The aim of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of professionals utilizing sensory-motor play (SMP) with young children (YC) in Gestalt play therapy in order to provide recommendations for professionals and to create an awareness of the value of SMP in Gestalt play therapy. Coming from an occupational therapy background, the researcher became aware of the potential value of utilizing sensorymotor play in Gestalt play therapy with YC. SMP, being a vital part of the sensory integration developmental process of YC, promotes body awareness through muscle movement and control. Awareness is one of the major aims of Gestalt play therapy. All the senses contribute to YC's awareness, including the frequently unacknowledged vestibu lar and proprioceptive senses. In order to treat YC holistically, the developmental importance of SMP should be acknowledged and integrated in the therapy process. Professionals young children working in this field, coming from diverse educational backgrounds, do not necessarily have the knowledge or experience of the utilization of SMPwith YC. A qualitative research approach with a case study research design was adopted in order to explore and describe the experiences of professionals regarding the utilization of SMP with YC in Gestalt play therapy, through applied research. The empirical data was collected by conducting two focus group discussions with professionals from diverse educational backgrounds. Two main themes with different sub-themes and categories were identified by analysing the data. The main themes are that participants are of the opinion that SMP enhances the therapeutic relationship and that SMP has a self-regulatory function. The researcher concludes that professionals gained a new awareness regarding the subject of discussion and experienced that uti lizing SMP in Gestalt play therapy with YC can promote and facilitate whole body/mind awareness and integrated healing. / Thesis (M.A. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

This qualitative study aimed to explore how to handle aggression in therapy from a Gestalt perspective. In order to reach the aim of this study a conceptual framework was done exploring terms central to this project including aggression and Gestalt Play therapy. Unstructured, telephonic interviews were then conducted with seven Gestalt Play therapists working with children in the Western Cape exploring ways to handle and treat aggression in therapy. The data collected during these interviews were then analyzed and several themes were identified and explored by conducting a literature control. Guidelines were then formulated and written on how to handle aggression in therapy from a Gestalt perspective as part of the concluding chapter of this research report. / Social Work / M. Diac (Play Therapy)

No description available.

Text in Afrikaans / Die komplementariteit tussen afstand en intimiteit in die terapeutiese verhouding word ge"illustreer en bespreek aan die hand van 'n enkeie gevallestudie. Die klem is op rekursiewe en selfverwysende prosesse wat tussen die terapeut en kiient plaasvind, sodat die vvyse waarop intiemer en meer afstandelike interaksies ge-kokreer is, uitgelig word. Die terapeutiese proses word binne die raamwerk van die ekosistemiese en sosiale konstruksionistiese epistomologie bespreek. Navorsing word uitgevoer volgens die naturalistiese navorsingsparadigma en raakpunte tussen die navorsingsparadigma en epistomologie wat bespreek is, word aan die hand van die gevaliestudie ge"illustreer. In die studie word daar ook verwys na verwante kwessies, soos aanraking en grense in die terapeutiese verhouding, terapie as 'n a-sosiale konteks, terapie as 'n paradoksale situasie en die neutraliteit van die terapeut, wat aansluit by die tema van hierdie studie. Hierdie temas word geintegreer tydens die bespreking van die gevallestudie. / An individual case study is used in this study, to discuss the complementarity between distance and intimacy in the therapeutic relationship. The focus is on recursive and selfreflective processes between the therapist and the client in order to explain the way in which intimate and distant interactions were coconstructed. The therapeutic process was discussed in the context of ecosystemic and social constructionist epistemologies. Research was done according to the principles of the naturalistic research paradigm and overlaps between this research paradigm and epistemologies that were discussed are brought forward through the discussion of the case study. There are also references in this study to related issues, such as touching and boundaries in the therapeutic relationship, therapy as an a-social and paradoxical context, and the neutrality of the therapist, which connect with the theme of this study. These themes are integrated in the discussion of the case study. / Psychology / M.A. (Kliniese Sielkunde)

Introduction: Recent developments in the study of trauma responses have shown how some people may experience positive and life altering changes following traumatic life events which have been described as posttraumatic growth. Research is beginning to examine the role of trauma treatments in the facilitation of posttraumatic growth. Aim: This study sets out to explore participants’ experiences of posttraumatic growth during Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy, and the role of the therapeutic relationship in facilitating posttraumatic growth. Method: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with participants to examine their phenomenological experiences. Methodology: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was employed to consider emergent meanings and themes within a hermeneutic circle of interpretation. Participants: Seven participants were interviewed who had received Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy within National Health Service primary care psychological therapy services for posttraumatic stress disorder. Findings: Four superordinate themes emerged from the analysis of the participant accounts including: (i) Safe and secure; (ii) Taking back control; (iii) Reconstructing the self; and (iv) Journeying beyond trauma to the future. Conclusions: Person-centred conditions and client-therapist attachment were important elements of the therapeutic relationship which provided participants with the safety, trust, and relational depth necessary for the facilitation of experiences of posttraumatic growth during Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy. Implications: The findings emphasise the importance of a clinical focus on the quality of the therapeutic relationship as a facilitative therapeutic environment allowing affective-cognitive processing and the emergence of posttraumatic growth.

A Psicoterapia Analítica Funcional (FAP) baseia-se no behaviorismo radical e propõe como mecanismo de mudança a modelagem de comportamentos clinicamente relevantes (CCR) na interação terapêutica. Diversas pesquisas tem comprovado a eficácia desse mecanismo de mudança, porém um estudo detalhado das variáveis envolvidas nessa modelagem se faz necessário. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo teve como objetivos verificar os efeitos sobre os CCRs produzidos por dois tipos de intervenções: FAP não sinalizada (FAPNS) e FAP sinalizada (FAPS), e comparar essas intervenções com intervenções analítico comportamentais com foco em análise de contingências externas à terapia (ACE). As intervenções FAPNS consistiram na modelagem de CCRs na interação terapêutica. Já as intervenções FAPS, além da modelagem continham as seguintes variáveis: 1. sinalização e descrição pelo terapeuta da ocorrência de CCRs na interação com o cliente; 2. descrição do terapeuta ao cliente do impacto que os CCRs produzem nele (com relação a sentimentos, pensamentos, etc.); e 3. paralelos realizados pelo terapeuta dos comportamentos do cliente em sessão e fora dela.. Foi utilizado um delineamento intra-sujeito de reversão, de tratamentos múltiplos (A1 B1 A2 C1 A3 B2 A4 C2 A5) para estudar os efeitos dessas intervenções em dois clientes com problemas em relacionamentos interpessoais. A ordem de apresentação das fases foi alternada para cada participante. As sessões foram filmadas e analisadas utilizando o instrumento Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Rating Scale FAPRS. Foram analisadas 27 sessões de cada participante. Os resultados corroboram que a modelagem dos CCRs é o mecanismo de mudança na FAP, visto que os CCRs2 aumentaram de frequência e os CCRs1 diminuíram nas fases em que a FAPS ou FAPNS foram introduzidas. Com o delineamento utilizado conseguimos observar as reversões nas frequências de CRBs nas mudanças entre as fases FAP e ACE. Não foram encontradas diferenças evidentes entre as duas formas de intervenção, FAPS e FAPNS, indicando que a modelagem ocorre quando o terapeuta apresenta a consequência adequada aos CCRs, independente da descrição dos comportamentos / Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) is based on radical behaviorism and proposes that the shaping of clinically relevant behavior (CRB) is the instrument of behavioral change. Many researches demonstrated this mechanism, but a detailed analysis of the variables is necessary. The objective of this research was to study the effects of two different FAP interventions on CRBs: Non-signalized FAP Interventions (FAPNS) and signalized FAP interventions (FAPS), and compare those interventions with sessions of behavioral psychotherapy, with focus on analysis of contingencies external to therapy (ACE). FAPNS interventions consist of shaping the client´s behavior throughout the course of therapeutic interaction. FAPS interventions, in addition to shaping CRBs during therapeutic interaction, contain the following variables: 1) signaling and description by the therapist of the occurrence of CRBs during the interaction with the client, 2) description of the CRBs impact on the therapist (e.g., the therapists feelings, thoughts, etc., produced by the clients CRBs), and 3) description of parallels between CRBs and the clients behavior outside therapeutic setting. We used a within-subject withdrawal design with multiple treatments (A1 - B1 - A2 - C1 - A3 - B2 - A4 - C2 - A5) to study those variables in two clients with interpersonal relationship problems. We controlled the order of presentation of each phase for the participants. The sessions were filmed and then coded using the Functional Analytic Psychotherapy Rating Scale-FAPRS. 27 sessions of each participant were analyzed. The results show that the shaping process of CRBs is the main mechanism of change in FAP since the CRBs 2 increased while the CRBs 1 decreased during FAPS and FAPNS phases. We observed the reversion of CRBs frequencies between FAP and non FAP phases (ACE), but we did not find differences between FAPS and FAPNS interventions. This indicates that the shaping process of CRBs occur when the therapist presents the precise consequences for each CRBs, even if the consequences do not include the description of the behaviors that take place between therapist and client

Parent-child interaction interventions, guided by the aim of promoting child development, have developed in Sweden during the last three decades. The aim of this thesis was to describe families taking part in such interventions and examine short term and long term changes in their problem loads. Praticular interest was directed towards the parents' experiences, both with respect to the treatment they had taken part in at either of four centres for parent-child interaction interventions presented in this thesis and to other persons and/or contexts the parents considered had played an important and beneficial role for the child or the family. The results show that the centres have reached both mothers, fathers and children beset by considerable difficulties in relation to interaction, offering them a treatment which an overwhelming majority of the families have chosen to follow through and which has made a difference to the families. This thesis highlights the significance of beneficial relationships, not only within the intervention but also in other professional contexts, for the enhancing of children's development.

The purpose of this study is to provide a social constructionist perspective on the therapeutic relationship. This is to aid a broader conceptualisation and understanding of this important therapeutic concept. To attain this, multiple truths or theories regarding the therapeutic relationship are explored. Additionally, a possible different conceptualisation of a therapeutic relationship between three participants and myself as the researcher is set out using social constructionist epistemology. This includes an investigation of the researcher as an important constructer of the study, and the co-creative nature of the therapeutic relationship. The subjective nature of the research is continually emphasised throughout the dissertation. Given the social constructionist approach to this dissertation, context plays a vital role. Therefore an exploration of the social constructionist epistemology in general, psychology and psychotherapy is set out, as these form the backdrop of the study. This is followed by a look at the importance of the therapeutic relationship in psychotherapy, as well as the different contributions six broad theoretical orientations have made to the understanding of the therapeutic relationship. The importance of context is also reflected in the research design. A qualitative approach is taken, using case study methodology. Observation, field notes and unstructured interviews were used to gather the information from the participants and researcher, and the information was analysed using thematic analysis. The results are set out in the form of themes generated using the thematic analysis. The importance and development of a connection between therapist and client is explored. This includes a discussion on the role of knowledge, influence, trust in the client, and a not-knowing attitude in the process of development of a connection. The therapeutic relationship’s empowerment perspective and aim is shown. This perspective highlights the flow of power in the therapeutic relationship between therapist and client. The context of helping and the professional nature of the relationship are also discussed. These themes are grouped together under one encompassing theme, namely that of difference. It is indicated that, in general, the therapeutic relationship is one of difference. In conclusion, the contributions of this study are highlighted. These include the re-emphasis on the importance of the therapeutic relationship as a central construct in psychotherapeutic intervention. / Dissertation (MA (Clinical Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Psychology / unrestricted

The aim of the essay has been to investigate how therapists explain the causes for the occurrence of men's violence against women in intimate relations, and the opportunities and difficulties they experience during the treatment of these men. The study is based on qualitative interviews with four therapists who work with violent men. We analyzed the interviews with the help of thematic analysis which resulted in the sub-themes masculinity norms, violent experiences and powerlessness, which further created the main theme: causes of the violence. The sub-themes alliance building, motivated client, responsibility insight and gender norms in treatment created the main theme: opportunity for change. The sub-themes addiction, lack of mentalizing ability and shaming created the main theme: difficulties in treatment. The results indicate that the therapist agrees that there is no simple explanation for the occurrence of violence by men against women in intimate relations and neither a way of working against it. The results also indicate that the explanation for the occurrence of violence differs between therapists and they have some different opinions about how one should work to fight men's violence against women. / Uppsatsens syfte har varit att undersöka hur behandlare beskriver orsaker till uppkomsten av mäns våld mot kvinnor i nära relationer samt vilka förutsättningar och svårigheter de upplever i behandlingen. Studien baseras på kvalitativa intervjuer med fyra behandlare som arbetar med våldsutövande män. Vi har analyserat intervjumaterialet med hjälp av tematisk analys som resulterade i subtemana maskulinitetsnormer, våldserfarenheter och vanmakt som utgjorde huvudtemat orsaker till våldet. Alliansbyggande, motiverad klient, ansvarsinsikt, könsnormer i behandling utgjorde huvudtemat förutsättningar för förändring. Missbruk, bristande mentaliseringsförmåga och skambeläggande utgjorde huvudtemat svårigheter i behandlingen. Resultaten tyder på att behandlarna är överens om att det inte finns någon enkel förklaring till våldets uppkomst eller ett sätt att arbeta mot det. Resultaten tyder också på att förklaringen till våldets uppkomst skiljer sig åt mellan behandlarna och de har en del skilda meningar kring hur man bör arbeta för att bekämpa mäns våld mot kvinnor.

This paper aims at therapeutic relationship of adolescents, specifically at therapeutic alliance, which is factor often connected to successful outcome of therapy. The main research goal of this study was to explore therapeutic alliance with adolescents within the Day care centre for adolescents with mental health difficulties and understand how they perceive therapists and their work. The first part of this paper is describing concept of alliance from historical perspective, types of alliance are presented as well as factors on both side of therapeutic process involved in forming of the alliances. Further it presents specifics of alliance in group therapy and in adolescent patients. For research purposes, we chose to use semi structured interview. We were inspired by official tools for measuring this concept. The FIRO-B inventory was added to see, how adolescents form their relations with others, and what do they expect from others in terms of relationships. The purpose for using this tool was to see how their interpersonal orientation could be connected to forming of alliances with therapists. 7 adolescents participated in this study and their data were processed by qualitative approach, specifically by repeating themes analysis. The result of this analysis showed two main categories: "Goals" and...