A study of the manifestations of the death instinct as evidenced in the case of a pathological organization
- Authors: De Villiers, Jeanine
- Date: 1991-04
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191691 , vital:45148
- Description: The case study method was used to investigate the manifestations of the death instinct as evidenced in a pathological organization. Work of Kleinian analysts in this area was employed as a basis for interrogating the material that emerged in a five month psychotherapy with a borderline disordered patient. It was demonstrated how the pathological organization was employed as a means of evading paranoid- schizoid fears and depressive position anxieties. Two ways in which defences were assembled into the pathological organization could be traced, both leading to resistance in the therapy. The one set of defences would entail a complete withdrawal from contact, where the patient would hold herself aloof from experience through a solitary invulnerability. The other set of defences involved an active attack on the vulnerable, libidinal self. Identified with the bad, anti-libidinal self, the patient would attempt to annihilate the libidinal self in various ways. Fragmentation of her thoughts and memories, self-destructive behaviour and phantasized and actual attacks on the objects in her world which called forth her neediness were all evidenced. In conclusion, the issue of whether a more active interpretation of the manifestations of the death instinct or a less interpretative, more holding therapeutic stance should be adopted in the therapy with patients exhibiting a pathological organization was raised. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1991
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1991-04
- Authors: De Villiers, Jeanine
- Date: 1991-04
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191691 , vital:45148
- Description: The case study method was used to investigate the manifestations of the death instinct as evidenced in a pathological organization. Work of Kleinian analysts in this area was employed as a basis for interrogating the material that emerged in a five month psychotherapy with a borderline disordered patient. It was demonstrated how the pathological organization was employed as a means of evading paranoid- schizoid fears and depressive position anxieties. Two ways in which defences were assembled into the pathological organization could be traced, both leading to resistance in the therapy. The one set of defences would entail a complete withdrawal from contact, where the patient would hold herself aloof from experience through a solitary invulnerability. The other set of defences involved an active attack on the vulnerable, libidinal self. Identified with the bad, anti-libidinal self, the patient would attempt to annihilate the libidinal self in various ways. Fragmentation of her thoughts and memories, self-destructive behaviour and phantasized and actual attacks on the objects in her world which called forth her neediness were all evidenced. In conclusion, the issue of whether a more active interpretation of the manifestations of the death instinct or a less interpretative, more holding therapeutic stance should be adopted in the therapy with patients exhibiting a pathological organization was raised. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1991
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1991-04
Rites of passage: Substance dependence and the negotiation of development tasks - a case study
- Authors: Roux, Catharina
- Date: 1991
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193242 , vital:45313
- Description: This thesis is an attempt to provide an understanding of drug addiction in its relation to the tasks and arrests which take place during the developmental process. Current theories of drug addiction are situated within the parameters of developmental theory; Object Relations Theory, Lacanian Structuralism and Freud’s concept of the Oedipus Complex are drawn on. The dual regressive and progressive function of drugs as it relates to developmental tasks and arrests is illustrated, the argument being that a very specific relationship exists between the compulsive use of drugs and the developmental tasks which need to be avoided as well as those which need to be negotiated. The case study research method is made use of in the attempt to illustrate the links between drug addiction and specific developmental tasks. I present an in-depth analysis of the developmental history of Rafiq Jaffer, an inpatient at the drug unit at Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital, drawing on the material which was collected during nine months of individual therapy. As Borderline Personality Disorder is the primary diagnosis in the case of Rafiq Jaffer, the emphasis is by necessity put on borderline pathology. The primary aim of the thesis is, however, to highlight the need to understand the compulsive use of drugs within the context of the developmental process, thereby developing a conceptualisation against which further cases may be tested. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1991
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1991
- Authors: Roux, Catharina
- Date: 1991
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193242 , vital:45313
- Description: This thesis is an attempt to provide an understanding of drug addiction in its relation to the tasks and arrests which take place during the developmental process. Current theories of drug addiction are situated within the parameters of developmental theory; Object Relations Theory, Lacanian Structuralism and Freud’s concept of the Oedipus Complex are drawn on. The dual regressive and progressive function of drugs as it relates to developmental tasks and arrests is illustrated, the argument being that a very specific relationship exists between the compulsive use of drugs and the developmental tasks which need to be avoided as well as those which need to be negotiated. The case study research method is made use of in the attempt to illustrate the links between drug addiction and specific developmental tasks. I present an in-depth analysis of the developmental history of Rafiq Jaffer, an inpatient at the drug unit at Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital, drawing on the material which was collected during nine months of individual therapy. As Borderline Personality Disorder is the primary diagnosis in the case of Rafiq Jaffer, the emphasis is by necessity put on borderline pathology. The primary aim of the thesis is, however, to highlight the need to understand the compulsive use of drugs within the context of the developmental process, thereby developing a conceptualisation against which further cases may be tested. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1991
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1991
Bulimia Nervosa: a case study in cognitive psychotherapy
- Authors: Kanfer, Josephine
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192988 , vital:45287
- Description: This project uses the case-study method to illustrate the application of integrating varied accepted modes of psychotherapeutic interventions. It concentrates on the first 22 out-patient sessions of therapy with a diagnosed bulimic, spanning a 6 month period. A brief summary of the subsequent 10 follow-up sessions is also given. The case presented is of a 22 year old female student diagnosed as bulimic (of 7 year duration), dysthymic and with a dependent personality disorder. She has symptoms of anxiety. She has a history of anorexia nervosa. Fairburn's (1985) cognitive-behavioural programme for bulimia was used initially. Its structured framework with the emphasis on the eating behaviour was an essential aspect in contributing to the success of the initial phase of the therapy. This patient had had previously experienced 8 sessions of non-directive depth psychotherapy which had confused and compounded her problems. The structure had provided her with a sense of control. In implementing the second stage of Fairburn's programme, where the focus is cognitive, the patient could no longer work in this this structured manner. The attempts to implement the standard cognitive techniques provided the catalyst for activating deeper underlying emotions and cognitions. Furthermore, this gave impetus to work actively with the interpersonal aspect of the therapeutic relationship. Young's (1989) model for identifying Early Maladaptive Schemas could be applied. The focus then moved from the behaviours and dealt with these schemas as activated in the therapeutic relationship. The patient was able to make links to her family and her past. The therapy proved successful, as not only were the behavioural symptoms alleviated, but also the patient's interpersonal problems which underlay her personality disorder were accessed. The patient had become more self-assertive, her mood had improved considerably, she was less concerned with body image and more accepting of herself. She had become more reality based and her interpersonal relational abi1ity had improved. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1990
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
- Authors: Kanfer, Josephine
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192988 , vital:45287
- Description: This project uses the case-study method to illustrate the application of integrating varied accepted modes of psychotherapeutic interventions. It concentrates on the first 22 out-patient sessions of therapy with a diagnosed bulimic, spanning a 6 month period. A brief summary of the subsequent 10 follow-up sessions is also given. The case presented is of a 22 year old female student diagnosed as bulimic (of 7 year duration), dysthymic and with a dependent personality disorder. She has symptoms of anxiety. She has a history of anorexia nervosa. Fairburn's (1985) cognitive-behavioural programme for bulimia was used initially. Its structured framework with the emphasis on the eating behaviour was an essential aspect in contributing to the success of the initial phase of the therapy. This patient had had previously experienced 8 sessions of non-directive depth psychotherapy which had confused and compounded her problems. The structure had provided her with a sense of control. In implementing the second stage of Fairburn's programme, where the focus is cognitive, the patient could no longer work in this this structured manner. The attempts to implement the standard cognitive techniques provided the catalyst for activating deeper underlying emotions and cognitions. Furthermore, this gave impetus to work actively with the interpersonal aspect of the therapeutic relationship. Young's (1989) model for identifying Early Maladaptive Schemas could be applied. The focus then moved from the behaviours and dealt with these schemas as activated in the therapeutic relationship. The patient was able to make links to her family and her past. The therapy proved successful, as not only were the behavioural symptoms alleviated, but also the patient's interpersonal problems which underlay her personality disorder were accessed. The patient had become more self-assertive, her mood had improved considerably, she was less concerned with body image and more accepting of herself. She had become more reality based and her interpersonal relational abi1ity had improved. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1990
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
The silent patient: a consideration of Gendlin's recommendations in the treatment of a silent adolescent
- Authors: Le Roux, J D
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193054 , vital:45294
- Description: This study comprises a dialogue between Gendlin's recommendations on the treatment of the silent patient and case-material taken from 39 sessions of psychodynamic psychotherapy with a 16 year old adolescent. The most characteristic feature of the therapy with this young person, was her pattern of silence and unresponsiveness. The aim of this study is to ascertain the usefulness of Gendlin's recommendations in the therapy of this category of patient. The dialogue between the suggested recommendations and the case- material served to illustrate the point that Gendlin's recommendations are of great value in the treatment of the silent adolescent. The value of these recommendations lie in their ability to comment meaningfully on the process of therapy with the silent patient by providing not only skills and techniques, but also a conceptual framework within which to contextualize the therapy. The recommendations were also found to be sensitive to some of the key issues of relevance to adolescence as a developmental phase. The case-study method was deemed an appropriate structure within which to conduct this examination. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1990
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
- Authors: Le Roux, J D
- Date: 1990
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193054 , vital:45294
- Description: This study comprises a dialogue between Gendlin's recommendations on the treatment of the silent patient and case-material taken from 39 sessions of psychodynamic psychotherapy with a 16 year old adolescent. The most characteristic feature of the therapy with this young person, was her pattern of silence and unresponsiveness. The aim of this study is to ascertain the usefulness of Gendlin's recommendations in the therapy of this category of patient. The dialogue between the suggested recommendations and the case- material served to illustrate the point that Gendlin's recommendations are of great value in the treatment of the silent adolescent. The value of these recommendations lie in their ability to comment meaningfully on the process of therapy with the silent patient by providing not only skills and techniques, but also a conceptual framework within which to contextualize the therapy. The recommendations were also found to be sensitive to some of the key issues of relevance to adolescence as a developmental phase. The case-study method was deemed an appropriate structure within which to conduct this examination. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1990
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
A comparison of the self-esteem of black and white high school pupils
- Authors: Morrow, Brian Robert
- Date: 1988
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193033 , vital:45292
- Description: This study investigated the level of self-esteem of black and white high-school students using the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. One hundred and eighty six subjects were used, 63 of them being white while 118 were black. A validation of the Rosenberg scale for the black sample was attempted using a correlation between the scale score and a rating of the subjects by teachers. The results of the study showed no significant difference between the self-esteem levels, while the validation study failed to confirm the validity of the test for black subjects in South Africa. However, the validation study v/as rejected as inconclusive and the results of the comparison accepted as confirmatory of previous research. An incidental positive finding revealed that white males have higher self-esteem than white females,. The theory and past research of self-esteem comparisons between racial groups is reviewed. The conclusion is reached in this study that the concept of self-esteem has outlasted its usefulness in the field of comparisons between racial groups and research of a qualitative nature .can provide further data for the understanding of differences between racial groups. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1988
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1988
- Authors: Morrow, Brian Robert
- Date: 1988
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193033 , vital:45292
- Description: This study investigated the level of self-esteem of black and white high-school students using the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. One hundred and eighty six subjects were used, 63 of them being white while 118 were black. A validation of the Rosenberg scale for the black sample was attempted using a correlation between the scale score and a rating of the subjects by teachers. The results of the study showed no significant difference between the self-esteem levels, while the validation study failed to confirm the validity of the test for black subjects in South Africa. However, the validation study v/as rejected as inconclusive and the results of the comparison accepted as confirmatory of previous research. An incidental positive finding revealed that white males have higher self-esteem than white females,. The theory and past research of self-esteem comparisons between racial groups is reviewed. The conclusion is reached in this study that the concept of self-esteem has outlasted its usefulness in the field of comparisons between racial groups and research of a qualitative nature .can provide further data for the understanding of differences between racial groups. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1988
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1988
Towards an essential description of the experience of psychotherapy
- Authors: Letlaka, Kedibone Tembisa
- Date: 1988
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193183 , vital:45307
- Description: The aim of this thesis is to explore and clarify what the experience of psychotherapy with ex-detainees entails. This investigation and analysis is conducted within the framework of a phenomenological method. The researcher elicits both the ex-detainees' and the therapist's experiences of psychotherapy. Initially the problematic nature of research in psychotherapy is layed out. This is followed by an overview of literature and theory on trauma and its conceptualizations from various psychotherapeutic perspectives. The treatment implications in each case are mentioned. Trauma occurs in the detention experience so detention is then briefly looked at in terms of torture basically and the detention syndrome, post traumatic stress disorder. Core personality processes in relation to this diagnosis are given and the stress recovery process is summarized. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1988
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1988
- Authors: Letlaka, Kedibone Tembisa
- Date: 1988
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193183 , vital:45307
- Description: The aim of this thesis is to explore and clarify what the experience of psychotherapy with ex-detainees entails. This investigation and analysis is conducted within the framework of a phenomenological method. The researcher elicits both the ex-detainees' and the therapist's experiences of psychotherapy. Initially the problematic nature of research in psychotherapy is layed out. This is followed by an overview of literature and theory on trauma and its conceptualizations from various psychotherapeutic perspectives. The treatment implications in each case are mentioned. Trauma occurs in the detention experience so detention is then briefly looked at in terms of torture basically and the detention syndrome, post traumatic stress disorder. Core personality processes in relation to this diagnosis are given and the stress recovery process is summarized. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1988
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1988
A phenomenological investigation of the beginning therapist's experience of the first session of psychotherapy with the first patient
- Authors: Allen, Jennifer Ann
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193129 , vital:45301
- Description: The aim of this project is to come to an understanding of how the situation of the first session of psychotherapy with the first patient is lived by the beginning therapist and what meaning this situation holds for him. The writer's interest in this phenomenon grew out of her own experience of this situation as a clinical Masters coursework student, an experience which was of important to the writer and meaningful still as a therapist in training. In dialogue with experienced therapists the importance of this situation was again made apparant. It was the opinion of these therapists that although for some the details of this experience had become dulled by time, what remained meaningful to them was that this experience was seen as the beginning of a project which remains important to them - they identified this situation as an important moment in the history of their development as psychotherapists. In the hope that the literature pertaining to psychotherapy would throw some light on this situation, the writer turned to a number of sources in this area to discover that no literature available to her elucidated this situation in a holistic manner. This led the writer to go back to the beginning therapists themselves so that they may speak for themselves of their experience of this situation. A phenomenological method of enquiry is implemented in this study as it renders the subject matter accessible to investigation, and allows it to reveal itself as it essentially is. This project is then an attempt to come to a general description of the beginning therapist's experience of the first session of psychotherapy with the first patient and thus to articulate the structure of the beginning therapist's lived situation (world) in this context. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1987
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
- Authors: Allen, Jennifer Ann
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193129 , vital:45301
- Description: The aim of this project is to come to an understanding of how the situation of the first session of psychotherapy with the first patient is lived by the beginning therapist and what meaning this situation holds for him. The writer's interest in this phenomenon grew out of her own experience of this situation as a clinical Masters coursework student, an experience which was of important to the writer and meaningful still as a therapist in training. In dialogue with experienced therapists the importance of this situation was again made apparant. It was the opinion of these therapists that although for some the details of this experience had become dulled by time, what remained meaningful to them was that this experience was seen as the beginning of a project which remains important to them - they identified this situation as an important moment in the history of their development as psychotherapists. In the hope that the literature pertaining to psychotherapy would throw some light on this situation, the writer turned to a number of sources in this area to discover that no literature available to her elucidated this situation in a holistic manner. This led the writer to go back to the beginning therapists themselves so that they may speak for themselves of their experience of this situation. A phenomenological method of enquiry is implemented in this study as it renders the subject matter accessible to investigation, and allows it to reveal itself as it essentially is. This project is then an attempt to come to a general description of the beginning therapist's experience of the first session of psychotherapy with the first patient and thus to articulate the structure of the beginning therapist's lived situation (world) in this context. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1987
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
"Burnout" in children's home houseparents
- Authors: Bath, Peter John
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193118 , vital:45300
- Description: Aimed at replicating the results of an American study into "Burnout" in Group Home houseparents, this research had the following aims: 1) To ascertain the validity and reliability of the instrument used in the original study and presented as a "useful measure of burnout”. 2) To establish whether this line of research, within a highly problematic research field, can at present offer any guidelines in the resolution of the current staffing crisis faced by South African children's homes. 3} To describe more closely the burnout syndrome. 4) To study possible etiological factors within a local context. Sixty three houseparents completed questionaires and three independent measures of burnout were obtained. The results were regarded as having failed to replicate those of the original study. The reason for this was found to be the low validity of the original instrument. The main conclusion drawn was that the line of research adopted in the original study can offer only very tentative guidelines towards the resolution of the staffing crisis faced until such time as valid and reliable instruments to measure burnout have been developed. Many of the suggested relationships between situational variables and ones of personal characteristics were confirmed for the local population of houseparents. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1983
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
- Authors: Bath, Peter John
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193118 , vital:45300
- Description: Aimed at replicating the results of an American study into "Burnout" in Group Home houseparents, this research had the following aims: 1) To ascertain the validity and reliability of the instrument used in the original study and presented as a "useful measure of burnout”. 2) To establish whether this line of research, within a highly problematic research field, can at present offer any guidelines in the resolution of the current staffing crisis faced by South African children's homes. 3} To describe more closely the burnout syndrome. 4) To study possible etiological factors within a local context. Sixty three houseparents completed questionaires and three independent measures of burnout were obtained. The results were regarded as having failed to replicate those of the original study. The reason for this was found to be the low validity of the original instrument. The main conclusion drawn was that the line of research adopted in the original study can offer only very tentative guidelines towards the resolution of the staffing crisis faced until such time as valid and reliable instruments to measure burnout have been developed. Many of the suggested relationships between situational variables and ones of personal characteristics were confirmed for the local population of houseparents. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1983
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983