The prevalence of HIV infection in pregnant women is still on the rise despite existing preventive programmes aimed at reducing HIV-transmission. Voluntary counselling and testing during pregnancy is the key entry point in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (Department of Health, 2000:16; Birdsall et al. 2004:3). Women are often diagnosed as being HIV-positive for the first time when they attend antenatal clinics and consent to HIV testing (UNAIDS, 1997). The objective of this study was to determine the pregnant women's experiences of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and to explore and describe the impeding and facilitating factors that played a role in their choice whether or not to consent to HIV testing after having received pre-test counselling. By understanding the impeding and facilitating factors that play a role in the pregnant woman's choice to undergo HIV testing, recommendations could be made to possibly improve the uptake of HIV testing among pregnant women. The population studied in this research consisted of pregnant women making use of antenatal clinics in the Potchefstroom sub-district. Purposive sampling was used to select participants with the assistance of mediators who were working in the local clinics and the hospital. The sample size was determined by data saturation, which was reached after 10 interviews. A qualitative design was used and data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was carried out simultaneously with data collection. In consensus discussions, the researcher and the co-coder reached consensus on the main and sub-themes. The main themes are the facilitating and impeding factors that play a role in the pregnant women's choice to undergo HIV testing. Based on findings, it was concluded that facilitating and impeding factors that play a role in the pregnant woman's choice to HIV testing do indeed exist. Impeding factors identified were: fear of a positive status; fear of stigmatization and discrimination; fear of lack of support; lack of opportunity to consider their choice to undergo HIV testing; lack of trust that confidentiality will indeed be honoured; fear of knowing possible positive HIV-status that can lead to feelings of depression and mental anguish; differences between counsellors' and pregnant women's characteristics. Facilitating factors consist of the desire to be aware of own HIV status; desire to protect the baby; sufficient information and the importance of trust and confidentiality. Recommendations were subsequently made to make HIV counselling and testing services to pregnant women more user-friendly in order to facilitate the pregnant woman in her choice concerning HIV-testing. Heeding these recommendations will possibly lead to more pregnant women's HIV status being known by the time they go into labour. Recommendations were made that pregnant women be counselled for HIV testing during their first antenatal visit and the HIV-testing being offered to them during the second visit. Research findings reveal that most pregnant women need time to consider their choice to undergo HIV testing and to prepare themselves for the test. Most pregnant women felt that they would possibly consent to HIV testing during their second antenatal visit. / Thesis (M.Cur.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

<p>Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust is an organisation that trains and supervises a team of women counsellors who provide a counselling service to women rape survivors. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of the counsellors and the counselling co-ordinator regarding their perceptions on whether the training provided by the personal growth and counselling skills course is adequate in dealing with rape and its complexities.</p>

The purpose of this study is to tell the story of lay trauma counsellors - how the work they do affects them, what helps them to cope and what hinders their coping. The epistemological framework of this study is constructivism. This study involved in-depth interviews with three lay trauma counsellors from different cultural backgrounds who counselled for a minimum of one year. Hermeneutics was the method used to analyse the data. The stories of participants were recounted through the researcher&#8217;s lens in the form of specific themes that emerged for individual participants. Recurring themes evident in the stories of all three participants were discussed and compared with the literature. The information gleaned could be valuable to organisations considering setting up lay trauma programmes, to those with established programmes, as well as to prospective and experienced lay counsellors. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Recent literature by several eminent psychotherapists ·such as Bergin and Beutler argues that counsellors' personal values are probably the greatest influence on the success and outcome of therapy and that the counsellor tends to convert the client to the counsellor's values. This literature provided strong support for this researcher's contention of the need for similar studies in pastoral counselling. The researcher was particularly concerned about the role of pastoral counsellors' value systems and moral judgement development in counselling situations. The researcher selected the Rokeach Value Survey and the Rest Defining Issues Test as instruments to test a sample of South African pastoral counsellors in this regard. The research questions addressed were as follows. Firstly, what are the value systems of a sample of pastoral counsellors in the South African context? Secondly, what are the moral judgement development levels of the pastoral counsellors? Thirdly, what is the relationship between the rank ordering of values and pastoral counsellors' levels of moral judgement development? Fourthly, what implications could these variables have for pastoral-client pairing in pastoral counselling? The chief findings were as follows. Firstly, the pastoral counsellors were shown to have conservative value systems with a preference for introspective terminal values over social terminal values. Secondly, the pastoral counsellors had a P score of 39.6 on the Defining Issues Test. This compares favourably with Asian university students who score between 36-40 as opposed to American university students who have a mean P score of 42.6. The researcher concluded that the conservative religious ideology of the sample helped to explain the low P scores somewhat. Thirdly, the Spearman correlational coefficient indicated little correlation between the Rokeach Value Survey and the Rest Defining Issues Test. Fourthly, both instruments indicated that the conservative nature of the pastoral counsellors would no doubt make them very effective counsellors in most denominations. They would tend to counsel in support of the status quo in the church. A major recommendation of the study was the need for further pastoral counsellor education in dealing with moral values issues. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Practical theology)

The purpose of this study was to trace the development of the counseling movement in Hong Kong from its beginning to the present and to examine future directions confronting those who work in the counseling field in Hong Kong. Originating from social unrest in 1966 and 1967, the counseling movement began as an attempt to meet the society's developmental needs of self-expression and direction. Although not a formal program, the first known counseling service in Hong Kong was offered by Ben Fong in 1967 at the Yang Memorial Social Service Center. In 1969 the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups established the first formal counseling service in Hong Kong. Institutions of higher education and foreigners played a major role in the development of early counseling services in Hong Kong. In 197 0, Peter Whyte, an Australian, organized a counseling service at the University Hong Kong. In 1971, Ken Locke, an American, established a counseling service at the Hong Kong Baptist College. Counseling services grew rapidly in the early 1970s, and a 1975 survey identified fifty-five agencies which reported providing counseling services. In the mid-1970s, helping professionals were struggling with the issue of "What is counseling?" A significant developmental step was the establishment of a master's degree program in counseling at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1977. The first professional counseling organization, the Association of Psychological and Educational Counselors of Asia-Hong Kong Branch, was organized in 1979 and the first counseling journal was published in 1980. In 1984, the Education Department of the Hong Kong Government established guidance services in secondary schools. The challenge for the counselors of Hong Kong in the 1990s relates to two foreseeable changes in the Hong Kong community, the Chinese recovery of the sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997 and the aging of the population.

Title: “Life must run smoothly” – school counsellors understanding of adolescents mental illness   Authors: Malin Evermyr och Lovisa Jonsson   Mentor: Emme-Li Vingare   Keywords: Mental illness, adolescents, counsellors in school, holism, psychosocial work, stress   Aim: The aim of the study is to describe and analyze school Counsellor’s understanding of mental illness among adolescents and the Counsellor's explanation of its development.   Methods: This study is qualitative and the empirical material was collected through loose structured focus group interviews. Three focus groups were used where each contained three school counsellors.   Results: After the focus groups were held, four themes regarding causations to mental health among adolescent emerged. The four themes are as follows; various expressions and possible causes of mental illness, a changed society, parent’s responsibility and lastly, school Counsellor's in the school as an organization. Each theme describes possible causes of mental illness through different levels and systems around the adolescent. In the last theme, it is also provided a description of how schools operate with mental illness and what it is like to work as a counsellor in the school environment.    Analysis: A system theoretical perspective, the cognitive stress theory and previous presented research in the field of adolescent’s mental illness was used when analyzing the result.   Conclusion. From the participants understanding of adolescent’s mental illness, following conclusion can be drawn; counsellors picture mental illness as caused by several intertwined factors. These factors concern both individual and systemic factors which have their starting point in society, families, new technology and the requirements of high-performance in school. / Titel: ”Livet måste gå på räls” – skolkuratorers förståelse av ungas psykiska ohälsa Författare: Malin Evermyr och Lovisa Jonsson Handledare: Emme-Li Vingare Nyckelord: psykisk ohälsa, ungdomar, skolkuratorer, holism, psykosocialt arbete, stress Syfte: Studies syfte är att beskriva och analysera skolkuratorers förståelse av psykisk ohälsa bland unga samt deras förklaringar av dess utveckling. Metod: En kvalitativ metod ligger till grund för studien. Det empiriska materialet samlades in genom tre löst strukturerade fokusgruppsintervjuer om tre skolkuratorer i varje. Materialet bearbetades och analyserades sedan genom en innehållsanalys. Resultat: Utifrån fokusgrupps-intervjuerna framkom fyra centrala teman om orsaker till psykisk ohälsa bland unga. Dessa benämns i uppsatsen som uttryck och möjliga orsaker till psykisk ohälsa, ett förändrat samhälle, föräldrars ansvar och skolkurator i skolan som organisation. De olika teman som presenteras förklarar alla möjliga orsaker till psykisk ohälsa på olika nivåer och inom olika system som ungdomen ingår i. Det sistnämnda temat handlar stället om hur skolan arbetar med psykisk ohälsa och vad det innebär att vara kurator i den organisationen. Analys: Resultatet analyserades utifrån ett systemteoretiskt perspektiv och genom kognitiv stressteori samt utifrån tidigare presenterad forskning inom området unga och psykisk ohälsa. Slutsats: Utifrån respondenternas uppfattning kring utvecklingen av ungas psykiska ohälsa kan slutsatser av studien visa att kuratorerna framställer en bild av psykisk ohälsa som orsakad av flera samverkande faktorer som gäller både individuella och systematiska faktorer. Faktorerna har sin utgångpunkt i samhället, familj, prestationskrav i skola och den nya teknologin. Unga lyfts som en utsatt grupp vad det gäller psykisk ohälsa och framför allt unga tjejer.

The study emanates from the need to identify the biopsychosocial factors that influence patients’ adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) within the South African context The specific goal of the study was to explore these in order to make recommendations to enhance service delivery. Applied research was conducted, with its primary task being to stimulate thought and action concerning the challenges faced by patients who are on ART. In order to gather comprehensive data, the researcher engaged in a combination of the qualitative and quantitative approaches. For the qualitative case study the researcher made use of semi-structured interviews, utilizing the non-probability sampling method, aiming to understand and interpret the meaning that the multidisciplinary team accorded to matters of antiretroviral treatment. For the quantitative part of the study the probability random sampling method was made use of for the quantitative descriptive survey. Questionnaires were employed to collect data from 201 patients already on antiretroviral medication. The conclusions, which were drawn from the research findings, identified challenges to adherence to ART: the study confirmed that since the advent of combination antiretroviral therapy (HAART), HIV/AIDS has been transformed into a manageable and chronic condition, and has undoubtedly extended and improved the quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS. However, it also confirmed that ART, is a complex intervention, which is accompanied by severe biopsychosocial implications, requiring near-perfect adherence in order to prevent the development of resistance. The impact that the various psychosocial needs of millions of HIV/AIDS people living on ART will have on current social structures and services, will tax the available professional social services, particularly the social work profession. The social correlation of HIV/AIDS and poverty is endorsed by the findings, confirming that the high level of unemployment, coupled with families who are headed by women and who receive little support, lead to almost total dependency on social security. The findings further indicate a specific relationship between socio-economic circumstances and the ability to adhere to ART. Empowering HIV/AIDS patients, to be able to adhere to ART, is therefore indicated, as is the further need for a regulator of HIV/AIDS support services, in order to protect and promote high standards of service delivery, especially counselling. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Social Work and Criminology / DPhil / unrestricted

Little is known about the prevalence of substance use and abuse among individuals with intellectual disabilities. However, studies show that individuals with intellectual disabilities are at greater risk of developing substance abuse problems. Furthermore, traditional drug abuse treatment programs may be insufficient in order to tackle the individual needs of the users with intellectual disabilities. This study focuses on addiction counsellors, and aims to give insight into how they experience their work with individuals who are suffering from intellectual disabilities and substance abuse. In this study, qualitative interviews were conducted with five counsellors from two different municipal organizations. Subsequently, the analysis of the results has been categorized thematically, supported by Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucrats and Polanyi’s notion of tacit knowledge. The results suggest that the professionals are experiencing several challenges in their work with the target group. The lack of knowledge and insufficient national guidelines regarding the work with the target group, in combination with treatment methods that are not adapted to the needs and the abilities of people with intellectual disabilities, leave the professionals in a situation where their experiences and tacit knowledge is used to design and conduct the target group’s treatment.

Syftet med den kvalitativa studien var att undersöka om skolkuratorers uppfattning omhögstadieelevers psykiska ohälsa har förändrats under covid-19-pandemin, samt omskolkuratorernas arbetssätt har förändrats. De forskningsfrågor som berördes handlar om hurskolkuratorerna upplevde att högstadieelevernas psykiska hälsa såg ut under covid-19-pandemin, om deras psykiska hälsa har påverkats av distansundervisning samt hurskolkuratorerna har arbetat med elevernas psykiska hälsa under covid-19-pandemin. För attbesvara forskningsfrågorna har intervjuer med skolkuratorer på högstadieskolor genomförts.Det insamlande materialet har sedan analyserats med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys.Teorierna som har använts för att analysera resultatet var systemteori och KASAM. Resultateti studien visade att skolkuratorer upplevde att högstadieelevers psykiska hälsa påverkadesnegativt av covid-19-pandemin. Framför allt framkom att skolkuratorernas uppfattning var atthögstadieelevernas vardag förändrades i samband med covid-19-pandemin, vilket har bidragittill att de inte upplevde en känsla av sammanhang, vilket har lett till att deras måendepåverkades negativt. Med hjälp av systemteori uppmärksammades vikten av en bra elevhälsaså eleverna kunde få hjälp med sin psykiska ohälsa i skolan och därmed må bättre i övrigasystem som de ingår i. Om eleverna enligt skolkuratorerna mådde bra i skolan bidrog det äventill att de fick förutsättningar till att må bra på sin fritid. Studiens slutsats var att skolkuratorernaupplevde att högstadieelevernas psykiska hälsa påverkades negativt av covid-19-pandeminsamt att de har fått anpassat sitt arbetssätt utefter distansundervisning, restriktioner ochelevernas psykiska hälsa. / The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate whether school counsellors’ perceptionsof secondary school students’ mental health illness have changed during the covid-19-pandemic, and whether the school counsellors’ working methods have changed. Furthermorehow the counsellors have worked with the students mental health during the pandemic. Schoolcounsellors have been interviewed to provide relevant answers to these questions which havebeen analyzed using KASAM, general systems theory and qualitative content analysis. Theresult of the study shows that the counsellors perceived that the covid-19 pandemic has not onlyhad an adverse effect on secondary school students’ mental health but also changed theirlifestyle, which have contributed to a lesser sense of belonging in society at large among thestudents. By using general systems theory the importance of a working student care team thathelps students’ during mental illness is highlighted since that improves their health in othersystems too. If the students have good mental health in school, their mental health is consideredto be better in their spare time too. The conclusion of the study was that the school counsellorsfelt that secondary school students mental health was affected negatively of the covid-19-pandemic and that they had to adapt thier way of work in form om distance learing, restrictionsand the students mental health.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur studie- och yrkesvägledare som arbetar med långtidsarbetslösa uppfattar fenomenet livslångt lärande. Uppfattningarna leder oss mot en djupare förståelse för hur fenomenet livslångt lärande konstrueras och hur denna konstruktion formar den praktik där studie- och yrkesvägledaren och den arbetslöse befinner sig. För att fånga dessa uppfattningar av livslångt lärande utgår studien från en fenomenografisk ansats och empirin samlas in genom intervjuer med åtta studie- och yrkesvägledare som arbetar med individer i långtidsarbetslöshet. Studiens resultat visar på att konstruktionerna kring fenomenet livslångt lärande hos respondenterna innehåller uppfattningar om livslångt lärande som ett verktyg till den ekonomiska utvecklingen i vårt land. Inbyggt i denna konstruktion återfinns även uppfattningar om en idealbild kring hur individer ska kunna ta del av den del av det livslånga lärande som erbjuds inom ramen för utbildning eller arbete. För de individer som befinner sig i långtidsarbetslöshet och faller utanför denna ram blir studie- och yrkesvägledaren en central person. / The purpose of this study is to investigate how study and career counsellors who work with the long- term unemployed perceive the phenomenon of lifelong learning. The perceptions lead us to a deeper understanding of how the phenomenon of lifelong learning is constructed and how this construction shapes the practice where the study and career counselor unemployed are. To capture these perceptions of lifelong learning, the study is based on a phenomenographic approach and the empirical data is collected through interviews with eight study and career counsellors who work with individuals in long-term unemployment. The results of the study show that the constructions around the phenomenon of lifelong learning in the respondents contain perceptions of lifelong learning as a tool for the economic development in our country. Built into this construction are also perceptions of an ideal picture of how individuals should be able to take part in the part of life-long learning that is offered within the framework of education or work. For those individuals who are in long-term unemployment and fall outside this framework, the study and career counsellor becomes a key person. The study and career counselor ́s constructions of lifelong learning affect professional practice, which need to be made visible and reflected on.