From trauma debriefing to trauma support: a South African experience of responding to individuals and communities in the aftermath of traumatising events
- Van Wyk, G, Edwards, David J A
- Authors: Van Wyk, G , Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6267 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008266
- Description: This paper documents the approach and experience of Traumaclinic, a Cape Town based organisation offering a trauma support service. The controversy over single session debriefing interventions is examined and it is concluded that interventions that invite intense emotional expression should not be offered indiscriminately or forced on those who do not want them. When they do occur, they need to be carefully managed and take place over several sessions. A review of contemporary approaches to intervention following trauma highlights their comprehensive and flexible nature and the inclusion of multiple components that are introduced in a manner responsive to the needs of the situation. This is the basis of the current model used by Traumaclinic. The principles of that model are summarised and examples given of the application of the approach to specific cases.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Van Wyk, G , Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6267 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008266
- Description: This paper documents the approach and experience of Traumaclinic, a Cape Town based organisation offering a trauma support service. The controversy over single session debriefing interventions is examined and it is concluded that interventions that invite intense emotional expression should not be offered indiscriminately or forced on those who do not want them. When they do occur, they need to be carefully managed and take place over several sessions. A review of contemporary approaches to intervention following trauma highlights their comprehensive and flexible nature and the inclusion of multiple components that are introduced in a manner responsive to the needs of the situation. This is the basis of the current model used by Traumaclinic. The principles of that model are summarised and examples given of the application of the approach to specific cases.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Post-traumatic stress disorder as a public health concern in South Africa
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6229 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007779
- Description: This article briefly surveys the extent to which traumatic events are a feature of life all over Africa and provides a comprehensive review of research that documents the pervasiveness of traumatic events in South Africa and the prevalence of PTSD symptoms. The material reviewed includes statistics on crime, violence and accidents, research from clinical settings, and surveys. Several provide evidence for the causal link between traumatic events and the development of PTSD. These studies show that PTSD has been and continues to be a significant problem for public health in South Africa, affecting individuals in all sectors of society and as much a concern with respect to children as to adults.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6229 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007779
- Description: This article briefly surveys the extent to which traumatic events are a feature of life all over Africa and provides a comprehensive review of research that documents the pervasiveness of traumatic events in South Africa and the prevalence of PTSD symptoms. The material reviewed includes statistics on crime, violence and accidents, research from clinical settings, and surveys. Several provide evidence for the causal link between traumatic events and the development of PTSD. These studies show that PTSD has been and continues to be a significant problem for public health in South Africa, affecting individuals in all sectors of society and as much a concern with respect to children as to adults.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
The experiences and needs of HIV/AIDS counsellors at a South African hospital
- Nulty, Maria, Edwards, David J A
- Authors: Nulty, Maria , Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6269 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008268
- Description: To increase the availability of HIV/AIDS counselling in South Africa, nurses have been trained to serve as counsellors within hospital services. The aim of the study was to document the experiences and needs of nurse HIV/AIDS counsellors at a small South African hospital (with 279 beds and 10 medical doctors on the staff). The design was a qualitative, multiple-case study. The sample consisted of four nurse counsellors and the co-ordinator of HIV/AIDS services at the hospital. Three semi-structured interviews with the counsellors were used as the basis for case narratives of their experiences. These narratives were in turn subjected to content analysis to determine the range and nature of the concerns identified by the counsellors. The counsellors found their HIV/AIDS counselling work to be emotionally demanding and identified several significant problems. These were related to confidentiality, stigmatisation, motional responses to informing clients of their HIV-positive status, cultural and contextual factors and situational stressors related to the organisation of the work environment. They did not feel sufficiently supported by their work infrastructure. It is recommended that in setting up counselling services of this sort, managers need to be aware of the need for ongoing support in the form of facilitated groups, professional supervision, managerial attention to problems in the working environment, and regular in-service training.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Nulty, Maria , Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6269 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008268
- Description: To increase the availability of HIV/AIDS counselling in South Africa, nurses have been trained to serve as counsellors within hospital services. The aim of the study was to document the experiences and needs of nurse HIV/AIDS counsellors at a small South African hospital (with 279 beds and 10 medical doctors on the staff). The design was a qualitative, multiple-case study. The sample consisted of four nurse counsellors and the co-ordinator of HIV/AIDS services at the hospital. Three semi-structured interviews with the counsellors were used as the basis for case narratives of their experiences. These narratives were in turn subjected to content analysis to determine the range and nature of the concerns identified by the counsellors. The counsellors found their HIV/AIDS counselling work to be emotionally demanding and identified several significant problems. These were related to confidentiality, stigmatisation, motional responses to informing clients of their HIV-positive status, cultural and contextual factors and situational stressors related to the organisation of the work environment. They did not feel sufficiently supported by their work infrastructure. It is recommended that in setting up counselling services of this sort, managers need to be aware of the need for ongoing support in the form of facilitated groups, professional supervision, managerial attention to problems in the working environment, and regular in-service training.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Trauma, imagery and the therapeutic relationship : Langu's story
- Karpelowsky, Belinda J, Edwards, David J A
- Authors: Karpelowsky, Belinda J , Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6268 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008267
- Description: This paper, a phenomenological case study, describes the psychotherapy of Langu (pseudonym), a 21-year-old student, who presented with Acute Stress Disorder following a series of motor accidents that affected him and his family. Langu's most distressing experience was having to identify his brother's mutilated and severely burned body. Because of the intensity of the intrusive re-experiencing of traumatic imagery and the degree of dissociative numbing, Langu participated in four intensive guided imagery sessions, which involved reliving the incident, and imaginal dialogues with his dead brother. Session records and supervision notes from the therapy process that unfolded over 22 sessions served as the basis for a thematically selective case narrative. Additional material was obtained from several research interviews with Langu over the following months. The narrative highlights the impact of the imagery work as well as relational aspects of the therapy. The case narrative provides a source for examining many aspects of the psychological impact of trauma and the path to healing, as well as the dilemmas and challenges faced by therapists working with traumatised individuals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Karpelowsky, Belinda J , Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6268 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008267
- Description: This paper, a phenomenological case study, describes the psychotherapy of Langu (pseudonym), a 21-year-old student, who presented with Acute Stress Disorder following a series of motor accidents that affected him and his family. Langu's most distressing experience was having to identify his brother's mutilated and severely burned body. Because of the intensity of the intrusive re-experiencing of traumatic imagery and the degree of dissociative numbing, Langu participated in four intensive guided imagery sessions, which involved reliving the incident, and imaginal dialogues with his dead brother. Session records and supervision notes from the therapy process that unfolded over 22 sessions served as the basis for a thematically selective case narrative. Additional material was obtained from several research interviews with Langu over the following months. The narrative highlights the impact of the imagery work as well as relational aspects of the therapy. The case narrative provides a source for examining many aspects of the psychological impact of trauma and the path to healing, as well as the dilemmas and challenges faced by therapists working with traumatised individuals.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Trauma, resilience and vulnerability to PTSD : a review and clinical case analysis
- Edwards, David J A, Sakasa, P, Van Wyk, G
- Authors: Edwards, David J A , Sakasa, P , Van Wyk, G
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6230 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007780
- Description: This article begins with two case examples of a girl and an adolescent who were raped and developed chronic PTSD. These are used as a basis for understanding the role of a range of factors that are associated with resilience and vulnerability in the face of traumatic events. A literature review examines the proportion of individuals who develop PTSD following trauma and the factors associated with vulnerability and resilience. These include gender, developmental factors, social support and personality factors. Psychological factors associated with maintenance of chronic PTSD are also briefly reviewed. This material is used as a basis for reconsidering the case examples. Each case is formulated within a framework based on sources of vulnerability and qualities of resilience. Approaches to intervention are suggested that could address the range of factors making the individuals vulnerable to chronic psychological problems and support resiliency and recovery.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Edwards, David J A , Sakasa, P , Van Wyk, G
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6230 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007780
- Description: This article begins with two case examples of a girl and an adolescent who were raped and developed chronic PTSD. These are used as a basis for understanding the role of a range of factors that are associated with resilience and vulnerability in the face of traumatic events. A literature review examines the proportion of individuals who develop PTSD following trauma and the factors associated with vulnerability and resilience. These include gender, developmental factors, social support and personality factors. Psychological factors associated with maintenance of chronic PTSD are also briefly reviewed. This material is used as a basis for reconsidering the case examples. Each case is formulated within a framework based on sources of vulnerability and qualities of resilience. Approaches to intervention are suggested that could address the range of factors making the individuals vulnerable to chronic psychological problems and support resiliency and recovery.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Treating PTSD in South African contexts : a theoretical framework and a model for developing evidence-based practice
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6231 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007781
- Description: Several psychological factors contribute to the development and maintenance of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because they interfere with the emotional processing of the traumatic event. These include problematic and painful emotions such as anxiety, shame, guilt and grief, distorted or dysfunctional cognitions, and cognitive, emotional, and behavioural avoidance mechanisms. Analysis of these maintaining factors provides the basis for current approaches to treatment which support traumatised individuals in facing emotional pain, working to resolve shame, grief and guilt, and expanding existing schemas to accommodate the traumatic event(s). Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are reviewed in which the efficacy of some of these treatments have been evaluated. While many South African practitioners are familiar with current evidence-based approaches and are skilled at adapting them to local cultural and contextual conditions, a great deal still needs to be done to build a sound research base for local practice in the treatment of PTSD and disseminating that research to practitioners in the field. It is recommended that a case-based evaluation strategy be used to complement the findings of international RCT studies in order to build a foundation of locally contextualised and applicable scientific knowledge.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6231 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007781
- Description: Several psychological factors contribute to the development and maintenance of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because they interfere with the emotional processing of the traumatic event. These include problematic and painful emotions such as anxiety, shame, guilt and grief, distorted or dysfunctional cognitions, and cognitive, emotional, and behavioural avoidance mechanisms. Analysis of these maintaining factors provides the basis for current approaches to treatment which support traumatised individuals in facing emotional pain, working to resolve shame, grief and guilt, and expanding existing schemas to accommodate the traumatic event(s). Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are reviewed in which the efficacy of some of these treatments have been evaluated. While many South African practitioners are familiar with current evidence-based approaches and are skilled at adapting them to local cultural and contextual conditions, a great deal still needs to be done to build a sound research base for local practice in the treatment of PTSD and disseminating that research to practitioners in the field. It is recommended that a case-based evaluation strategy be used to complement the findings of international RCT studies in order to build a foundation of locally contextualised and applicable scientific knowledge.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Unconscious influences on discourses about consciousness : ideology, state-specific science and unformulated experience
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6226 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007776
- Description: Discussions about consciousness are complicated by the fact that participants do not share a common underlying “ordinary” consciousness. Everyday experience is founded on what Teasdale calls implicational cognition, much of which is not verbally formulated. An unacknowledged aspect of debate is individuals’ attempts to negotiate the expression of their unformulated experience. This is further complicated by the way in which a discourse, based on particular ontological assumptions, exercises an ideological control which limits what underlying aspects of experience can be formulated at all. Tart’s concept of state specific sciences provides a framework within which the role of unformulated experience can be acknowledged and taken into account. Unless this is done, debates will be vitiated by participants engaging in ideological struggles and talking at cross-purposes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2005
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6226 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007776
- Description: Discussions about consciousness are complicated by the fact that participants do not share a common underlying “ordinary” consciousness. Everyday experience is founded on what Teasdale calls implicational cognition, much of which is not verbally formulated. An unacknowledged aspect of debate is individuals’ attempts to negotiate the expression of their unformulated experience. This is further complicated by the way in which a discourse, based on particular ontological assumptions, exercises an ideological control which limits what underlying aspects of experience can be formulated at all. Tart’s concept of state specific sciences provides a framework within which the role of unformulated experience can be acknowledged and taken into account. Unless this is done, debates will be vitiated by participants engaging in ideological struggles and talking at cross-purposes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
Developing evidence-based practice: the role of case-based research
- Edwards, David J A, Dattilio, F M, Bromley, D B
- Authors: Edwards, David J A , Dattilio, F M , Bromley, D B
- Date: 2004
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6243 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007856
- Description: How can practitioners engage in evidence-based practice when the evidence for effectiveness of psychological treatments comes from randomized controlled trials using patient populations different from those encountered in everyday settings and treatment manuals that seem oversimplified and inflexible? The authors argue that important evidence about best practice comes from case-based research, which builds knowledge in a clinically useful manner and complements what is achieved by multivariate research methods. A multidimensional model of the research process is provided that includes clinical practice and case-based research as significant contributors. The authors summarize the principles of case-based research and provide examples of recent technical advances. Finally, the authors suggest ways in which practitioners can apply the case-based approach in researching and publishing their own cases, perhaps in collaboration with university-based researchers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Edwards, David J A , Dattilio, F M , Bromley, D B
- Date: 2004
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6243 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007856
- Description: How can practitioners engage in evidence-based practice when the evidence for effectiveness of psychological treatments comes from randomized controlled trials using patient populations different from those encountered in everyday settings and treatment manuals that seem oversimplified and inflexible? The authors argue that important evidence about best practice comes from case-based research, which builds knowledge in a clinically useful manner and complements what is achieved by multivariate research methods. A multidimensional model of the research process is provided that includes clinical practice and case-based research as significant contributors. The authors summarize the principles of case-based research and provide examples of recent technical advances. Finally, the authors suggest ways in which practitioners can apply the case-based approach in researching and publishing their own cases, perhaps in collaboration with university-based researchers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
Cognitive therapy for social phobia : the human face of cognitive science
- Edwards, David J A, Henwood, Jennifer, Kannan, Swetha
- Authors: Edwards, David J A , Henwood, Jennifer , Kannan, Swetha
- Date: 2003
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6280 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008281
- Description: [abstract from Index to SA Periodicals]Points to the male/masculine ideology pervading science. Gives a history of cognitive science. Shows that current clinical models on which cognitive therapy treatments are based are complex and detailed, but also situated and human. Warns about the contemporary enthusiasm for cognitive science. Presents a case study which illustrates how the cognitive model of social phobia works inpractice when applied to one person's life situation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
- Authors: Edwards, David J A , Henwood, Jennifer , Kannan, Swetha
- Date: 2003
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6280 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008281
- Description: [abstract from Index to SA Periodicals]Points to the male/masculine ideology pervading science. Gives a history of cognitive science. Shows that current clinical models on which cognitive therapy treatments are based are complex and detailed, but also situated and human. Warns about the contemporary enthusiasm for cognitive science. Presents a case study which illustrates how the cognitive model of social phobia works inpractice when applied to one person's life situation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
Disturbances of attitudes and behaviours related to eating in black and white females at high school and university in South Africa
- Edwards, David J A, d'Agrela, A, Geach, M, Welman, Mark
- Authors: Edwards, David J A , d'Agrela, A , Geach, M , Welman, Mark
- Date: 2003
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6246 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007864
- Description: This paper reports two studies, which contribute to the increasing evidence that the attitudes and behaviours associated with eating disorders, are encountered among both black and white females in South Africa. In Study One, the Eating Disorders Inventory EDI was administered to black (n=39) and white (n=41) female students in Natal. There were no significant differences between black and white on the sub-scales which measure disturbed eating behaviour directly (Drive for Thinness, Bulimia, Body Dissatisfaction). However black respondents scrored higher on Perfectionism, Interpersonal Distrust and Maturity Fears, variables believed to predispose individuals to eating disorders. In Study Two, the Bulimia Test (BULIT) was administered to black and white females at three educational levels. There was no significant effect of Ethnicity, but there was a significant effect of Age: Standard 6 respondents had significantly higher scores than University students. In both studies, Body mass index (BMI) was significantly higher among blacks than whites. In Study One there was no significant correlation between BMI and Drive for Thinness in either blacks or whites. However in Study Two, the correlation between BMI and BULIT full scale was significant in the case of both blacks (r = 0,39; p <,01) and whites (r = 0,38; p<,05). These findings are consistent with those of other recent studies, which find disturbances in eating-related attitudes and behaviour in all ethnic groups in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
- Authors: Edwards, David J A , d'Agrela, A , Geach, M , Welman, Mark
- Date: 2003
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6246 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007864
- Description: This paper reports two studies, which contribute to the increasing evidence that the attitudes and behaviours associated with eating disorders, are encountered among both black and white females in South Africa. In Study One, the Eating Disorders Inventory EDI was administered to black (n=39) and white (n=41) female students in Natal. There were no significant differences between black and white on the sub-scales which measure disturbed eating behaviour directly (Drive for Thinness, Bulimia, Body Dissatisfaction). However black respondents scrored higher on Perfectionism, Interpersonal Distrust and Maturity Fears, variables believed to predispose individuals to eating disorders. In Study Two, the Bulimia Test (BULIT) was administered to black and white females at three educational levels. There was no significant effect of Ethnicity, but there was a significant effect of Age: Standard 6 respondents had significantly higher scores than University students. In both studies, Body mass index (BMI) was significantly higher among blacks than whites. In Study One there was no significant correlation between BMI and Drive for Thinness in either blacks or whites. However in Study Two, the correlation between BMI and BULIT full scale was significant in the case of both blacks (r = 0,39; p <,01) and whites (r = 0,38; p<,05). These findings are consistent with those of other recent studies, which find disturbances in eating-related attitudes and behaviour in all ethnic groups in South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
Mythic and theoretic aspects of the concept of 'the unconscious' in popular and psychological discourse
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2003
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6227 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007777
- Description: From the introduction: In Greek mythology, Typhon was the youngest son of Gaea (the Earth) and Tartarus (the underworld). Typhon was not a beautiful baby. He was a grisly monster with a hundred dragons' heads. He was one of the Titans, a group of powerful and dangerous creatures who rebelled against Zeus, the King of the Gods. The rebellion was crushed and Typhon was imprisoned under Mount Etna, the volcano in Sicily which was active in classical times and remains active today. It was said that when Typhon raged, the earth shook and Etna erupted. Many such tales from mythology from all over world seem to dramatize aspects of our relationship with potent forces of which we have little understanding and over which we have little control. Many of these forces are less concrete than the forces of nature. They arise from our apprehension of our existential predicaments, our interpersonal vulnerability and the intensity of our own psychological pain. In many contemporary discourses this territory is referred to more neutrally as ‘the unconscious;’ but the unconscious will always elude our attempts to capture it in words.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 2003
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6227 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007777
- Description: From the introduction: In Greek mythology, Typhon was the youngest son of Gaea (the Earth) and Tartarus (the underworld). Typhon was not a beautiful baby. He was a grisly monster with a hundred dragons' heads. He was one of the Titans, a group of powerful and dangerous creatures who rebelled against Zeus, the King of the Gods. The rebellion was crushed and Typhon was imprisoned under Mount Etna, the volcano in Sicily which was active in classical times and remains active today. It was said that when Typhon raged, the earth shook and Etna erupted. Many such tales from mythology from all over world seem to dramatize aspects of our relationship with potent forces of which we have little understanding and over which we have little control. Many of these forces are less concrete than the forces of nature. They arise from our apprehension of our existential predicaments, our interpersonal vulnerability and the intensity of our own psychological pain. In many contemporary discourses this territory is referred to more neutrally as ‘the unconscious;’ but the unconscious will always elude our attempts to capture it in words.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
Types of case study work : a conceptual framework for case-based research
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1998
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6240 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007852
- Description: This paper describes a conceptual framework for understanding the phases of casebased research. Case-based strategies in research are widely used in case study methodology as well as in a number of qualitative methodologies including grounded theory development, phenomenological research method and psychotherapy process research. The epistemological principles upon which casebased research is based are fundamentally different those which inform groupbased research using quantitative multivariate statistics. The case-based research process is divided into three general phases: descriptive, theoretical-heuristic, and theory-testing. Each of these phases is subdivided into two categories. The aims and epistemological principles related to each phase are discussed and illustrated with examples from contemporary research. The principles for establishing validity in case-base research are also reviewed and, in order to assist research students and supervisors, some common pitfalls are noted. The paper shows that rigorous work with single cases or series of cases using case-based principles and methodology is indeed, as Bromley (1986) claimed, "the bedrock of scientific investigation".
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1998
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1998
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6240 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007852
- Description: This paper describes a conceptual framework for understanding the phases of casebased research. Case-based strategies in research are widely used in case study methodology as well as in a number of qualitative methodologies including grounded theory development, phenomenological research method and psychotherapy process research. The epistemological principles upon which casebased research is based are fundamentally different those which inform groupbased research using quantitative multivariate statistics. The case-based research process is divided into three general phases: descriptive, theoretical-heuristic, and theory-testing. Each of these phases is subdivided into two categories. The aims and epistemological principles related to each phase are discussed and illustrated with examples from contemporary research. The principles for establishing validity in case-base research are also reviewed and, in order to assist research students and supervisors, some common pitfalls are noted. The paper shows that rigorous work with single cases or series of cases using case-based principles and methodology is indeed, as Bromley (1986) claimed, "the bedrock of scientific investigation".
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1998
Cognitive therapy and the restructuring of early memories through guided imagery
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1990
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6241 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007853
- Description: This article describes the application of a guided imagery psychodrama technique to emotionally charged early memories. Such memories provide access to core schemata about the self and social relationships. Two case studies illustrate how the imagery technique enables the therapist to identify and restructure key cognitions out of which the schemata are constructed. The need for techniques to modify developmentally primitive schemata is discussed. Examples are given of ways to assist the patient in confronting the strong affect that may be aroused and in dealing with cognitions that block the process. Effectiveness is discussed in terms of the contribution of a guided imagery session to the overall process of ''learning to learn'' that takes place in cognitive psychotherapy.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1990
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1990
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6241 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007853
- Description: This article describes the application of a guided imagery psychodrama technique to emotionally charged early memories. Such memories provide access to core schemata about the self and social relationships. Two case studies illustrate how the imagery technique enables the therapist to identify and restructure key cognitions out of which the schemata are constructed. The need for techniques to modify developmentally primitive schemata is discussed. Examples are given of ways to assist the patient in confronting the strong affect that may be aroused and in dealing with cognitions that block the process. Effectiveness is discussed in terms of the contribution of a guided imagery session to the overall process of ''learning to learn'' that takes place in cognitive psychotherapy.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1990
Cognitive-behavioral and existential-phenomenological approaches to therapy : complementary or conflicting paradigms?
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1990
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6242 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007854
- Description: The relationship between the cognitive-behavioral and existential-phenomenological traditions in therapy is examined. While Beck cites phenomenological writers such as Heidegger, Husserl, and Binswanger, he does not initiate any dialogue with this tradition in depth. Parallels are drawn between the goals of psychotherapy as outlined by Rogers and goals identified in the contemporary cognitive-behavioral literature, between cognitive therapy's approach to clients' underlying assumptions and the phenomenological reduction as described by Husserl, and between a shared acceptance of the therapeutic use of the client-therapist interaction. While, in both approaches, therapists take on an educative role, in each approach a different aspect of the learning process is focused on. Phenomenological therapy's attitude to reality testing, the dangers of a directive stance by the therapist, the conflict between empathy and rational dialogue, and cognitive therapy's view of emotion are also discussed. The complementarity between the two approaches is emphasized and a continuing dialogue recommended.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1990
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6242 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007854
- Description: The relationship between the cognitive-behavioral and existential-phenomenological traditions in therapy is examined. While Beck cites phenomenological writers such as Heidegger, Husserl, and Binswanger, he does not initiate any dialogue with this tradition in depth. Parallels are drawn between the goals of psychotherapy as outlined by Rogers and goals identified in the contemporary cognitive-behavioral literature, between cognitive therapy's approach to clients' underlying assumptions and the phenomenological reduction as described by Husserl, and between a shared acceptance of the therapeutic use of the client-therapist interaction. While, in both approaches, therapists take on an educative role, in each approach a different aspect of the learning process is focused on. Phenomenological therapy's attitude to reality testing, the dangers of a directive stance by the therapist, the conflict between empathy and rational dialogue, and cognitive therapy's view of emotion are also discussed. The complementarity between the two approaches is emphasized and a continuing dialogue recommended.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1990
Cognitive restructuring through guided imagery : lessons from Gestalt therapy
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1989
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:6281 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013181
- Description: [Summary] In this chapter, a guided imagery method used in gestalt therapy was described in detail and analyzed into its specific components. The basic principles underlying the imagery work were shown to be analogous to those upon which standard cognitive therapy is founded, and this was illustrated by means of case examples, first from one of Perls' dreamwork seminars and then from the author's case files. It was shown how the method could be used to elicit the idiosyncratic meanings of the client in relation to a specific theme and to identify core dysfunctional assumptions. Illustrations were given of specific techniques that could be employed to challenge and restructure these cognitions. The benefits of the imagery modality are that it provides: (1) access to cognitions underlying emotional responses that may be difficult to identify through questioning, (2) a holistic presentation of networks of beliefs, and (3) a means of keeping the client in contact with avoided painful affect. Once a good conceptualization of the client's problem has been achieved, guided imagery provides a modality within which specific strategies for cognitive restructuring can be facilitated through guided discovery. Therapists who are willing to explore this modality and find an aptitude for it will be gaining access to something that will greatly enrich their potential for helping and can provide exciting avenues for developing their own creativity in the challenging work of enabling clients to identify and free themselves from dysfunctional personal meaning systems.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1989
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1989
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:6281 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013181
- Description: [Summary] In this chapter, a guided imagery method used in gestalt therapy was described in detail and analyzed into its specific components. The basic principles underlying the imagery work were shown to be analogous to those upon which standard cognitive therapy is founded, and this was illustrated by means of case examples, first from one of Perls' dreamwork seminars and then from the author's case files. It was shown how the method could be used to elicit the idiosyncratic meanings of the client in relation to a specific theme and to identify core dysfunctional assumptions. Illustrations were given of specific techniques that could be employed to challenge and restructure these cognitions. The benefits of the imagery modality are that it provides: (1) access to cognitions underlying emotional responses that may be difficult to identify through questioning, (2) a holistic presentation of networks of beliefs, and (3) a means of keeping the client in contact with avoided painful affect. Once a good conceptualization of the client's problem has been achieved, guided imagery provides a modality within which specific strategies for cognitive restructuring can be facilitated through guided discovery. Therapists who are willing to explore this modality and find an aptitude for it will be gaining access to something that will greatly enrich their potential for helping and can provide exciting avenues for developing their own creativity in the challenging work of enabling clients to identify and free themselves from dysfunctional personal meaning systems.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1989
The play of surface and depth in the art of psychotherapy for anxiety and depression : inaugural lecture delivered at Rhodes University
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Psychotherapy , Anxiety , Depression, Mental
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:620 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020689 , ISBN 0868101672
- Description: Inaugural lecture delivered at Rhodes University. , Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Psychotherapy , Anxiety , Depression, Mental
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:620 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020689 , ISBN 0868101672
- Description: Inaugural lecture delivered at Rhodes University. , Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
A cross-cultural study of interpersonal distance and orientation schemata
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1977
- Subjects: Personal space -- Testing Orientation (Psychology) Cross-cultural studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3206 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011743
- Description: Expectations about interpersonal distance during social encounters (distance schemata) and body orientation (orientation schemata) were investigated among White English-speakers and Xhosa groups which included illiterate traditionalists (Reds), poorly educated urban dwellers, and highly literate students and nurses. In a series of six experiments a doll placement task was used in which subjects represented dyadic encounters by placing pairs of standing dolls. For each situation represented the responses of each group of subjects were summarised in the form of a profile which showed the mean of the distance and three angle measures (IPOS profile). Independent variables included culture of subject, type of situation represented (friendly encounter, quarrel, accusation and denial, request) and the sex, age or relationship of the persons represented. In the culminating experiment (Experiment 6), females from three Xhosa groups (Reds or XR, poorly educated urban or XU, and urban nurses or XN) made twenty-three placements. In some respects the schemata of the four groups were very similar, while in others both distance and orientation schemata were a function of cultural group. The experiments allowed an assessment of the validity of the doll placement method to be made, and results were discussed in terms of the effects on interpersonal distance and body orientation of cultural norms concerning the showing of respect and the nature and strength of the emotions present in the various types of situation. It was concluded that with cultural movement away from the traditionalist pattern the schemata of the urban Xhosa showed a transition towards those found among the Whites in some respects. However, while the schemata of the XN group showed features of both those of the XR and White groups, those of the XU group showed features found in neither which seemed to reflect the insecurity of the cultural milieu of the urban poor.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1977
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1977
- Subjects: Personal space -- Testing Orientation (Psychology) Cross-cultural studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3206 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011743
- Description: Expectations about interpersonal distance during social encounters (distance schemata) and body orientation (orientation schemata) were investigated among White English-speakers and Xhosa groups which included illiterate traditionalists (Reds), poorly educated urban dwellers, and highly literate students and nurses. In a series of six experiments a doll placement task was used in which subjects represented dyadic encounters by placing pairs of standing dolls. For each situation represented the responses of each group of subjects were summarised in the form of a profile which showed the mean of the distance and three angle measures (IPOS profile). Independent variables included culture of subject, type of situation represented (friendly encounter, quarrel, accusation and denial, request) and the sex, age or relationship of the persons represented. In the culminating experiment (Experiment 6), females from three Xhosa groups (Reds or XR, poorly educated urban or XU, and urban nurses or XN) made twenty-three placements. In some respects the schemata of the four groups were very similar, while in others both distance and orientation schemata were a function of cultural group. The experiments allowed an assessment of the validity of the doll placement method to be made, and results were discussed in terms of the effects on interpersonal distance and body orientation of cultural norms concerning the showing of respect and the nature and strength of the emotions present in the various types of situation. It was concluded that with cultural movement away from the traditionalist pattern the schemata of the urban Xhosa showed a transition towards those found among the Whites in some respects. However, while the schemata of the XN group showed features of both those of the XR and White groups, those of the XU group showed features found in neither which seemed to reflect the insecurity of the cultural milieu of the urban poor.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1977
An investigation of the determinants of the spatial characteristics of figure placements
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1973
- Subjects: Characters and characteristics , Psychology, Applied , Cross-cultural studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3205 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011739 , Characters and characteristics , Psychology, Applied , Cross-cultural studies
- Description: The doll placement technique is a projective instrument which yields objective measures from which inferences may be drawn. Subjects place pairs of dolls to represent social encounters described to them by the experimenter. When the dolls have been placed, the distance between them and the angles at which they stand can serve as a source of information either about the personality of the placer or about the way in which he perceives the relationship between the interactors represented. Most experimental work employing figure placements has used flat felt figures which subjects have mounted on a flannel graph. This method limits an investigator to one dependent variable, the inter-figure distance. However if three dimensional dolls are placed three dependent measures can be derived from a placement, one of distance and two of orientation. It has been demonstrated that a reliable correlation exists between the spatial relations between figures placed by a person and the spatial relationships between real interactors. The theoretical analysis of the determinants of interpersonal distance and orientation in social encounters which has been worked out by students of non-verbal behaviour is therefore able to serve as a basis for the interpretation of the spatial characteristics of doll placements. Previous work with the doll placement technique has concentrated on the distance between dolls. The present study explored the determinants of figure orientations. Firstly an analysis was made of the types of orientation pattern that can occur when two persons are involved in a social encounter. Secondly, an experiment was performed which was designed to explore whether asymmetry in an orientation pattern might act as a cue to determine how individual figures in a pair were perceived. Thirdly, two doll placement studies were performed which were designed to investigate the conditions giving rise to asymmetrical orientation patterns and the determinants of direct and indirect orientations. The confidence or anxiety attributed to an interactor represented by a figure proved to be a major determinant of its spatial position. The results of the study indicate that the use of the angle measures in the analysis of doll placements considerably enhances the value of the technique. It is argued that the doll placement method could be profitably employed both as a clinical instrument and as a research tool for cross-cultural psychology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1973
- Authors: Edwards, David J A
- Date: 1973
- Subjects: Characters and characteristics , Psychology, Applied , Cross-cultural studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3205 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1011739 , Characters and characteristics , Psychology, Applied , Cross-cultural studies
- Description: The doll placement technique is a projective instrument which yields objective measures from which inferences may be drawn. Subjects place pairs of dolls to represent social encounters described to them by the experimenter. When the dolls have been placed, the distance between them and the angles at which they stand can serve as a source of information either about the personality of the placer or about the way in which he perceives the relationship between the interactors represented. Most experimental work employing figure placements has used flat felt figures which subjects have mounted on a flannel graph. This method limits an investigator to one dependent variable, the inter-figure distance. However if three dimensional dolls are placed three dependent measures can be derived from a placement, one of distance and two of orientation. It has been demonstrated that a reliable correlation exists between the spatial relations between figures placed by a person and the spatial relationships between real interactors. The theoretical analysis of the determinants of interpersonal distance and orientation in social encounters which has been worked out by students of non-verbal behaviour is therefore able to serve as a basis for the interpretation of the spatial characteristics of doll placements. Previous work with the doll placement technique has concentrated on the distance between dolls. The present study explored the determinants of figure orientations. Firstly an analysis was made of the types of orientation pattern that can occur when two persons are involved in a social encounter. Secondly, an experiment was performed which was designed to explore whether asymmetry in an orientation pattern might act as a cue to determine how individual figures in a pair were perceived. Thirdly, two doll placement studies were performed which were designed to investigate the conditions giving rise to asymmetrical orientation patterns and the determinants of direct and indirect orientations. The confidence or anxiety attributed to an interactor represented by a figure proved to be a major determinant of its spatial position. The results of the study indicate that the use of the angle measures in the analysis of doll placements considerably enhances the value of the technique. It is argued that the doll placement method could be profitably employed both as a clinical instrument and as a research tool for cross-cultural psychology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1973