Abstract Keywords: Lay counsellors, training and evaluation. The training of lay counselling is of great significance to the field of Counselling Psychology. Therefore,the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) decided to allow for the registration of lay counsellor training courses. However, the criteria for registration need to be formulated. This study evaluated the Wits Crisis course for volunteer counsellors, via illumination of the perceptions of the trainees and a measurement of their self-efficacy and personal relations before and after the training. The study included qualitative and quantitative methodology. Past trained counsellors and trainees were interviewed and then assessed on Self-Efficacy and Personal Relations before and after training. A Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Signed-Rank significance in self-efficacy or personal relations scores after training. However, the interviews of the participants' perceptions of the course and its impact on them supported the hypotheses. Overall, perceptions were positive. Negative perceptions were highlighted, as this information could add to the knowledge base of the program. / GR 2016

The need for behavioral evaluations of volunteers performing hotline crisis work led to the development of the Lethality Assessment (LA) Analogue. This measure is designed to evaluate the competence of hotline volunteers in performing the specific crisis intervention skill of Lethality Assessment. This skill is the ability of the volunteers to assess suicide risk in a caller. The specific procedures used in the development of the LA Analogue and preliminary validation data on its use are reported. The development stages of the LA Analogue were following: (a) operationally defining the skill to be assessed, (b) the formulation of a case summary and caller script based on the skill to be assessed, (c) the formulation of a performance rating scale, (d) the standardization of instructions given to the hotline volunteers being assessed and simulators performing the script, and € training and evaluation of simulators. The construct validity of the LA Analogue was evaluated by assessing a group of hotline volunteers beginning a training program at a crisis intervention center. As expected, LA Analogue scores for hotline volunteers increased significantly following specific training in Lethality Assessment with control group scores showing no significant change over the same interval of time, t(25) = 4.50, p < .0005, one-tailed. In addition, a comparison between the significance levels of the LA Analogue and two other instruments measuring a similar attribute, the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory (SIRI) and the Test for Evaluation of Training in Suicide Prevention (SP Test), showed the LA Analogue to be significantly superior to the other two instruments in measuring training effect, LA Analogue p < .0005, SIRI p< .005, and SP Test p < .05, one-tailed. High reliability was demonstrated for the rating system used, .95 to 1.00. The expected correlation between the LA Analogue, SIRI, and SP Test was not found. It is speculated that this lack of correlation may be due to the instruments assessing different levels (performance vs. cognitive) of the same construct (McGee, 1974) and the correlation coefficient's sensitivity to a small range of scores (Pfeiffer & Olson, 1981). For further validation and resolution of this lack of correlation, additional work employing a larger sample size is needed. The formulation of the LA Analogue has several implications for the advancement of assessment in suicide prevention and hotline crisis intervention training. The availability of a consistent behavioral assessment procedure will enable centers to compare the performance of their volunteers. With other methods of assessment in which the presenting stimulus is not controlled, comparisons would be inappropriate for the reason that volunteers are being assessed in response to different caller variables. An additional advancement is the LA Analogue's focus in measuring a skill specific to crisis intervention. In the area of training, the LA Analogue also provides the volunteer with an experiential learning experience in which he or she is directly confronted with the anxieties, fears, and rewards associated with being a hotline crisis worker. The LA Analogue and applications of its design will contribute to the advancement of assessment of hotline crisis intervention skills.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Across the world children are affected by factors such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, divorce and loss. More organisations are getting involved in the training of voluntary counsellors. Although these counsellors have the necessary theoretical knowledge they still experience problems in working effectively with these children. Possible reasons for this are these counsellors' own unfinished issues and loss. Within this study the focus is on creating awareness for counsellors within training situations from a Gestalt approach. As part of the fulfilment of the literature study an empirical study has been done. A qualitative study with a small portion of quantitative research has been done with the implementation of a training programme for voluntary counsellors. Various mediums were used to create heightened self-awareness with regard to various topics. Training guidelines are than given for creating awareness within training situations for voluntary counsellors. / Dwarsoor die wereld word kinders beinvloed deur faktore soos armoede, HIV/VIGS, egskeiding en verlies. Al meer organisasies, soos Philippi Trust Namibia, raak betrokke in die opleiding van vrywillige beraders, ten einde bekostigbare dienste vir hierdie kinders daar te stel. Alhoewel hierdie beraders oor voldoende teoretiese kennis beskik, ervaar hulle steeds probleme om effektief met kinders te werk. Moontlike redes is vrywillige beraders se eie onvoltooidhede en verlies. Binne hierdie studie word op die bewusmaking van beraders binne opleidingsituasies gefokus ten einde selfbelewing daar te stel. 'n Literatuurstudie is gedoen waartydens aspekte bekom is: teoretiese perspektief op die volgende > Bewustheid en die vrywillige berader vanuit die Gestalt-benadering. > Riglyne binne opleidingsituasies vir verhoogde bewustheidsbelewing. Deur bogenoemde teoretiese perspektief word die eerste navorsingsdoelwit van die studie beantwoord. Ter aanvulling van die literatuurstudie is empiriese ondersoek ondermeem. Kwalitatiewe studie met kleiner komponent van kwantitatiewe navorsing is voltooi deur die implementering van 'n program vir vrywillige beraders. Die program het oor vyf dae geskied. Verskeie mediums is gebruik om selfbelewing rondom spesifieke onderwerpe te verhoog. Deur bogenoemde empiriese ondersoek word die tweede doelwit van die studie beantwoord. Na aanleiding van die studie word opleidingsriglyne vir die verhoging van bewustheid binne opleidingsituasies vir vrywillige beraders daargestel. / Social work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Across the world children are affected by factors such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, divorce and loss. More organisations are getting involved in the training of voluntary counsellors. Although these counsellors have the necessary theoretical knowledge they still experience problems in working effectively with these children. Possible reasons for this are these counsellors' own unfinished issues and loss. Within this study the focus is on creating awareness for counsellors within training situations from a Gestalt approach. As part of the fulfilment of the literature study an empirical study has been done. A qualitative study with a small portion of quantitative research has been done with the implementation of a training programme for voluntary counsellors. Various mediums were used to create heightened self-awareness with regard to various topics. Training guidelines are than given for creating awareness within training situations for voluntary counsellors. / Dwarsoor die wereld word kinders beinvloed deur faktore soos armoede, HIV/VIGS, egskeiding en verlies. Al meer organisasies, soos Philippi Trust Namibia, raak betrokke in die opleiding van vrywillige beraders, ten einde bekostigbare dienste vir hierdie kinders daar te stel. Alhoewel hierdie beraders oor voldoende teoretiese kennis beskik, ervaar hulle steeds probleme om effektief met kinders te werk. Moontlike redes is vrywillige beraders se eie onvoltooidhede en verlies. Binne hierdie studie word op die bewusmaking van beraders binne opleidingsituasies gefokus ten einde selfbelewing daar te stel. 'n Literatuurstudie is gedoen waartydens aspekte bekom is: teoretiese perspektief op die volgende > Bewustheid en die vrywillige berader vanuit die Gestalt-benadering. > Riglyne binne opleidingsituasies vir verhoogde bewustheidsbelewing. Deur bogenoemde teoretiese perspektief word die eerste navorsingsdoelwit van die studie beantwoord. Ter aanvulling van die literatuurstudie is empiriese ondersoek ondermeem. Kwalitatiewe studie met kleiner komponent van kwantitatiewe navorsing is voltooi deur die implementering van 'n program vir vrywillige beraders. Die program het oor vyf dae geskied. Verskeie mediums is gebruik om selfbelewing rondom spesifieke onderwerpe te verhoog. Deur bogenoemde empiriese ondersoek word die tweede doelwit van die studie beantwoord. Na aanleiding van die studie word opleidingsriglyne vir die verhoging van bewustheid binne opleidingsituasies vir vrywillige beraders daargestel. / Social work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)