Thesis(MSc (Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2012. / Teddy Bear Therapy is a specialised type of intervention which calls for effective training oftherapists interested in conducting Teddy Bear Therapy. However, no structured training programme for psychotherapists in this child therapy exists to this date. The current study therefore developed a training programme for psychotherapists in Teddy Bear Therapy. The investigation was done by using a qualitative, descriptive research design. This allowed for a systematic description of the nature of child psychotherapy training programmes by means of a narrative literature review. From the literature review, questions were derived to be used in semi-structured interviews with three clinical psychologists. The data obtained from the interviews were analysed and common themes identified. These findings were combined with the data obtained from the literature review. This integration resulted ina training programme in Teddy Bear Therapy. The training programme incorporates theoretical as well as experiential learning. The programme outline provides the facilitator with clear instructions as to what each session's objectives and tasks are. The trainee is provided with a manual that firstly provides background information necessary to understand the application of Teddy Bear Therapy. Secondly, the manual provides specific information on the development and process of Teddy Bear Therapy. The trainee must work through the manual, do exercises, take part in discussions or prepare readings whenever indicated to do so by the facilitator. In spite of the contribution which the training programme and its manual can make to the South African context, it is limited to the theoretical framework of a dissertation and has not yet been implemented or empirically tested.

This research served to explore the client’s experiences of services in a clinic dealing with child sexual abuse and related issues. Addressing the issue of therapeutic interventions in clinics dealing with sexual abuse victims and their caregivers – looking at how the clients experience these treatments and services and how they have made ‘meaning’ of these on their journey to healing, is something that needs to be explored in greater depth. The aim therefore of this research is to gain insight into understanding the clients’ experiences of the therapeutic services. This study will be of specific importance due to the fact that to date no literature has been identified particularly from a South African perspective on how clients make meaning of these therapeutic services at such an agency, making it difficult to compare the findings. Much of the research identified has focused on the interventions in cases of sexual abuse and have thus typically been one-sided in approach, subsequently ignoring the voices of the child victims of sexual abuse and the non-offending caregivers. The client’s experience of the therapeutic interventions will be reviewed within the context of the Teddy Bear Clinic. An interpretive phenomenological approach was used to focus on the understanding of the participant’s subjective experiences and meanings of the therapeutic interventions. The research utilised a qualitative framework which privileged first-person descriptions as the primary sources of subjective meaning. Two case studies in an organisation in Johannesburg were investigated. The case studies comprised the child victim of abuse and the non-offending care-givers that participated with the child in the therapeutic process. Therefore two children and two caregivers were included in each case study. The recruitment of participants was, to a large extent, dependent on the assistance offered by the counsellors at the Teddy Bear Clinic. Therapeutic counsellors at the Teddy Bear Clinic identified a list of clients that had just terminated or were exiting the therapeutic process and not in need of further interventions, and fit the criteria as stipulated by the researcher. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews of each participant. The analysis was carried out using thematic analysis which revealed the meaning of their experiences. The following themes emerged through the analysis and were used to explore the client’s experience and assignment of meaning to the therapeutic services: (1) background influences. Various sub-themes emerged from this theme: (1a) shame, guilt and fear of punishment (1b) developmental stages, (1c) relationship with stepmother, (1d) legal issues, (1e) marital and parenting difficulties, (1f) outside support structures and (1g) previous relationship with counsellor. The second main theme included; (2) the voices of children and caregivers on the therapeutic experience. The various sub-themes that emerged from this were; (2a) the therapeutic relationship, (2b) the role of the therapist, (2c) being kept in the loop – feedback and introductions, (2d) clarification and support for the caregiver (2e) giving back – peer support groups, and (2f) teddy bears and the therapeutic process. Thus the main findings that emerged from this study involves ‘background influences’, that clients present to the medico-legal clinic for rape or sexual abuse. However, background influences have a profound effect on the therapeutic relationship and the experience of the clinic’s services, as seen in the interrelationships that are interwoven with the presenting problem. A second finding emerging from the voices of the children and caregivers foresee that services could be improved in the following ways. Providing feedback and clarification of the therapeutic process; receiving an introductory brochure which highlights what services the clinic provides and resources available to the clients. Caregiver and peer support groups was another very important element that the clients expressed as a necessary and vital part of the services and interventions that the clinic could offer the clients. Finally, a positive element to the therapeutic interventions which helped the children cope and eased the caregivers anxiety were found to be the handing out of teddy bears which is symbolic of the Teddy Bear Clinic and should continue to be a cornerstone of the therapeutic intervention and introduction to the clinic. The study, while achieving its goal of providing some understanding of how the clients experience these interventions at this medico-legal clinic, highlights the need for further exploration of how clients experience these services and interventions at other clinics dealing with sexual abuse, particularly from a South African perspective. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Psychology / unrestricted

Contemporary children’s books, particularly picture books, show an increasing tendency towards complexity and sophistication. There is, however, some resistance to this tendency in the children’s book world. This thesis therefore critically analyses complexity and sophistication in three picture books - chosen because they represent particularly high numbers of the most common complexities and sophistications - in order to determine whether or not such resistance is appropriate. The study defines picture books as fictional, illustrated books in which pictures and design are vehicles for meaning, where text and art are integral aspects of an interdependent relationship. It thus examines words, the roles of words and pictures and their interactions, linear progression, time and page-breaks, rhythm, design, colour, medium, style, line, regularity, balance, framing, shot, point of view, gaze, visual weight, position, shape, size, light, background, symbol, pictorial analogy, visual games, nonsense, intervisuality, intravisuality, leitmotif and counterpoint. The sophisticated structure, polyphony, visual nonsense and allusion of Anthony Browne’s Voices in the Park allow deep, complex examinations of its characters’ psychologies, making marginalized groups visible and critiquing stereotypes of class, gender, family structure and unemployment. Its sophistications and complexities thus enable Browne’s book to satisfy significant priorities in the children’s book world, because it avoids overt didacticism, respects “literary” values and is socially aware. The sophisticated structure, visual nonsense, multidimensionality and multivoicedness of David McKee’s I Hate My Teddy Bear raise problems of narrative and focalizer, overtly inscribe inconsistency, vagueness and uncertainty, and determinedly resist resolution. McKee’s book thus refuses to imply a clear reader role, and situates readers firmly outside itself, where subjection to any one interaction with, response to or idea within it becomes impossible. This stimulates child readers’ creative thought, and distributes power between adult writers and child readers unusually equitably, thus offering children the respect and power of literary and ideological self-determination in a safe, restricted area of fiction. John Burningham’s Granpa neglects many of the conventions of writing and storytelling, so that readers face the multiplexity of its form and structure, the emergence of its linear narrative from apparent stasis into irresolution and ambiguity, and its difficult themes and psychological content, with very little guidance in their reading beyond frequently confusing formal signals. This is difficult for adult readers, who have learnt to expect certain conventions from stories, and to use them to interpret and predict what they read. It may, however, be particularly easy for child readers, because it does not force them to read in ways that are still foreign to and thus possibly difficult for them. It may even be less threatening to children and antagonistic to children’s culture than most children’s books, because it does not socialize children into the alien adult culture concomitant with conventional reading. Together, these analyses reveal that complex, sophisticated children’s books may function in a variety of ways. The children’s book world should thus rather evaluate them individually than reject the entire genre. / Dissertation (MA (English))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / English / unrestricted

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Robot assisted therapy is becoming increasingly popular. Research has proven it can be of benefit to persons dealing with a variety of disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and it can also provide a source of emotional support e.g. to persons living in seniors’ residences. The advancement in technology and a decrease in cost of products related to consumer electronics, computing and communication has enabled the development of more advanced social robots at a lower cost. This brings us closer to developing such tools at a price that makes them affordable to lower income individuals and families. Currently, in several cases, intensive treatment for patients with certain disorders (to the level of becoming effective) is practically not possible through the public health system due to resource limitations and a large existing backlog. Pursuing treatment through the private sector is expensive and unattainable for those with a lower income, placing them at a disadvantage. Design and effective integration of technology, such as using social robots in treatment, reduces the cost considerably, potentially making it financially accessible to lower income individuals and families in need. The Objective of the research reported in this manuscript is to design and implement a social robot that meets the low-cost criteria, while also containing the required functions to support children with ASD. The design considered contains knowledge acquired in the past through research involving the use of various types of technology for the treatment of mental and/or emotional disabilities.