This study explored how students utilized spirituality as an effective coping mechanism for the stress they faced while in the Master's of Social Work program at California State University, San Bernardino. A stress and spirituality scale was used to measure each student's spirituality and perceived stress. Most students stated that spirituality and religious activity was helpful in coping with the stress of the MSW program. In addition, spirituality was found to have a strong positive impact on a person's abilities to cope with the stress of the program.

Text in English / The aim of the current study is to provide detailed information regarding individuals’ turning-point experiences, in order to understand the psychological and spiritual aspects involved in moving beyond a significant low point towards a significant high point in one’s life. It seems that inadequate information regarding formal studies about this phenomenon exists in literature, which this study endeavours to address. Thereby, a qualitative phenomenological study was conducted amongst nineteen South African citizens, who were purposefully and conveniently selected from the diverse population of South Africa. Individual participants confirmed that they had experienced significant low points from which they had been able to move to reach a significant high point. Through interviews, River-of-life (RoL) drawings and a short background information questionnaire (SBIQ), participants were able to provide information on their experiences. The participants’ stories, obtained during the interviews, were transcribed, and then triangulated with information obtained from the RoL drawings, completed SBIQ’s, researcher notes and other additional sources, during the analysis phase. Thematic analysis was performed on individuals’ stories to obtain the research participants’ themes, which provided the aspects involved in their turning-point experiences. In-depth analysis of all participants’ stories produced a theme-model consisting of main and unique themes. Unique themes identified by the study supported the main themes. Themes highlighted through the study included minding oneself, support from and to, doing something, religion/faith in God, positive attitude and meaning. The positive psychology theoretical framework was applied in interpreting the findings. This study suggests that a combination of themes is relevant in one’s ability to move beyond a low point experience towards a high point experience. The application of the theme-model could assist others in similar situations to create change or a turning-point experience in order to move away from or transcend a low point. The study was linked to the subjective measuring of Quality of Life (QOL). It is recommended that more subjective indicators of QOL, including spirituality indicators, be investigated. While this study focussed on the internal influences affecting change in a person’s life towards fulfilment, further studies may investigate the external influences. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)

Inner healing prayer (IHP) warrants greater practical theological attention. The practice of IHP, most significantly developed by Agnes Sanford, has been described by many of those individuals and ministries that have seen God transform lives through it. This study focuses especially on the models developed by John and Paula Sandford, Leanne Payne, and Ed Smith as representative of IHP. Social constructionism, particularly as it has drawn attention to the significance of narrative, provides a fresh perspective with which to interpret what is taking place in IHP. A theology centred on Jesus' proclamation and demonstration of the in-breaking reign of God combines with social constructionism to suggest that a personal Creator God, who has a privileged perspective on reality, actively joins in the social processes by which we construct our understandings of reality. Interpreting IHP from this social constructionist perspective, this study proposes that IHP can be described as a practice in which God is invited and expected to experientially enter into the social processes by which people construct their reality. Traumatic or hurtful events have often created apparent realities that persons are unable to integrate into the central stories that identify their lives. IHP facilitates an encounter in which God•s loving, forgiving presence is experienced in the midst of such hurtful events allowing a new, more integrated and hopeful, construction of reality. The faith, hope and love of those leading in IHP and the symbolic, metaphorical language contribute to the ability of IHP to affect change at an emotional level, but the central role of the imagination, especially in visualising Jesus' presence, is the most unique and characteristic aspect. This interpretation provides a viewpoint to critique the practice of IHP and suggests some ways that an understanding of God's kingdom might further enhance its practice. A small~scale qualitative interview project offers the opportunity to assess whether this social constructionist interpretation corresponds to the way in which participants in IHP make sense of their experience. It is hoped that the constructionist perspective offered here provides a language that can broaden an understanding of IHP, enhancing dialogue and further research. / Practical Theology / D.Th. (Practical Theology)

The content of this dissertation delineates the crucial and incisive role of the Holy Spirit in terms of God's grand and majestic acts of creation, that is the creation of the multiversity of universes, redemption that is the cross, the exemplar of Christ in self­ denial, reconciliation and restoration, and his resurrection, that is self-empowerment, self-renewal and self-fulfillment observed within the context of God, being human and the physical organic environment as it interacts with the human acts of personal and social responsibility observed within the context of a five dimensional approach of self-actualization, self-denial, self-empowerment, self-renewal and self-fulfillment, ingested into ones identity, internalised and witnessed as meaningful daily praxis, seen through the prism of the cross and the resurrection. A didactic method has been followed to engender insights into and conviction regarding the relevance of the subject for our present day and a hortatory method to exhort to an obedient response and to urge an appropriate action. / Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics / M. Th. (Systematic Theology)

Text in German / This study analyses, mainly within the scope of the stage theories of Fritz Oser/Paul Gmünder and James W. Fowler, the development of religiosity during adolescence. After an introduction into the social and scientific significance of religiosity, the developmental and functional theories of religiosity are explored. The study then shows, by examining multiple perspectives on the scientific controversy, to what extent the stage theories of Oser/Gmünder and Fowler effectively open up the field of religious development for pastoral and religious educational practice. This clarification of the stages of religious development has many consequences for pastoral care and religious education. Some of the proposed applications either complement or modify significantly the stage theories of Oser/Gmünder and Fowler. Altogether the study provides a critical view of the cognitive-structural theory itself, its empirical reliability and range of applicability, as well as its theological suitability. / Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

Death is one of the few certainties in life. It comes to all of us, but the way in which we deal with it will vary according to a range of social and cultural factors. Based on my mother's experiences since being widowed, this dissertation has undertaken a qualitative research method to examine how Hindu widows express their mourning in their context, thereby defining their experiences of widowhood. The aim of this dissertation is to give voice to the mourning experiences of Hindu widows. By examining these constructions of mourning experiences, one is able to gain an understanding of grief from a cultural perspective, which may serve as a guide for professional counsellors and academics in their endeavours to provide much needed support and understanding for bereaved Hindu women. The epistemological framework is social constructionism. In this study five Hindu widows were interviewed with the intention of providing readers and fellow researchers with insight into their narratives, and the data was hermeneutically analysed. The participants' stories were interpreted and categorised into themes. This study allowed for elaborate and detailed descriptions about Hindu widows' experiences to surface, with the view that this study will broaden the way Hindu widowhood is thought of. Analyses reveals that within patriarchal society, Hindu widows appear inadequately prepared for their widowhood. As a result they experience financial, emotional and psychological difficulties, which make adjusting to widowhood a challenge. The perspective this study hopes to argue for is broader, inclusive, collaborative engagement and thinking in respect of Indian widowhood / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Text in Afrikaans with summaries in Afrikaans and English / Opsomming In hierdie verhandeling word die ontologie van Eriugena in oënskou geneem, met spesifieke verwysing na sy negatiewe ontologie, oftewel sy opvatting van nie-syn. Ter inleiding word daar na die Latynse en Griekse agtergrond van sy ontologie verwys. Dit word opgevolg deur `n bespreking van die verskillende wyses van syn en nie-syn waarvan Eriugena in die Periphyseon gebruik maak. Klem word geplaas op sy negatiewe ontologie, wat meer gevorderd is as enigiets in die Westerse denke tot heelwat na sy leeftyd. Die historiese konteks van Eriugena se lewe en denke word geskets, met inbegrip van die invloede wat op hom ingewerk het en sy eie nawerking. Sy viervoudige verdeling van die werklikheid word vervolgens bespreek, met aanduiding hoedat die ganse werklikheid gesien kan word as `n wisselwerking tussen syn en nie-syn. `n Dinamiese ontologie word dus deur Eriugena voorgehou, eerder as die statiese ontologie wat kenmerkend van veel Judaïsties-Christelike denke is. Summary In this dissertation the ontology of Eriugena is reviewed, with specific reference to his negative ontology, in other words his concept of non-being. By way of introduction the Latin and Greek background of his ontology is pointed out. It is followed by a discussion of the various modes of being and non-being that Eriugena employs in the Periphyseon. Emphasis is placed on his negative ontology, which is more advanced than anything in Western thought until much later than his time. The historical context of Eriugena's life and thought is sketched, including the influences acting on him and the influence he exerted on others. His fourfold division of reality is then discussed, indicating how the whole of reality can be viewed as an interaction between being and non-being. Eriugena thus postulates a dynamic ontology, rather than the static ontology that is characteristic of much of Judaistic-Christian thought. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Religious Studies)

The thesis argues that there is a need for Christian communal pastoral care and counselling practice beyond the individualistic Western pastoral care and counselling practices. The communal pastoral care model advocated by the author uses culturally gifted care-givers who follow spontaneous caring models. Several of the major books concerning communal pastoral care and counselling were reviewed. The author concludes that the church has been impoverished by ignoring the cultural gifts of the majority of members and the mutual communal care of the community. Pain and its healing in this thesis are understood in a culturally sensitive manner. Pastoral care must be done in context, in this case in the Vhavenda context. Hence the thesis looks systematically at the way in which the Vhavenda understand and heal pain from their cosmological perspective. The thesis engages in empirical research among the Vhavenda people using qualitative interview. The author selected five small communities to test for their understanding of pain and healing. He developed his own interview schedule. Themes encountered in interpreting the research results include pain as part of life. The thesis develops two sub-models of a Vhavenda-Christian culturally gifted model of communal care arguing the need of their incorporation into Christian communal care. They are “Kha ri vangulane” model which pictures pain as a thorn which people help to remove from a person; and the “khoro” or “dzulo” gathering which is family or community care-giving. A case study has illustrated how they are used.Finally, the author argues that the Bible is full of communal pictures which resonate well with the African people. Hence it is fairly easy to correlate the Vhavenda sense of community with the body of Christ model of Christian community as found in the Bible. The conclusion is that members of the Christian community need to reincorporate their culturally gifted care resources and integrate them with the biblical care. / Thesis (D. Th. (Practical Theology))

Summary in German and English / This paper examines responsibility in the counselling field as practised in therapeutic counselling at the TS Institute in Neuendettelsau with the help of the applied individual psychology of Alfred Adler. Against the background of the historical development of poimenics and the correlational approach of Paul Tillich, it will prove that counselling can benefit from psychology. The main elements of the paper then deal with the question of whether the personal responsibility of the individual is suitable as the basis of individual psychology in Christian counselling. The definition of and thinking behind responsibility have changed: Behind the apparently ethical and noble pretence of bearing self-responsibility, ‘personal responsibility’, which requires interaction between oneself and the other, pales. Due to advancing individualism, people seem to feel overloaded and seek relief in determinative or ‘causalmechanistic’ thinking. In contrast, Adler largely distanced himself from determinism in his ‘applied psychology’. The basis of his thinking is evidenced in a conclusion on his philosophical research into Husserl and Vaihinger, as well as those he draws from the teaching of psychoanalysis and evolution. The theological debates surrounding the change in self-responsibility focus on the definitions of the ethics of conviction and responsibility introduced into the discussion by Max Weber. Whilst Adler did not intend to consciously integrate Christian thinking into his therapy, this study shows that, against the background of Genesis 2 and the theologians Bonhoeffer, Pannenberg and Brunner, it demonstrates a clear analogy with biblical- Christian thinking. Personal responsibility can therefore be regarded as suitable for the poimenics in applied individual psychology. This is demonstrated by examples of responsibility counselling in today’s penal system. / Diese Arbeit untersucht die Verantwortung in der Seelsorge, wie sie in der Therapeutischen Seelsorge des TS-Institutes Neuendettelsau mithilfe der angewandten Individualpsychologie Alfred Adlers praktiziert wird. Auf dem Hintergrund der geschichtlichen Entwicklung der Poimenik wird mithilfe des korrelationalen Ansatzes Paul Tillichs belegt, dass Seelsorge von der Psychologie profitieren kann. Die Hauptteile der Arbeit befassen sich dann mit der Frage, ob die Eigenverantwortung des Individuums als Basis der Individualpsychologie für die christliche Seelsorge geeignet ist. Begriff und Verständnis von Verantwortung haben sich gewandelt: Unter dem scheinbar ethisch edlen Vorwand „Selbstverantwortung“ zu tragen, verblasst die Eigenverantwortung, die wesenhaft einem Du die Antwort schuldet. Infolge fortschreitendem Individualismus scheint der Mensch sich überfordert zu fühlen und sich mithilfe determinierenden oder kausalmechanistischen Denkens zu entlasten. Im Kontrast dazu ist Adler in seiner Gebrauchspsychologie weitgehend vom Determinismus abgerückt. Die Grundlagen seines Denkens werden nachgewiesen in einer Konklusion seiner philosophischen Forschungen über Husserl und Vaihinger, seinen Schlüssen aus den Lehren der Psychoanalyse und der Evolution. Die Theologischen Auseinandersetzungen um die Veränderung eigenverantwortlichen Handelns fokussieren die von Max Weber in die Diskussion eingebrachten Begriffe der Gesinnungs- und Verantwortungsethik. Obwohl Adler nicht bewusst christliches Denken in seine Therapie integrieren wollte, wird auf diesem Hintergrund mit Genesis 2 und den Theologen Bonhoeffer, Pannenberg und Brunner ganzheitliche Verantwortung deutlich und eine Nähe zu biblisch-christlichem Denken aufgezeigt. Damit kann die Eigenverantwortung in der angewandten Individualpsychologie für die Poimenik als geeignet gelten. Dies wird an Beispielen der Verantwortungsseelsorge im aktuellen Vollzug dargestellt. / Practical Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

Orthodox Christianity represents the oldest Christian tradition. However, the tragic schism between the Christian East and West has resulted in a lost cognizance of the East by the West (Chrysostomos, 2007). Ultimately, this loss, for the West, involves the loss of part of its own Christian heritage. As attempts at rapprochement are made, on the ecclesiastical, cultural, and international levels, it is important that the West begin to develop an understanding of human psychology from an Orthodox perspective, i.e., a psychology consistent with the cosmology and soteriology of Orthodoxy. Orthodox Christian Psychotherapy bridges the divide between mystical, neptic, and hesychastic teachings and the methods and goals of modern Western psychotherapy. It is the meeting of the transcendent and the secular, and of spirituality and psychotherapy, as they impact all those in need of inner healing from spiritual, behavioral, and / or psychological disorders and pathologies (St. John Climacus, 1979; Romanides, 2007). This study in practical theology concretizes the above by examining the intensity of depressive symptomatology and comorbid anxiety before and after a twelve-week treatment plan using Orthodox Christian neptic-psychotherapeutic interventions and techniques. The results represent yet another step in disentangling the mystery of the relationship between spirituality, psychological treatment, and mental health. The findings, which confirm the efficacy of Orthodox Christian Psychotherapy, offer insight into the ways in which neptic-psychotherapeutic interventions may be applied at the pastoral and clinical level and utilized to treat and / or prevent depressive symptomatology and comorbid anxiety, and possibly other spiritual, behavioral, developmental, and / or psychological disorders and pathologies, in both the Orthodox and general populations. / Practical Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)