuse Screen (CASE). The Group Engagement Measure (GEM) assessed the group processes at the fourth, sixth and eight group sessions. In addition, open-ended questions were used to collect qualitative data. The quantitative and qualitative evaluations indicated that both the urban and rural groups gained knowledge on aging and caregiving, and caregivers acquired vital qualities such as patience, compassion and communication skills. The process evaluation showed that caregivers from the urban group were more engaged in the group process than the rural group. Elder abuse was underreported in the study, while personal stress of caregivers reduced significantly because of the intervention. Section C consists of the summary of the most important findings and conclusions to the research study. In addition recommendations are provided. Section D consists of the annexures to the research report, such as the measuring instruments and interview schedules used for data collection. Section E contains a consolidated list of references. / PhD (Social Work), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Online support groups have shown a strong potential to foster resourceful environments for people living with depression without restrictions of time, space, and stigma. Research has found that users of those groups exchange various types of support. However, due to the scarcity of research, many other aspects of depression online support groups remain inconclusive. In particular, how the support exchange contributes to the everyday lives of users living with depression remains unclear. To contribute to filing some of the knowledge gaps, the present study explored what kinds of support were requested and provided in a depression online support group. By doing so, this study aimed to examine the roles of the depression online support group in the management of depression. Mixed methods were employed with a concurrent triangulation strategy. A sample of 980 posts were selected systematically from the support group. Demographic and clinical information of the users who made those posts were recorded. Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were conducted to examine the types of support being exchanged through those posts. Inter-coder reliability was calculated to ensure the consistency of the coding process. The results indicate that users sought informational support, various types of emotional support and coaching support, and social companionship. Users not only sought listening ears, but also practical advice to cope with the situations they were going through. The group appeared to serve its users as a place to meet others with similar experience; to manage loneliness; to discuss what they could not discuss elsewhere; to "just vent"; to gain advice from multiple perspectives on an issue that had been magnifying the impact of depression; to share the experience with formal care provision systems; to express immediate support needs; to share useful discoveries, accomplishments, and creative ways to manage depression; and to experience the value of helping others. This study supports the idea that depression online support groups have the strong potential to contribute to the everyday lives of people living with depression in a way that is not available elsewhere and in a way that complement to the overall framework of existing care provision systems.

This thesis focused on the situation of family members of persons with psychotic illness, particular on their experience of the approach of the healthcare professionals and of their feelings of alienation regarding the professional care of their family member. A further aim was to explore how siblings who have participated in a support group for siblings experienced their situation. A questionnaire was developed that enabled the aims of this thesis to be investigated (I). Seventy family members from various parts of Sweden participated, and data were collected via the questionnaire developed in study I (II-III). Thirteen siblings who previously had participated in a support group participated in follow-up focus groups interviews (IV). The questionnaire developed was shown to be reliable and valid in these studies (I). In many cases, the participants had experienced an approach from professionals that indicated that they did not experience openness, confirmation and cooperation, and that they felt powerless and socially isolated in relation to the care. There was also found to be a certain degree of association between how the participants experienced the approach and whether they felt alienation (II). The majority of the participants considered openness, confirmation, and cooperation to be important aspects of professional’s approach. The result also identified a low level of agreement between the participants’ experience and what they considered to be significant in the professional’s approach (III). The findings revealed the complexity of being a sibling of an individual with psychotic illness. Participating in a support group for siblings can be of importance in gaining knowledge and minimizing feelings of being alone (IV). Although the psychiatric care services in Sweden have been aware of the importance of cooperating with family members, the results indicated that there is a need for further research in this area.

To address a gap in the empirical literature on Educational Psychology (EP) practice and on adoption, and to gain perspectives from the Local Authority (LA), this thesis describes collaborative action research conducted by an Educational Psychologist (EP) with adoptive parents to support their communications with school staff. Participants were members of an Adoption Support Group and colleagues in Social Care. Information was gathered via focus groups and semi-structured questionnaires to ascertain the types of difficulties expressed by adoptive parents and inform the processes of communication systems. Participatory action research empowered participants to engage in meaningful and purposeful actions of planning, designing and evaluating information. The research narrative reports on first person inquiry through personal reflection and learning. Second person inquiry was generated in the course of research interactions with participants and the data that emerged from their realities to inform practical learning in action. Third person inquiry moved towards thinking around explanations for issues and the generation of knowledge. Knowledge was developed about parents’ perspectives on the barriers and enabling factors involved in their communications with school staff. The action research approach captured the potential of the insider position to generate rich data in situ while promoting a collaborative response to the social situation faced by the adopters when communicating with school staff. My insider position as researcher, holding multiple roles as an adoptive parent, as an EP and LA officer, is actively acknowledged as influencing understanding and the conceptualisations of the findings. The participants collaborated in the generation of a resource that provided opportunities for insight into issues to improve working practice and may provide a tool to allow parents to communicate effectively with school staff. The resource supported two main recognised functions: practical structure and emotional support. Empowering approaches were those that respected their knowledge, used their language and meanings in an emancipatory way that removed barriers, and were inclusive of them and their children. Communication is enhanced by and depends on systems that are empowering for parents and staff to co-construct shared understandings.

Bullying at work is a form of violence which consists in prolonged and repeated exposure of workers to offensive and humiliating situations and may be a trigger of psychological distress in many individuals and groups. Literature in the field identifies support groups as an emergent treatment alternative with positive results. This study aimed to qualitatively describe the development of a support group for people who suffered bullying at work in a public university in the South of Brazil. The group was composed of 5 women who took part in 8 meetings during 2014 and 2015. The main results of this intervention provide information about bullying at work, developing new coping strategies and the development of a framework of mutual support among the participants. / O assédio moral no trabalho remete à exposição prolongada e repetitiva de trabalhadores a situações ofensivas, humilhantes e constrangedoras, que podem desencadear intenso sofri­ mento psicológico às vítimas. A literatura identifica os grupos de apoio aos sujeitos assediados moralmente como alternativas de intervenção emergentes e com resultados positivos aos participantes. Dados os casos identificados em uma universidade pública do sul do Brasil, foi realizado um grupo de apoio psicológico e o artigo descreve qualitativamente o desenvolvi­ mento do mesmo. O grupo foi composto por 5 mulheres, que participaram de 8 encontros nos anos 2014 e 2015. Dentre os principais resultados dessa intervenção, destaca-se um maior esclarecimento sobre o assédio moral, elaboração de novas estratégias de enfrenta­ mento e o desenvolvimento de um contexto de apoio mútuo entre as participantes. Palavras-chave: assédio moral, trabalhadores, grupo de apoio, saúde do trabalhador. / El acoso laboral se refiere a la exposición prolongada y repetida de los trabajadores a situa­ ciones ofensivas, humillantes y vergonzosas, y puede desencadenar un intenso sufrimiento psicológico en las víctimas. La literatura identifica a los grupos de apoyo con trabajadores acosados moralmente como alternativas de intervención emergentes con resultados posi­ tivos para los participantes. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo describir cualitativamente el desarrollo de un grupo de apoyo que ocurrió en una universidad pública en el sur de Brasil. El grupo estaba compuesto por 5 mujeres que participaron en 8 reuniones en los años 2014 y 2015. Los resultados de esta intervención brindan información sobre el acoso laboral, el desarrollo de nuevas estrategias de afrontamiento y el desarrollo de un contexto con apoyo mutuo entre los participantes.