This study is about the exploration of the concept of community, using the Mamelodi Counselling Clinic as the context for the exploration. The members who got involved in different phases in the running of the clinic, went through the process of defining and redefining the concept. This process was based on their experiences and their coevolved reality of what the concept means. These experiences will be discussed and in the end, a punctuated end product of the coevolved meanings will given. Furthermore, an account will be given as to how the running of the clinic evolved with the changes in meaning. The author's perception of the division between clinical and community psychology was altered as a result of the findings in the study and this will also be discussed. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Thesis (DPhil (Psychology))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The literature in psychology repeatedly hints at identity representation as important in transforming the discipline of psychology in contemporary South Africa. It simultaneously names curriculum, race and gender as areas of silence within the discipline. These literatures coexist with the reality that few psychologists work in public health services, where approximately eighty six percent of South Africa’s population who cannot afford private health care, receive their services. Community psychology is generally viewed as the area of study that prepares practitioners to work in public health service. Thus the intersections of identity, community, psychology and community psychology become important. Yet no contemporary studies that systematically and empirically examine community psychology and identity, exist in South Africa. The current study therefore aims to examine identity and community psychology from a multi-levelled perspective in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. This work draws on multiple theoretical strands, broadly united under a social constructionist framework, to examine community psychology in the organisation of the university, in terms of student and practitioner perceptions (and therefore constructions) of community psychology and in the everyday talk of psychologists about their professional identities. The four studies of which this project consists use complementary quantitative and qualitative methodologies. A survey of all psychology departments, combined with interviews with one community psychology teacher in each department, examines teaching, learning and research practices in community psychology. The second study constitutes a survey of all psychology Honours students in the Western Cape whereas the third study surveys the perceptions about community psychology among senior psychologists in the Western Cape. The fourth and final study in this series uses three focus groups where senior psychologists, based in the greater Cape Town area, talk about their professional identity. The quantitative data were analysed using the descriptive statistics of frequencies and cross-tabulations. The qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis and discourse analysis as analytical tools. While the quantitative data do not consistently suggest a link between community psychology, race and gender, there are some areas, such as community work, in which this link is apparent. The nature of such a link is not clear. However, in the qualitative work, the link between community, psychology and identity is centrally situated in the constructions and practices of universities, students and practitioners. Community psychology is constructed as psychology for black people in terms of both who delivers services and who clients are. This represents parameters of inclusion and exclusion not only for community psychology but for psychology, as a whole. The implications of these findings are discussed, particularly in relation to organisational transformation in universities.

Thesis (MA (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / In South Africa, a dire need exists for a psychological approach that would be appropriate and adequate for all South Africans while opposing remaining historical inequalities. Psychological services are saturated within the predominantly white private sector but scarce for the predominantly disadvantaged who are dependant on public services. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the perceptions of Community Psychology among psychology Honours/Bpsych students. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed in this study. A self-constructed questionnaire was used for obtaining data. A convenience sample was obtained from the universities of Cape Town, Stellenbosch and the Western Cape. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The outcomes of this study are firstly, that there is no significant relationship was established between race and tendency to study community psychology with the exception of the first year. Secondly, the relationship between gender and tendency to study community psychology was also non-significant. The results of the qualitative findings did however suggest that negative perceptions of community psychology are evident among students thus suggesting that they are deterred from pursuing it as a career.

This review is an extension of a study by Shoenfelt and Pedigo (2005). The purpose of this review is to help form an understanding of how the courts handle cases where an organization has used a cognitive ability test to select employees and consequently faced charges. Cognitive ability testing is the best known predictor of job performance for a wide range of jobs. However, cognitive ability testing also is known to lead organizations to select fewer members of protected groups, such as African Americans, Hispanics, and women. The cases that were reviewed were identified in the LexisNexis database. In order to review the cases, pertinent information was coded by four Industrial-Organizational Psychology graduate students then used the information as categorical data to make comparisons based on the outcome of each case and the conditions that may have led to the outcome. Findings were similar to the Shoenfelt and Pedigo (2005), which is likely due to the low number of new cases that were added to the review. Cases in which the defendant had used a validated test often ruled in favor of the defendant. However, in the six new cases that were discovered, issues such as arbitrary cutoff scores and the presentation of equally valid alternatives played a role in rulings in favor of the plaintiff even in cases with a validated test. The case claims were all race based and all involved tests that were professionally developed.

Assignment (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The transition to motherhood represents a critical period in a woman's life. It presents the mother with the opportunity for personal development, while simultaneously rendering her vulnerable to psychological problems. The South African low-income mother faces additional challenges in having to contend with a host of poverty-related stressors. The mother's at-risk status extends to her infant, who depends on her for the fulfilment of its needs. Current mental health policy does not consider the special needs of mother-infant dyads, despite its orientation to prevention. The current paper seeks to explore the potential of group therapy with low-income mother-infant dyads. It outlines the possible theoretical underpinnings for psychotherapeutic group work with low-income mothers and infants, by making use of attachment theory, feminist theory and community psychology. It reviews the theories' individual contributions and explores their compatibility in considering group therapy with low-income mother-infant dyads. Further, it reviews empirical studies and interventions with mother-infant dyads, with a particular emphasis on group therapy interventions. It argues that group therapy may be a viable and effective approach to psychological work with low-income mother-infant dyads. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die oorgang tot moederskap verteenwoordig 'n kritiese periode in 'n vrou se lewe. Dit bied die moeder die kans vir persoonlike ontwikkeling, terwyl dit haar gelykertyd kwesbaar maak vir sielkundige probleme. Die Suid-Afrikaanse lae-inkomste moeder moet boonop bykomstige uitdagings, in die vorm van 'n menigdom armoed-verwante stressors, die hoof bied. Die moeder se kwesbare status sluit ook haar baba in, wat op haar aangewese is vir die vervulling van sy/haar behoeftes. Huidige geestesgesondheids-beleid neem, ten spyte van 'n voorkomende oriëntasie, nie die spesiale behoeftes van moeder-kind pare in ag nie. Hierdie werksopdrag beoog om die potensiaal van groepsterapie met lae-inkomste moederkind pare te ondersoek. Dit beskryf kortliks die moontlike teoretiese begrondings van psigoterapeutiese groepswerk met lae-inkomste moeder-kind pare deur gebruik te maak van bindings-teorie, feministiese teorie sowel as gemeenskaps sielkunde. Dit hersien die teorieë se onderskeidelike bydraes en ondersoek hulle aanpasbaarheid met betrekking tot die ondersoek van groepsterapie met lae-inkomste moeder-kind pare. Hierdie werksopdrag hersien dan ook verder empiriese studies en intervensies gemik op moeder-kind pare, met 'n spesifieke fokus op groepsterapie intervensies. Daar word geargumenteer dat groepsterapie 'n geskikte en effektiewe benadering tot sielkundige werk met lae-inkomste moeder-kind pare is.

On t.p.: Degree of Master of Arts (Clinical Psychology) / Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Community psychology in South Africa has been defined in antithesis to more traditional psychotherapies such as psychoanalysis. It has been necessary, in the formative stage of community psychology, to be clear about what it is not, in terms of establishing a progressive psychology that meets an urgent need. So too, psychoanalysis started out needing to be very clear about how it differed from previous practices, and what its aims were. Over the last hundred years psychoanalytic thought has, however, undergone tremendous development. Perhaps it could be said that its transmutation into a South African psychology is still underway. Community psychology has been critiqued for its lack of theory, and few extended analyses of community psychology interventions exist. By contrast, psychoanalysis offers detailed theoretical accounts and case studies. It is proposed that both paradigms could benefit from an exchange of ideas. There is a common misperception that community psychology focuses on external problems, while psychodynamic therapy focuses solely on the intrapsychic. While this is not wholly true, it could be said that children are conceptualised very differently by these two perspectives, and that this has had implications for treatment. Recently, however, several South African practitioners have begun to introduce psychodynamic thought into community interventions in enriching ways. They are beginning to conclude that community psychology has necessarily been unable to utilise a depth psychology approach, for a variety of legitimate reasons, but that this is the next step in meeting the huge challenges of community work. This study provides a discussion of the contributions of psychoanalysis to an understanding of child development, as well as an examination of the ways in which community psychology has conceptualised and worked with children. Empirical examples of the treatment of South African children will be followed by a case study in which psychodynamic thought was combined with a community-style intervention. The authors conclude that the link between internal and external worlds is a complex one, especially in work with children. The internal and external seem, in effect, to be indivisible, and any intervention hoping to be effective splits these two worlds to its own detriment. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Gemeenskapsielkunde in Suid-Afrika word dikwels gedefineer in teenstelling met meer tradisionele benaderings soos die psigoanalise. In die vormingsjare van gemeenskapsielkunde was dit noodsaaklik om dit helder te definieer. Hierdie noodsaak het ontstaan weens die ontwikkeling van 'n vooruitgaande sielkunde wat 'n dringende behoefte nakom. Op 'n soortgelyke manier moes psigoanalise in die onstaansjare ook presies wees oor hoe dit verskil van vorige benaderings en oor sy doelwitte. Oor die afgelope honderd jaar het psigoanalitiese denke egter geweldig ontwikkel. Daar sou beweer kon word dat die posisie in 'n Suid-Afrikaanse sielkunde nog steeds onderweg is. Gemeenskapsielkunde is al gekritiseer oor sy gebrek aan teorie en daar bestaan min uitgebreide teoretiese verslae oor gemeenskapsintervensies. In teenstelling hiermee bied psigoanalise breedvoerige berigte en gevallestudies aan. Dit word voorgestel dat beide benaderings sou kon baat vind by die gemeenskaplike toepassing van idees. Daar bestaan 'n algemene wanopvatting dat gemeenskapsielkunde op eksterne probleme fokus, terwyl psigodinamiese terapie uitsluitend op die interne ingesteld is. Terwyl dit nie heeltemal waar is nie, sou daar ook aangevoer kon word dat kinders baie verskillend gekonsepsualiseer word binne hierdie twee perspektiewe. Dit hou implikasies vir behandeling in. Onlangs het verskeie Suid- Afrikaanse praktisyne egter psigodinamiese denke verrykend begin aanwend in gemeenskapsintervensies. Daar is tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat gemeenskapswerk in die verlede noodgedwonge nie 'n psigodinamiese benadering kon benut nie weens 'n verskeidenheid van voor-die-hand-liggende redes. Die enorme uitdagings van gemeenskapswerk word in die vooruitsig gestel. Hierdie artikel verskaf 'n bespreking van psigoanalise se bydrae tot 'n begrip van kinderontwikkeling, asook 'n ondersoek na die wyse waarop gemeenskapsielkunde oor kinders dink en met hulle werk. Voorbeelde van die behandeling van Suid-Afrikaanse kinders word gevolg deur 'n gevallestudie, waarin psigodinamiese denke gebruik word in 'n gemeenskapsintervensie. Daar word aangevoer dat die skakeling tussen interne en eksterne wêrelde 'n komplekse een is veral in werk met kinders. Die interne en die eksterne blyk om in effek onskeibaar te wees en enige intervensie wat hoop om effektief te wees, verdeel hierdie twee wêrelde tot sy nadeel.

Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: To equip students in the health professions with the necessary skill to work effectively in a diverse society, a joint research-education project was launched by Stellenbosch University and the University of the Western Cape. Over a period of three years, fourth-year psychology, occupational therapy and social work students from the different institutions met for workshops and interacted on a web based platform. In small workgroups they conversed around community, self and identity and the module was named Community, Self and Identity (CSI). While the programme was evaluated at the end of each year, no follow-up study had been done to assess the effect of the module over time. In fact, very few follow-up evaluations of course curricula have been done. This current study aims to fill this gap, by evaluating the CSI module; one to three years after the participants had completed it. Based on social justice education principles, this study used a web based survey with quantitative as well as qualitative questions, in order to get a more complete picture of students’ experience of the module. This study also aims to determine whether the module changed students’ perception of community and identity. The sample of 23 participants was for the most very positive about the module, indicating that they would definitely recommend it to other students. Most of the sample also reported that their perception of the concepts of community and identity were expanded due to the CSI module. Despite the small sample size and corresponding low response rate, this study has important implications for future course evaluations and social justice studies. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Om studente in gesondheidsberoepe met die nodige vaardighede toe te rus om effektief in ‘n diverse samelewing te werk, is ‘n gesamentlike navorsing en onderrig projek deur die Universiteit Stellenbosch en die Universiteit van Weskaapland geloods. Oor ’n tydperk van drie jaar het vierdejaar sielkunde-, arbeidsterapie- en maatskaplike werkstudente van die verskillende instellings saam aan werkswinkels deelgeneem en deur middel van ’n web-gebaseerde platform gekommunikeer. Hulle het in klein groepies omgegaan rondom gemeenskap, self en identiteit en dus is die betrokke module Community, Self and Identity (CSI) (Gemeenskap, Self en Identiteit) genoem. Alhoewel die program aan die einde van die aanbieding elke jaar geëvalueer is, is geen opvolg studie nog gedoen om effek van die module oor tyd beoordeel nie. In werklikheid is weinig opvolgevalueringstudies van kursus kurrikula nog gedoen. Hierdie huidige studie beoog om die leemte te vul, deur die CSI module, een tot drie jaar na deelnemers dit voltooi het, te evalueer. Hierdie studie, wat op beginsels van sosiale geregtigheidsonderrig gebaseer is, gebruik ’n web-gebaseerde meningsopname met kwantitatiewe sowel as kwalitatiewe vrae, om sodoende ’n meer volledige indruk van studente se ervaring van die module te kry. Die studie mik ook om vas te stel of die module studente se persepsie van gemeenskap en identiteit verander het. Die steekproef van 23 deelnemers was oor die algemeen hoogs positief oor die module en het aangedui dat hul dit verseker by ander studente sal aanbeveel. Die meerderheid van die steekproef het ook gerapporteer dat hul persepsie van gemeenskap en identiteit uitgebrei is as gevolg van die CSI module. Ten spyte van die klein steekproefgrootte en ooreenstemmende lae respons, hou hierdie studie belangrike implikasies vir toekomstige kursusevalueringstudies en sosiale geregtigheidstudies in.

This study examined federal court cases related to the use of social media websites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn) in various employment practices (e.g., selection, promotion, employee monitoring, layoffs). Court cases were identified using various online databases in an attempt to create an exhaustive list of cases to be used to better understand the role that social media has played in organizational settings and the legal implications of its use. The results of this study show that there were a significant number of cases involving termination and Facebook, and organizations prevailed in court significantly more than the defendant did. The results of this study provide organizations, employees, and applicants with a better understanding of how organizational social media use has been perceived in the court of law, thereby allowing people and employers to make better decisions regarding social media use.

Participation in sports has a strong influence on the development of African American youth and the Black community as a whole. The purpose of this paper is to explore the positive and negative effects that participating in sports has on the African American community using previous works and experiments on the topic. Results found that participation in athletics helps African American youth develop important social skills, creates an outlet to keep Black youth off the streets in impoverished neighborhoods, and establishes a vehicle to help Black youth get into college. However, the overemphasized importance of sports within the African American community through the media and Black families themselves has resulted in multiple negative effects including career immaturity, lower academic achievement and the exploitation of the Black intercollegiate athlete.

Many homeless youth come from foster homes, group homes, and other forms of substitute care. For young people in the child welfare system, elopement represents a major problem as it places them at risk for a number of troubling outcomes. Three studies were undertaken examining elopement among young people living in substitute care in Canada and the United States. The first study explored strengths and needs in a sample of 5,011 children and youth housed in a variety of substitute care settings including foster homes, group homes, residential treatment centres, emergency shelters, and juvenile justice facilities. Results indicated that needs, but not strengths, predicted running among children, while both needs and strengths predicted running among adolescents. Problems with school attendance, substance abuse, and delinquency also predicted running among both children and adolescents, with the exception of young children, for whom substance abuse was not a significant predictor. The second study explored the relationship between trauma, strengths, and elopement in a sample of 2,296 adolescents living in substitute care. Sexual abuse, physical abuse, school violence, and traumatic grief/separation were found to predict elopement. In addition, family violence and community violence predicted running among younger but not older adolescents. Educational strengths predicted a lower risk of running away for all adolescents, while well-being and relationship permanence predicted a lower risk of running among younger and older adolescents, respectively. The impact of strengths on the relationship between trauma and elopement was evaluated, with results suggesting that elopement was not predicted by an interaction between strengths and trauma. The third study was qualitative in nature and explored the perspectives of youth who had run away from substitute care at least once in their lifetime. Youth provided information about their experiences as well as suggestions designed to reduce the prevalence of running away among youth in substitute care. Findings for all three studies were discussed in relation to the literature with implications for research and prevention.