This study explored the interaction between persons and songs in therapy, and was described according to the ideas of Social Constructionism and the Narrative Approach (Freedman & Combs, 1996; Gergen, 1985, 1994; Hoyt, 1998). The meanings around songs and the therapist-client interaction were explored. A flowing process evolved that allowed for new ideas to become part of the therapeutic conversations (Anderson & Goolishian, 1988; Hoffman, 1994). The research was qualitative as befits the above-mentioned epistemology. Therapeutic conversations evolved with a single client, in which songs and music were used to explore her life story. An unstructured interview was conducted to explore the therapeutic process underlying the incorporation of songs in therapeutic conversations. The hermeneutic method of analysis was employed to identify themes and meanings that encompassed the research participant's life story as well as the therapeutic process in which songs were utilised to facilitate therapeutic dialogues. It was found that the themes elicited in this study reflected the themes discussed in the literature. The following themes underlying the therapeutic process of songs were identified: songs created an emotional release; they elicited memories, feelings and imagery; they facilitated relaxation, coloured relationships and provided a new skill. This exploration of the themes allowed for rich descriptions of the participant's story and the therapeutic conversations, to emerge. / Clinical psychology / M.A. (Clinical psychology)

The state of Maleness has received much attention in academic and public discourse of late. One such instance is the play Defending the Caveman, which depicts men in their ”natural” settings as Cavemen, thereby justifying Caveman-like behaviour. On the other hand, much writing exists that find men culpable of discrimination, violence and abuse towards others. Discourses like these have real effects on the ways in which men choose and act on their Maleness. Six men engaged in narrative therapeutic discussions in an attempt to share their stories of Maleness, to discuss how society constructs men, and to re-evaluate the Maleness chosen by the participants. / Practical Theology / M.Th. (Pastoral Therapy)

The purpose of the research, which shaped the research question, was exploring the social construction of cultural stories of substance abuse and the difference that God-stories can make in these circumstances. The research is about the difference that the positioning of the self in the biblical and Christ-stories, the stories of faith, can make in the construction of self-stories in the context of substance abuse. This study thus studied the social construction of self-stories embedded in God-stories in the context of a short-term rehabilitation programme for addiction. I had conversations with 12 participants in Ramot, a rehabilitation centre for alcohol and drug addiction in Parow, Cape Town in the year 2005. A narrative approach was followed, because it is particularly suited to exploring the interaction between stories of identity or self-stories, stories of faith or God-stories, and stories of the struggle with substance abuse. The concept of stories opens up issues and ideas that initially seem to be fixed „realities‟ to change, as alternative meanings can be applied and stories can be told differently in different contexts. This approach therefore correlates with people‟s lived experience. Stories as texts are constitutive of our worlds, but are open to re-visioning and editing. With regard to problematic stories, hope can thus be performed in telling stories differently (recognising different contexts) or in telling different stories (previously marginalised texts). The main body of the research is a theoretical consideration of the way self-stories, God-stories and the stories of a struggle with substance abuse are socially constructed. Particular attention is paid to the way in which self-stories are socially constructed, because that is the basis for the narrative approach adopted in the research. This includes the postmodern, social constructionist and poststructuralist emphasis on the discursive positioning of the self, with the alternative positionings that this makes possible. Religion/spirituality are explored as part of the narrative resources or context that contribute to the social construction of self-stories. For a believer, this relationship with God through biblical stories informs other relationships and influences the construction of the person‟s self-stories.This research report therefore also reflects a critical interaction between the contemporary situation in respect of the struggle with substance abuse and the stories of the Christian tradition for the sake of improved praxis by the faith community. / Systematic Theology & Theological Ethics / D. Th.

The state of Maleness has received much attention in academic and public discourse of late. One such instance is the play Defending the Caveman, which depicts men in their ”natural” settings as Cavemen, thereby justifying Caveman-like behaviour. On the other hand, much writing exists that find men culpable of discrimination, violence and abuse towards others. Discourses like these have real effects on the ways in which men choose and act on their Maleness. Six men engaged in narrative therapeutic discussions in an attempt to share their stories of Maleness, to discuss how society constructs men, and to re-evaluate the Maleness chosen by the participants. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Pastoral Therapy)

This study explored the interaction between persons and songs in therapy, and was described according to the ideas of Social Constructionism and the Narrative Approach (Freedman & Combs, 1996; Gergen, 1985, 1994; Hoyt, 1998). The meanings around songs and the therapist-client interaction were explored. A flowing process evolved that allowed for new ideas to become part of the therapeutic conversations (Anderson & Goolishian, 1988; Hoffman, 1994). The research was qualitative as befits the above-mentioned epistemology. Therapeutic conversations evolved with a single client, in which songs and music were used to explore her life story. An unstructured interview was conducted to explore the therapeutic process underlying the incorporation of songs in therapeutic conversations. The hermeneutic method of analysis was employed to identify themes and meanings that encompassed the research participant's life story as well as the therapeutic process in which songs were utilised to facilitate therapeutic dialogues. It was found that the themes elicited in this study reflected the themes discussed in the literature. The following themes underlying the therapeutic process of songs were identified: songs created an emotional release; they elicited memories, feelings and imagery; they facilitated relaxation, coloured relationships and provided a new skill. This exploration of the themes allowed for rich descriptions of the participant's story and the therapeutic conversations, to emerge. / Clinical psychology / M.A. (Clinical psychology)

The purpose of the research, which shaped the research question, was exploring the social construction of cultural stories of substance abuse and the difference that God-stories can make in these circumstances. The research is about the difference that the positioning of the self in the biblical and Christ-stories, the stories of faith, can make in the construction of self-stories in the context of substance abuse. This study thus studied the social construction of self-stories embedded in God-stories in the context of a short-term rehabilitation programme for addiction. I had conversations with 12 participants in Ramot, a rehabilitation centre for alcohol and drug addiction in Parow, Cape Town in the year 2005. A narrative approach was followed, because it is particularly suited to exploring the interaction between stories of identity or self-stories, stories of faith or God-stories, and stories of the struggle with substance abuse. The concept of stories opens up issues and ideas that initially seem to be fixed „realities‟ to change, as alternative meanings can be applied and stories can be told differently in different contexts. This approach therefore correlates with people‟s lived experience. Stories as texts are constitutive of our worlds, but are open to re-visioning and editing. With regard to problematic stories, hope can thus be performed in telling stories differently (recognising different contexts) or in telling different stories (previously marginalised texts). The main body of the research is a theoretical consideration of the way self-stories, God-stories and the stories of a struggle with substance abuse are socially constructed. Particular attention is paid to the way in which self-stories are socially constructed, because that is the basis for the narrative approach adopted in the research. This includes the postmodern, social constructionist and poststructuralist emphasis on the discursive positioning of the self, with the alternative positionings that this makes possible. Religion/spirituality are explored as part of the narrative resources or context that contribute to the social construction of self-stories. For a believer, this relationship with God through biblical stories informs other relationships and influences the construction of the person‟s self-stories.This research report therefore also reflects a critical interaction between the contemporary situation in respect of the struggle with substance abuse and the stories of the Christian tradition for the sake of improved praxis by the faith community. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th.

The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of women who felt that they had to reject their femininity in favour of masculinity, and who later reclaimed their femininity. The epistemological framework of this study is social constructionism. This study involves in-depth interviews with three women who rejected their femininity and subsequently either reclaimed, or are in the process of reclaiming their femininity. The data was analysed using Hermeneutics. The participants' stories were recounted through the researcher's lens in the form of themes that characterised the rejection and the reclaiming of their femininity. A comparative analysis between the three participants was undertaken. The information gained could assist professionals in understanding the process involved in why some women reject and later reclaim their femininity. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

The study explored the narratives of three adoptive couples. The participants were selected using criterion based convenience and snowball sampling. The adoptive couples’ data was captured through written narratives and/or individual or joint semi-structured interviews. The data was then analysed by means of thematic analysis conducted from the perspective of second order cybernetics. The results note the participants’ experiences of their infertility threatened their functioning as a couple. However, this threat to the couples’ functioning was limited by the adoptions through two means. First, the adoptions limited the couples’ communication about their infertility. Second, the adoptions allowed the couples to continue functioning as a couple dedicated to the goal of becoming parents. Differences between the participant couples’ experiences surrounded their interactions with social workers; their selection of support structures; their interaction with external systems; as well as their anxiety towards the individuation of the adopted child. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

This study explored the experiences of members of an OCD support group, utilising a qualitative design, social constructionist approach, and a systemic framework. Participants were obtained through purposive sampling; data was collected via faceto- face semi-structured interviews with four participants. It emerged that these participants attended two OCD support groups (initial support group and sub-support group). The participants’ experiences were analysed using thematic analysis. Major findings: the participants’ motivation to attend both support groups was to reduce their OCD symptoms and improve functioning. The initial support group was a professional-led psychoeducational support group while the sub-support group was a self-help psychotherapeutic group. The groups also complemented each other with information from the initial support group being implemented in the sub-support group. The participants reported to have benefitted from participation in both support groups as their OCD symptoms reduced and their daily functioning improved. Recommendations for future research were discussed. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Föreliggande arbete inriktar sig på att utifrån ett genusperspektiv undersöka hur sånglärares elevbemötande påverkas av elevens biologiska kön. Med hjälp av videoobservationer av lärarnas sångundervisning i kombination med semistrukturerade intervjuer med de observerade lärarna har olika teman framkommit i analysarbetet av lärarnas elevbemötande och uttalade uppfattningar kring kön och genus. Resultatet visar att den mest markanta skillnaden i lärarnas bemötande är hur mycket lärarna skrattar eller skämtar med eleverna. Lärarnas förhållningssätt till sångarens roll presenteras samt hur det påverkar lärarnas lektionsupplägg. Vidare behandlar resultatet hur det sociala samspelet mellan lärare och elev fungerar, hur uppmuntran och beröm ges samt hur lärarnas uppfattningar kring känslomässiga skillnader mellan pojkar och flickor tycks påverka sångundervisningen och lärarnas elevbemötande. I diskussionen behandlas bland annat hur genusordningen styrks genom såväl lärarnas elevbemötande som elevernas bemötande av lärarna samt hur normer och förväntningar färgar deras sociala interaktioner. / The purpose of the study is to, from a gender perspective, investigate how vocal teachers treatment of the student is affected by the student’s biological sex. With the help of video observations of the teachers vocal tutoring in combination with semi-structured interviews certain themes have emerged from the analysis of the teachers treatment of the students and stated views on sex and gender. The result shows that the most significant difference in the teacher’s attitude towards the students is the amount of teachers joke and laughter. The teachers approach towards the singers function is presented along with how that seems to affect the teachers approach towards vocal tutoring. The result also display how the social interaction appears between the teacher and students, how encouragement and praise is given and how the teachers perceptions on emotional distinctions between boys and girls are effecting the vocal tutoring and the teachers treatment of the students. In the chapter on discussion I present, among other things, how both teachers and students due to their attitude towards each other confirm the gender order and lastly how social structures and expectations affects their social interactions.