Trauma therapists increasingly use EMDR when working with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and trauma clients as it is recommended by NICE guidelines (2005) however until recently research focused on the negative impact of trauma work. Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) appears to be the most commonly used term for ‘growth’ however attempts to define and measure it can be criticised for being reductionist in approach as it reduced five factors into three outcomes based on the client’s growth. Research on trauma therapists’ growth has relied on client definitions that is; Vicarious PTG is based on PTG although there are a couple of studies which collaborate these findings. This study aims to address the literature and practitioner gap by exploring EMDR therapists’ lived experiences of ‘vicarious growth’ when working with PTSD symptom clients. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from a homogeneous sample of six EMDR therapists who stated that they had positive experiences or experienced growth (positive change) when working with PTSD symptom clients. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the data. Rich, detailed findings in terms of how ‘growth’ is experienced emerged as four super-ordinate themes: A: Initial struggles; B: Experiences of the “healing journey”; C: Growth through connecting and D: Impact of growth on ‘self’. Implications of experiences of the therapeutic relationship as a “healing journey” for therapists were discussed in terms of a potential power imbalance where they might be viewed as ‘experts’. However, a better understanding of how therapists experience ‘vicarious growth’ with their clients enables them to utilise this knowledge to develop their own growth and self-awareness therefore supervision and training to encourage self-awareness was also discussed. These Positive Psychology (growth) findings such as self-belief in skills; use of ‘special set’ of clients; self-image as 3 ‘guide’ and the spread of growth to areas outside of therapy can be utilised to add Positive Psychology (growth) into existing supervision and training (EMDR and trauma) thereby enhancing existing models or creating new ones. Therapists growth and well-being may lead to lower occupational risk than was previously thought working amongst trauma clients and perhaps greater job satisfaction. KEYWORDS: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Posttraumatic Growth (PTG), Vicarious Posttraumatic Growth (VPTG), Vicarious Growth (VG), Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA); EMDR therapists; Positive Psychology.

War inevitably impacts on the lives of soldiers who participate in them. The impact often suggests a negative nature, leaving some soldiers with permanent physical and emotional scars. Some soldiers will return from war suffering from several psychological disorders as the result of their exposure to combat trauma. Pathologies such as post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety and mood disorders are not uncommon. Yet, for others war has provided them with numerous positive experiences from which they can find meaning for themselves. It was Aaron Antonovsky who developed the idea of salutogenesis, mainly focussing on the psychological factors that allow individuals to find meaning in their adversity. This study attempts to investigate the impact of service rendered in the South African Special Forces during the Angolan war on current levels of well-being and sense of coherence amongst former Special Forces members. It is commonly known that these soldiers were exposed to severe battle related conditions, often working behind enemy lines for unknown periods of time whilst being self-reliant. It would seem that most of these soldiers have adapted adequately to society 15 years after their participation in the Angolan war (South Africa’s “Border War”). Some of these soldiers have achieved success in many different ways after leaving Special Forces. Some have embarked into the world of business and others chose professional careers and then there are those who became successful entrepreneurs. A sample of 32 respondents was collected. All of the respondents were members of the South African Special Forces during the Angolan war but have resigned since. The respondents were requested to complete a questionnaire consisting of a biographical information section, Antonovsky’s 13-item Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ) and Diener’s Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). The purpose was to determine the respondents’ current sense of coherence and level of well-being and to determine to what extent service in Special Forces has contributed to these levels. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Inferential statistics included Chi-square, Fisher’s exact test, Spearman correlation coefficient and the t-test. Analysis of data suggests that the sample currently measures high on both levels of sense of coherence and well-being. The means of both OLQ and SWLS of this sample compare higher to any other samples they were administered to. However, statistically no clear correlation could be determined between service rendered in Special Forces and current levels of well-being. Respondents did however indicate that they feel that their service in Special Forces did have a positive impact on their lives and their current levels of functioning. / Dissertation (MA (Clinical Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Psychology / unrestricted

Psychotherapists in full-time, long-term private practice face a variety of occupational demands. They usually maintain private practices for long periods of their lives often under difficult circumstances and emotional pressures and have come to sustain their practices. From literature it is revealed that various demands, as well as benefits and successes are part and parcel of working in private practice full-time. These various factors can have an impact on the well-being of psychotherapists. Apart from the literature review, the personal experience of the researcher, a psychotherapist in full-time private practice, also contributed to ideas and hypotheses about the study. From a position of exploration and further enquiry, the researcher was interested to explore the experiences of psychotherapists in full-time private practice from a fortigenic perspective. A second objective was to determine if this study could contribute to the development of the theoretical assumptions of positive psychology. The research is grounded in the theoretical perspective of positive psychology and fortigenesis. Both these fields are relatively new in psychology and seem to still be forging a niche within the discipline. This perspective was deliberately chosen due to the applicability to the exploration of strengths and vigour, with regards to the maintenance of the professional context of the psychotherapist. The qualitative research process is presented in a narrative approach by means of narrative synthesis and synergy. The findings of the research conversations are presented in the form of a literary short story. Suggestions are made about the fortigenic qualities of psychotherapists essential for maintaining their work in full-time private practice. It’s applicability and usefulness is discussed. Furthermore, suggestions are made with regards to the field of positive psychology and the way forward for this sub-discipline. Ideas relating to narrative research and qualitative research are also discussed. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted

This study focuses on educational psychology students’ self-efficacy beliefs in career counselling. The research was conducted in the Department of Educational Psychology of the University of Pretoria. An Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) as described by Northcutt and McCoy (2004) was done. The constituency comprised seven students who have provided career counselling to at least one client.</p.> The IQA approach to research postulate that the ideal in qualitative research is to create a process that invite participants to produce data while minimizing the effect of the research process on the content. With the IQA approach the participants in the research have a remarkable degree of freedom and are empowered to generate and analyze their own data with minimal external influence. The role of the researcher in this process is to facilitate the process and to teach participants the process while guiding them to generate and analyze their own data. The central assumption in IQA, namely that the people closest to the phenomenon are in the best position to report about the phenomenon was confirmed by the researcher. The main findings of the study indicate that self-efficacy develops through formal and personal development. The identification of possible areas of growth and how this is communicated by the supervisor is fundamental for both formal and personal development processes of students. A positive cooperative developmental approach during feedback sessions is conducive to the growth of the career counsellor. The importance of experiential learning and modelling as a means to develop self-efficacy was confirmed by the research participants. The reduction of anxiety with the increase of self-efficacy was reported as a very important benefit of increased self-efficacy. / Dissertation (MEd (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Positive psychology has significantly advanced our understanding of well-being, yet there remains a need to better understand the how, what, and why of both positive and negative well-being. This study combined positive psychology and job loss perspectives to investigate the subjective experience of well-being following job loss. Using a qualitative-focused case study methodology, this three article dissertation explored the experiences of 20 workers who were displaced from the Ottawa, Canada technology sector from 2000-2006. The first article explored the experience of well-being from a bottom-up, naturalistic point of view and compared these inductive notions with existing a priori theories. Findings support integrated conceptualizations of hedonia and eudaimonia, while also potentially identifying new notions of well-being. Identified themes include (a) life evaluation, (b) transitory experiencing, (c) growth and grounding, (d) environmental mastery/stability, (e) mental ill-being/ill-health, and (f) motivational mindsets/conditions. This study showed well-being to be a rich, pluralistic construct. It included the non-dualistic notions of both subjectivity and objectivity, as well as encompassing notions related to the what and how of well-being. The second and third articles present inductively derived themes which helped to explain the relationship between job loss and well-being (i.e., the how and why). Three externally focused themes were reported in the second article: (a) systemic factors (e.g., broader business environment), (b) interpersonal factors (e.g., social support), and (c) chance (e.g., luck and serendipity). The third article identified two internally focused major themes: (a) differential coping responses and processes and (b) protective and sensitizing processes. Coping specifically consisted of problem-focused coping, meaning-making, attitudes and expectancies, behavioural processes, and emotional processes. Protective and sensitizing processes included identity and self-esteem, the impact of past adversity, and personal resources and characteristics. Implications for theory, research, and practice for both positive psychology and job loss are discussed. Keywords: positive psychology, job loss, unemployment, qualitative research, case study, hedonia, eudaimonia, coping, meaning, meaning-making, resilience, post-traumatic growth, social support, relationships, theory, processes

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe how the developmental asset framework could be used to conceptualise HIV/AIDS message framing. LoveLife media messages (as gain-framed HIV/AIDS prevention messages) were purposefully sampled. Qualitative content analysis allowed loveLife media messages to be analysed through coding, categorisation and memoing. The analysis process revealed core values and developmental assets portrayed in gain-framed HIV/AIDS prevention messages. Core values identified included, love, respect (portrayed least), dignity (portrayed most) and responsibility. Internal assets identified included, achievement motivation, school engagement, responsibility, integrity, restraint, honesty, planning and decision making, resistant skills, personal power, sense of purpose, self-esteem and positive view of personal future., External assets identified included, family support and positive family communication. Responsibility and personal power, were portrayed most and honesty together with family support, and positive family communication, least. Broadcast messages portrayed the most developmental assets and outdoor messages the least. Correlations were found between core values love, dignity, and responsibility, and the identified developmental assets. Insight was gained into three potential roles developmental assets could play in framing HIV/AIDS prevention messages. Firstly, developmental assets could serve as a source of enablement to make youth aware of strengths they could utilise to foster well-being. Secondly, developmental assets could direct incorporation of positive psychology principles in designing HIV/AIDS prevention messages. Lastly, the study revealed that the developmental asset framework could be used in conjunction with the theory of message framing in designing HIV/AIDS prevention messages. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Lifestyle migrants from the affluent North move to the Mediterranean region intensively from the 80's. Lifestyle migration to Spain takes different forms: here we meet rich yacht owners in Marbella, retired people in the housing complexes in Almuñecar, or surfers in Tarifa. This work focused on people, who chose their new place in the region of La Alpujarra. They live in the remote houses called cortijos, which gave name to their inhabitants - cortijeros. Their lifestyles are the subject of this work, together with more general strategies practiced in lifestyle migration, the skills needed in such a move, and values they pursue. Ten years of research enabled to get together both, opinions and plans of the newcomers in the region, and their activities, stories, and imprints in the real world. I try to present different perspectives: the lens of lifestyle migration, counter-urbanization, material culture anthropology, history, positive psychology. At the end, I propose to think a positive anthropology that would focus on studying such practices that seemed to work towards understanding "the good life"; that work towards both individual well-being, and creating social structures considerate to humans and the environment.

Against a burgeoning worldwide discourse on the psychological and emotional impact of HIV&AIDS on children’s development, I conducted an empirical inquiry to explore how a group of nine orphaned and vulnerable children who were residing in a children’s home negotiated pathways to well-being while they were affected by HIV&AIDS. The study aimed to explore, understand and describe the phenomenon of well-being within the specific context of the child participants’ perspectives of their life-worlds. The study was informed by a qualitative and instrumental case study design within an interpretivist paradigm. In addition, it was guided by a conceptual framework derived from key concepts within the fields of HIV&AIDS, positive psychology, coping and resilience theories. The study employed both inductive and deductive methods for knowledge development. I utilised task-based participatory activities to guide the informal and conversational interviews with the children in the study as the main data generation strategy. I incorporated the use of informal observations and an examination of documentation as additional data generation methods. By means of a thematic analysis approach incorporating principles of the constructivist grounded theory analysis of the children’s expressions, I gained insights that informed my understanding of the children’s perceptions and experiences of well-being, risks, challenges and stressors. Findings indicate that the children in the study experienced risks, challenges and stressors arising from personal illness, stigma, discrimination, orphanhood, residential care, death and bereavement. The study has further revealed that those children who portrayed characteristics of well-being and resilient adaptation utilised psychosocial coping mechanisms. In addition, they were supported and strengthened by their positive intrapersonal characteristics and affirmative relationships that offered emotional and psychosocial support within their environments. The findings of the study suggest that feelings of well-being, hope and optimism might have co-existed with feelings of despair and hopelessness in the daily lives of the children in the study who were affected by HIV&AIDS. I concluded this study by suggesting that the well-being experiences of the children in this study may exist on a continuum and may depend on specific events, occasions or incidents on a day-to-day basis. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

No description available.

The purpose of this clinical case study was to compare clients’ and an Educational Psychologist’s experiences of a psychometric feedback from a traditional perspective with feedback from the perspective of positive psychology. The study consulted relevant literature and integrated readings to design frameworks to guide the two modes of feedback. A mixed-method research approach was applied, with a dominant focus on the qualitative aspects of this study (Qualquan), guided by an interpretivist epistemology. Four adolescent girls and an Educational Psychologist were conveniently selected to participate, with two girls participating in the pilot phase and two in the data collection phase. After the pilot the interview frameworks were adapted. Psychometric profiles were used to generate quantitative data, while audio-visual recordings of the feedback interviews, interview transcripts, field notes , the researcher’s and Educational Psychologist’s reflections, and participants’ pre- and post-feedback narratives contributed to the qualitative data for the study. Following thematic analysis it emerged that the clients’ experienced four similarities between the two modes of feedback interviews. Both feedback interviews were experienced as satisfactory and positive experiences; both modes provided self- and career knowledge to the participants; both were experienced as comprehensive feedbacks and the Educational Psychologist highlighted both strengths and weaknesses of the client in each mode. However, the participant who experienced the positive psychological feedback interview received an additional strength-building opportunity. The lack of significant differentiation between the two modes of feedback interviews may be indicative of the value of the therapeutic alliance between therapists and client. This study’s main contribution to Educational Psychology theory and practice is a framework for a positive psychological feedback interview, which may create opportunities for strength-building discussions. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted