One of the challenges fairly common in motivational interviewing is patient resistance to health behavior change. Hence, automated dialog systems aimed at counseling patients need to be capable of detecting resistance and appropriately altering dialog. This thesis focusses primarily on the development of such a system for automatic identification of patient resistance to behavioral change. This enables the dialogue system to direct the discourse towards a more agreeable ground and helping the patient overcome the obstacles in his or her way to change. This thesis also proposes a dialogue system framework for health behavior change via natural language analysis and generation. The proposed framework facilitates automated motivational interviewing from clinical psychology and involves three broad stages: rapport building and health topic identification, assessment of the patient’s opinion about making a change, and developing a plan. Using this framework patients can be encouraged to reflect on the options available and choose the best for a healthier life.

Increasing violence in the work environment created a need for an effective intervention to debrief traumatised workers. The aim of this study is to compile a profile of an effective trauma debriefer that can be used as a criterion for the selection of trauma debriefers. The task description of the trauma debriefer is based on the literature studied. The profile of the trauma debriefer was compiled using the characteristics of a self-actualised person, as described by the Humanism, as well as the skills based on Ivey's Microskills Hierarchy Model. Structured, non-directive interviews were conducted with five experts on the training of trauma debriefers. A qualitative analysis was made of the interviews, based on the personality characteristics and skills identified in the literature. A profile of an effective trauma debriefer that can be used as criterion during the selection of trauma debriefers, was compiled. Conclusions and recommendations were made and limitations were identified. / Toenemende geweld in die werksomgewing het gelei tot 'n behoefte aan 'n koste- effektiewe intervensie vir die ontlonting van getraumatiseerde vverkers. Die doei van die navorsing is die samestelling van 'n profiel van 'n effektiewe traumaontlonter, ten einde die profiel as kriterium vir die keuring van traumaontlonters te gebruik. Die taakbeskrywing van 'n traumaontlonter, gebaseer op relevante literatuur, is opgestel. Die profiel van 'n effektiewe traumaontlonter is aan die hand van die persoonlikheidskenmerke van die selfaktualiserende persoon, soos vervat in die Humanism©, en die vaardighede, gebaseer op Ivey se Mikrovaardighede Hierargiese Model, saamgestel. Gerigte, nie-direktiewe onderhoude is met vyf kundiges op die gebied van opleiding van traumaontlonters, gevoer. Die onderhoude is kwalitatief ontleed aan die hand van die persoonlikheidskenmerke en vaardighede vanuit die literatuur. 'n Profiel, wat as kriterium vir die keuring van effektiewe traumaontlonters gebruik kan word, is saamgestel. Gevolgtrekkings en aanbevelings is gemaak en beperkinge is geidentifiseer. / Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Submitted in fulfillment of requirements for the Degree of Masters in Technology: Nursing, Durban University of Technology. 2013 / This study investigated the factors that impact on the utilisation of voluntary HIV counselling and testing (VCT) service at a wellness centre in a higher education institution. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to identify factors that impact on the utilisation of VCT service in a higher education institution. Methodology: A quantitative descriptive survey research design was used to describe the phenomenon and to establish relationships between variables. Participants were selected randomly in order to obtain a broad representative sample in three strata. A formal structured close-ended questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire was designed to focus on variables such as demographic data, environmental factors, enabling factors, predisposing and behavioural factors. Findings: No significant relationship was identified between knowledge of HIV, AIDS and VCT and high school attended in rural, township and urban areas. There was no significant relationship between environmental factors and utilisation of VCT. There was no association between predisposing factors such as risk of VCT and perceived benefits of VCT utilisation. There was no relationship between knowledge and consistency of condom use and utilisation of VCT. The majority of respondents stated that the VCT service was not user friendly and the attitude of the staff toward students was poor. There was no significant relationship between accessibility of VCT service and utilisation of VCT. There was a lack of utilisation of campus VCT services and the majority of respondents utilised other services. Conclusion: The study showed that respondents who knew about availability of VCT were likely to have used the facility. Respondents who showed positive / Durban University of Technology

Thesis (MA (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / South Africa has been a democratic country for more than ten years, and still transformation is not visible in many areas. Psychological services are inaccessible and unaffordable for the larger part of South-Africans. The B.Psych degree was specifically implemented to address this problem. The course aims to give graduates access to registration as counsellors at the HPCSA in order to bring psychological services to people more easily. This study thus explores the employment patterns of registered counsellors in South Africa. These counsellors have been trained to deliver services within the primary health care sector because most people use services within this sector. Only eight percent of registered counsellors in South Africa are working within this sector. Most registered counsellors are working in the education sector or the private sector. Counsellors that are working in the education sector are primarily delivering educational services and not psychological services. Counsellors that are working in the private sector are contributing to making services inaccessible and unaffordable to many people. The absence of workers in the primary healthcare sector is mainly because there is little employment for registered counsellors within this sector. The findings of this study are in accordance with the findings of Kotze (2005) that accessibility to psychological services did not significantly change with the implementation of the B.Psych course.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Unhealthy behaviour is a key modifiable factor that underlies much of the South African (SA) burden of disease and primary care morbidity. Chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, lung diseases and some cancers are linked to underlying behavioural issues such as tobacco smoking, alcohol abuse, physical inactivity and unhealthy eating. Evidence shows that brief behaviour change counselling by primary care providers can be effective in helping patients to change risky lifestyle behaviours. However, the capacity of South African primary care providers to educate and counsel patients on lifestyle modification is generally poor. The need for primary care provider training in lifestyle counselling, is stated as a critical objective in ‘re-orientating’ the primary health care system to effectively address NCDs in the National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs and their risk factors in SA. The overall aim of this research was to develop, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a training intervention for primary care providers in the South African setting, which is based on teaching best practice, behaviour change counselling (BBCC) methods that can be used for patients with risky lifestyle behaviours associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs). “Effectiveness” relates to the effect of the training on PCPs adoption of a patient centred approach, and skills acquisition after the training, and not the effectiveness in changing, or improving patient outcomes. The sequence of the abstracts of the four articles that were published from this research, gives an overview of the process. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ongesonde lewenstyl kan gekoppel word aan die meeste chroniese siektes wereldwyd, en dra grootliks by tot die las van primere sorg morbiditeit, asook in Suid Afrika. Rook, ongesonde dieet, fisiese onaktiwiteit, en alkohol misbruik word beskou as die onderliggende risiko faktore wat verantwoordelik is vir die ontwikkeling van kardiovaskulere siektes, tipe 2 diabetes, respiratoriese siektes, sowel as sommige kankers. Navorsing het bewys dat primere gesondheidsorg werkers effektief kan wees om pasiente te help om hierdie gewoontes te bekamp. Nieteenstaande hierdie bewyse, is die huidige kapasiteit van primere sorg dokters en verpleegsters in Suid-Afrika nie voldoende om sodanige diens te verskaf nie. In die Nationale Strategiese Plan vir die beheer van chroniese siektes, word opleiding vir primere gesondheidsorg werkers geprioritiseer as n kritiese uitkomste vir die beheer van chroniese siektes, en die onderliggende risiko faktore. Dit is dus duidelik dat daar n behoefte is om sodanige opleidingprogramme te ontwikkel. Die doel van hierdie navorsing was om n bewysgebaseerde opleidingsprogram te ontwikkel, te implementeer, en die effektiwiteit daarvan te evalueer in ons unieke primere gesondheidsorg sisteem in Suid-Afrika. Die opleidingsprogram moes ontwikkel word, vir beide primere sorg dokters en verpleegsters, sodat dit hulle in staat kan stel om pasiente te beraad oor enige van die vier risiko faktore.

Multicultural education in counselor education is a popular topic among counselor educators and scholars. To date, scholars have focused on understanding the experiences of counselor educators who teach dedicated multicultural courses. However, less attention has been given to other counselor educators who are required by ethical and training standards to address multicultural issues across the curriculum. The purpose of this study was to understand counselor educators’ experiences addressing multicultural issues in courses that do not have a specific multicultural or diversity focus. I used phenomenological methodology to explore the experiences of counselor educators who hold doctoral degrees in counseling or a related field, have taken a multicultural/diversity course in their graduate training, are full-time clinical or tenure-line faculty members in CACREP-accredited programs, and have never taught courses dedicated to multicultural or diversity issues. Twelve participants (six men and six women), ranging in age ranged from 31 to 65, participated in the study. Ten participants identified as White, one African-American, and one Hispanic. The research team identified eight themes: (1) reasons for avoidance, (2) constraints, (3) qualities and practices, (4) educator as a factor in student development, (5) infusion, (6) personal background, (7) awareness of biases and assumptions, and (8) counselor educator responsibility/gatekeeping. Findings from this study will add to the literature regarding infusion of multicultural issues across the curriculum. Additionally, the implications offered will serve as a resource for counselor educators as they experience unique personal and professional challenges when addressing multicultural issues in classrooms beyond the main multicultural or diversity course offered in counseling programs. Implications for this study may lead to development of more focused guidelines on how to increase the increase the comfort of counselor educators as they facilitate multicultural discussions and assist counselors-in-training in working toward cultural competence.

Teaching is a central role of counselor educators. However, teaching in counselor education lacks guiding standards or best practice recommendations. Existing scholarly dialogue predominantly features the perspectives of educators and addresses content knowledge, techniques, activities, and assignments for courses across the curriculum with relatively less emphasis on foundations of teaching. The purpose of this study was to develop greater understanding of counselor educator dispositions, orientations, and behaviors that students perceive as important to their learning. Q methodology was utilized to gather and distill counselor education students’ (N = 48) preferences for characteristics identified via focus groups and a comprehensive literature review. Factor analysis revealed four distinct factors, upon which 45 participants’ sorts loaded and which accounted for 41% of total variance. The findings of this study support the importance of the person of the counselor educator in the teaching and learning process in addition to behavioral characteristics. Moreover, these findings support the use of student learning style assessments and customization of course facilitation to fit students’ unique preferences and values.

<p>The study aimed to understand and advance the dynamics that influence psychological aggression. Psychological aggression can be defined as, verbal and non-verbal communication with the intent to harm another person mentally or emotionally, and/or control another person. In our society, the occurrence of psychological aggression in relationships is far more tolerated then physical aggression, but the effects can be more long term and harmful. The study hypothesized that an individual’s level of differentiation of self--a person’s ability to differentiate between feeling and thinking in times of stress--and their gender have a role in the severity of psychological aggression. The study was approved by IRB and using an online survey through MTurk asked participants about experiencing and perpetrating psychological aggression in their romantic relationships. The study had 192 participates in the multiple regression analyses, who provided some support that the level of differentiation of self and severity of psychological aggression, experiencing and perpetrating, have a negative significant relationship. Gender was found to not impact the relationship between differentiation of self and severity of psychological aggression. Clinical implications, limitations, and future directions for research were addressed. </p>

Billions of mental health care dollars for millions of children and adolescents in need has garnered significant attention within the behavioral health industry to reduce costs while improving treatment efficacy through the identification and implementation of evidence based practices with youth populations requiring therapeutic services. This hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative research approach in the field of psychology is a consumer driven one in the world of business. Line by line context and discourse analyses, which included both a prior and inductive coding, of the verbiage and phraseology of 10 boys and 10 girls, aged 8-12, actively engaged in outpatient psychotherapy, formed the foundation for 31 themes that captured a shared experience or a consumer driven “view inside the therapist’s office.” These results are represented through 6 main themes indicating that a) “knowledge fosters investment” upon entry into and initiation of mental health services when therapists and parents recognize that b) “words have power to facilitate success,” only if, guided by childhood development but chosen thoughtfully for each child. Further, c) “therapy is therapy across the lifespan,” such that therapeutic care for minors deemed legally dependent reflected treatment for legally independent persons with implementation methods influenced by age. Lastly, age, as a definitive factor, impacted the means by which the youth in my study experienced d) “autonomy… and developed e) “therapeutic rapport…” in references to e) “boundaries…” that mitigate the entire treatment experience. The outcomes of this study offer the research and practice community opportunity to move children from the “object” of the treatment to “agents” in their treatment by respecting the ideas expressed by youth themselves.

Thesis (Psy. D.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-46).