Counselling psychology in South Africa

The origin and development of counselling psychology in South Africa has been profoundly influenced by the country’s sociopolitical history and the impact of apartheid. As a result of this, counselling psychologists in the country face a number of challenges and opportunities for the future. In this paper we provide a portrait of counselling psychology in South Africa by describing the current character of the specialty and the context in which South African psychologists work. We critically discuss the challenges that the specialty faces to meet the country’s mental health care needs, contest the current Scope of Practice; affirm multiculturalism without essentialising or reifying race and ethnicity, and build an evidence base for community interventions in the country. We also consider how, in the future, counselling psychologists in South Africa may make a more meaningful contribution within public health and the country’s health care and education systems.     

Challenging the Frontiers of Community Psychology: A South African Experience

The development of community psychology is of vital importance in South Africa because of the historical context, questions about the relevance of mainstream western psychology and the current social change in the country in the post-apartheid era. Accordingly successful community psychology practices for a South Africa in transition need greater dissemination for access and utilization in the communities. This article draws on the community work conducted at the Itsoseng Clinic to show how and why community psychology could be made more relevant to the new South Africa. The Itsoseng Clinic is a psychology clinic that is situated in the township of Mamelodi. The clinic provides several services including counselling, psychometric assessment, psycho educational workshops, and HIV/AIDS pre and post-test counselling. The clients and community that the clinic serves are of low socio-economic status and struggle with a lack of material and personnel resources. The individuals working within the Itsoseng Clinic represent a diversity that is in itself a valuable resource for supporting the core activities of the clinic. This article explores various themes that were identified within the research study such as, making community, entering the ecology of life, closing the divide and bridging the boundaries.     

“The other”: Persistent beliefs regarding HIV risk in South Africa

This study explored stereotype constructions people may impute on to others in the context of a contagious disease epidemic. Participants were 30 undergraduate students from a large university in Johannesburg, South Africa. They completed the open-ended Build-A-Character Questionnaire, which described the “typical” person in South Africa who they currently believed to be at particular risk of HIV infection. The data were thematically analysed and interpreted. Seven themes resulted, based on the stereotyping of marginalised groups in South Africa considered as being at higher risk for HIV due to historical disadvantage: blacks, women, and the poor. A social cognitive framework explains these stereotypes as they apply to perceived out-groups, and they carry risk to undermine public health interventions regarding the HIV pandemic in South Africa across population segments.     

The ethics of doing policy relevant science: The precautionary principle and the significance of non-significant results

The precautionary principle is a widely accepted policy norm for decision making under uncertainty in environmental management, However, some of the traditional ways of ensuring trustworthy results used in environmental science and of communicating them work contrary to the general goal of providing the political system and the public with as good an input as possible in the decision making process. For example, it is widely accepted that scientists should only communicate results fulfilling the traditional scientific standard for hypothesis testing. The need for introducing complementary norms in environmental science is illustrated by a recent discussion among scientists on how the precautionary principle should be used in the context of marine biological studies. This discussion highlights the importance of the use of statistical power in communicating scientific results to decision makers and to the general public as well as to the scientific peers. We argue that it would be unethical to report only certainties—because of the need of early warnings—and it would in the same way be unethical to hide the uncertainties. Environmental science can make a better contribution to environmental decision making, if the available knowledge is communicated in a manner which allows for insight on how strong the evidence is.     

Fostering Multicultural and Identity Development in Adult Learners Through Study Tours

The author qualitatively examined adult learners' experiences on a study tour to South Africa and assessed the effectiveness of the tour as a tool for enhanced multicultural awareness. The findings may be of interest to counselors/educators who teach about multicultural issues or wish to enhance their personal growth in multiculturalism.     

Zimbabwean Teachers in South Africa: their Needs and Advice to Prospective Migrant Teachers

Migrants consider South Africa to be a country of greener pastures in a sub-region blighted by political and economic instability. In South Africa’s education system, Zimbabwean teachers constitute the largest group of migrant teachers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the social and professional needs of migrant Zimbabwean teachers and their advice to prospective migrant teachers. Fifteen migrant Zimbabwean teachers in public high schools or combined schools (private schools) took part in semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. The data were analysed qualitatively using open coding. The findings of the study revealed that these migrant teachers need support to overcome difficulties in classroom management, in acquiring legal documentation, and in dealing with the issues of safety and xenophobia. The findings also revealed that the teachers were in need of induction, professional development, and social and financial support. In spite of their many needs, the migrant teachers’ advice to prospective migrant teachers was that they should try their luck in South Africa.     

Promoting Responsible Research Conduct: A South African Perspective

A great deal of effort has gone into developing capacity in the sphere of human research protection programmes in South Africa and Africa over the last decade or more, by several international organisations. However the promotion of the broader agenda of research integrity or ‘RCR’ (Responsible Conduct of Research) has lagged behind. From a global perspective South Africa and other African countries are actively involved in research endeavours and collaborations across a very broad spectrum of scientific fields. For this research to fulfil its potential social value it must be reliable and trustworthy and hence it is essential that research institutions and universities take the promotion of research integrity seriously. The purpose of this paper is to consider the role of an institutional office of research integrity within the context of academic research particularly in South Africa but also in Africa. I will reflect on my own experience over a period of five years as a research integrity officer at a South African academic institution to highlight concerns in five domains; the promotion of an ethic of responsibility in opposition to compliance and bureaucracy, collaboration ethics and collegiality especially in the context of North-South collaborations, authorship and publication ethics, the problem of plagiarism and the utility of policy and procedure. I will suggest that the establishment of such an office can be of great value in the promotion of a broad culture of research ethics and responsible research conduct. The possible role and scope of function of an institutional office of research integrity will be briefly outlined.     

An Evaluation of the Reliability and Validity of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) in South African Context

The Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ: Loza, 2005) is a self-report questionnaire designed to assist with the prediction of violent and nonviolent recidivism among correctional populations. Use of scale could help in the assessment of risk and the identification of factors that could be addressed by programming or other intervention to reduce recidivism risk. Evidence for use of the SAQ in South African settings is needed. The SAQ was administered at two separate occasions and a week apart to a total of 125 male offenders in South Africa to evaluate its psychometric properties. Scores from the SAQ were reliable with South African inmates.     

Bringing the Social into Genetics: The Psychosocial Genetics Risk Assessment and Management Framework (PG-RAM)

As increasing numbers of people are identified at risk for multi-factorial diseases, questions of how to assess, communicate and manage genetic risk will be critical from health services and policy perspectives. However, there is currently no evidence-based genetic risk assessment and management framework to assist policy makers, clinicians and other stakeholders. A comprehensive psychosocial framework for risk assessment and management has been developed in the context of security hazards or threats. In an adaptation of that model, we present the Psychosocial Genetics Risk Assessment and Management framework (PG-RAM). It offers principles to enhance the integration of evidence-based best practices into genetics health services, as well as to identify issues, knowledge and gaps. The framework identifies the core elements of the situation, effects, population and interventions, all spanning several phases of genetic disorders. The framework provides an excellent starting point for knowledge syntheses in the context of genetic risk and could serve as the conceptual basis for practical tool development to guide healthcare professionals and decision makers in preparing for and responding to the psychosocial aspects of genetic risk.     

In Defence of Bad Science and Irrational Policies: an Alternative Account of the Precautionary Principle

In the first part of the paper, three objections to the precautionary principle are outlined: the principle requires some account of how to balance risks of significant harms; the principle focuses on action and ignores the costs of inaction; and the principle threatens epistemic anarchy. I argue that these objections may overlook two distinctive features of precautionary thought: a suspicion of the value of “full scientific certainty”; and a desire to distinguish environmental doings from allowings. In Section 2, I argue that any simple distinction between environmental doings and allowings is untenable. However, I argue that the appeal of such a distinction can be captured within a relational account of environmental equity. In Section 3 I show how the proposed account of environmental justice can generate a justification for distinctively “precautionary” policy-making.     

The response of South African professional psychology associations to apartheid

Professional psychology associations in South Africa have overtly and covertly furthered the aims of apartheid. Guidance about the ethical obligations of psychologists in the South African context has been singularly lacking, and as a result blacks have not been attracted to the profession of psychology in sufficient numbers to administer to psychological needs of the client population. The political dimension of psychological practice in South Africa needs to be addressed directly so that healing strategies relevant to the burgeoning racial conflict in South Africa can be implemented.     

“Nowhere does it say that in the Bible”

For lesbian women who marry in South Africa, religion is both a source of great opposition to their relationships and a tool that they can use to negotiate their belonging with family and friends, after deciding to exercise their citizenship through marriage. This article draws from qualitative research conducted in South Africa to explore the relationship between sexuality and religion in the context of legal same-sex marriage. Though religion has been previously implicated in the maintenance of oppressive regimes, such as colonialism and apartheid, it has also been one of the primary voices against such injustices. The article concludes by suggesting that lesbian women use their own understandings of religion and sexuality to actively participate in the formation of new opportunities for social, legal, and spiritual citizenship.     

The Origins of Social Citizenship in Pre-Apartheid South Africa

Abstract

South Africa's 1996 Constitution promises a measure of ‘social citizenship’ alongside formal political and legal equality. South Africa's public welfare and social policies may be less effective in ensuring social citizenship, through reducing insecurity and inequality, than those of the more established democracies, but they are far more effective than those of other ‘developing’ countries. The origins of social citizenship in South Africa lie in the early and mid-1940s, when the state first assumed responsibility for the welfare, broadly understood, of all South Africans. The most significant achievement was the introduction of a universal old-age pension system. The importance of these initiatives has been largely overlooked. This has been in part because later scholars largely ignored the heterogeneity of liberal thought in South Africa in the mid-twentieth century, as followers of the ‘New Liberalism’ broke with the classical liberalism of John Stuart Mill and argued for a range of state interventions in social and economic life. In South Africa, as elsewhere, the Second World War provided a context in which revised liberal thought gave rise to major policy reforms, some of which were to survive even the election of a National Party government in 1948.     

Fabricated Humans? Human Genetics,Ethics and the Christian Wisdom Tradition1

Abstract: This article highlights the key social issues associated with genetic screening and testing. It identifies an uneasy combination of a cultural drive towards perfection alongside heightened perception of a risk society. Awareness of risk is particularly in evidence in clinical genetics, but is surprisingly silent in public discourse about stem cell research, which has tended to flounder through its unilateral focus on the status of the early embryo. This article concentrates on current practice, such as the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, and offers a critical analysis of current debates about ethical issues. It argues that Christian ethics can contribute positively to the debate by drawing on the tradition of prudence or practical wisdom, which goes beyond the secular alternatives of both the consequential analysis of risk and benefit and the precautionary principle.     

Relative versus absolute standards for everyday risk in adolescent HIV prevention trials: expanding the debate

The concept of minimal risk has been used to regulate and limit participation by adolescents in clinical trials. It can be understood as setting an absolute standard of what risks are considered minimal or it can be interpreted as relative to the actual risks faced by members of the host community for the trial. While commentators have almost universally opposed a relative interpretation of the environmental risks faced by potential adolescent trial participants, we argue that the ethical concerns against the relative standard may not be as convincing as these commentators believe. Our aim is to present the case for a relative standard of environmental risk in order to open a debate on this subject. We conclude by discussing how a relative standard of environmental risk could be defended in the specific case of an HIV vaccine trial among adolescents in South Africa.     

《中国人群死亡及其危险因素：流行水平、趋势和分布》的研究思路

回顾了该研究的思路,指出进行这样的研究,关键是建立一个有代表性的监测系统,针对同一监测人群,开展综合监测,发展规范的现场工作程序,确保获得高质量数据。建立标准的、动态的人口库、出生、死亡和危险因素个案库,是完成这项研究的前提,世界卫生组织专家称这是中国人在流行病学监测中的天才创新。     

The clinician in the university: Reflections on a South African psychoanalytically oriented doctoral programme

There is increasing interest, both internationally and in South Africa, in strengthening the relationship between psychoanalytic practice and research. This paper reports on a psychoanalytically oriented doctoral programme offered at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. The programme is described in relation to the broader context of the historical relationship of psychoanalysis to the university as well as to the specific context of the history of psychoanalysis in South Africa. Key challenges of the programme, specifically concerning research tensions and methodological and theoretical tolerance, are subsequently explored. The way in which these challenges manifested within a group context illustrates their potential for conflict as well as productive debate. The paper reflects on how this specific programme illuminates and extends some of the broader debates in the field of psychoanalysis.     

Growing Up in Conflict: The Personal and the Political

This article is an autobiographical account of conflicts, both personal and political, that I experienced growing up in South Africa in a context of racism and civil conflict. It speaks to how these conflicts shaped my work as an analyst and as a person. In regard to specific issues that were fore-fronted, these included an interest in the ugly emotions, trauma and dissociation in both victims and perpetrators, the application of psychoanalysis in war zones, the issue of voice, the effects of emigration and the diaspora, the centrality of context, and the dynamics of racism.     

Parenting styles and psychological needs influences on adolescent life goals and aspirations in a South African setting

The present study examined the role of parenting styles and basic psychological needs in the adoption of goals and aspirations of learners, as well as for their psychological wellbeing (positive versus negative affect) in a South African sample of learners. A cross-sectional design was used to conduct this study with a sample of 853 learners at public schools in the Western Cape of South Africa (females?=?57%, mean age 16.96 years, SD?=?1.12). Data were collected using the Parenting Style and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ), Psychological Needs Scale, Aspiration Index and the Positive And Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The results suggest that authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles influence the adoption of life goals and psychological wellbeing of adolescents with fathers' negative parenting possibly reducing adolescent wellbeing. Extrinsic life goals was a significant predictor of positive affect, while need frustration was a significant predictor of negative affect. These findings suggest parenting styles and basic psychological needs influence life aspirations and psychological wellbeing of learners in a developing country context.