Rape crisis counsellors' experiences of working with rape survivors in Cape Town

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dc.contributor.advisorKaminer, Debbieen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorGregorowski, Claireen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-10-25T17:08:29Z
dc.date.available2015-10-25T17:08:29Z
dc.date.issued2010en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references (leaves 117-128).en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis exploratory qualitative study documents the clinical knowledges gained by Rape Crisis counsellors working with rape survivors in Cape Town. It includes a description of the demographic profile of their clients, the rape experiences that their clients report, the psychological difficulties that clients present with, the methods of treatment being offered by the Rape Crisis counsellors, and counsellors' experiences regarding the effectiveness and/or limitations of these interventions. The research is conducted from a phenomenological hermeneutic framework. A semi-structured interview was developed for the research and was administered to eight counsellors and three counselling co-ordinators across the three Rape Crisis centres in Cape Town. Data were analysed using grounded theory analysis techniques. The research found that for the survivors of rape presenting for treatment at Rape Crisis, the experience of childhood sexual assault (CSA) was common, and that many survivors have experienced multiple traumatisation, or experience multiple ongoing stressors in addition to dealing with the impact of rape or CSA. Participants reported that survivors experience similar patterns of post-rape symptomotology as described in international literature. Treatments offered by participants were guided by the principle of empowerment and closely resembled feminist counselling models. The majority of participants' counselling work focussed on the early stages of recovery from trauma described in the literature, namely establishing physical, community, interpersonal and emotional safety. Establishing physical safety required that participants draw on an extensive network of non-government and other organisations. Treatment also focused on helping survivors to talk about their traumatic experiences and facilitating their connection with others. Participants commonly reported experiencing vicarious traumatisation as a result of their work with clients. The most commonly reported barriers to treatment were clients' conditions of poverty and the limited amount of sessions participants are able to offer due to limited resources. Despite these, the participants reported observing positive change in many of their clients following treatment.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationGregorowski, C. (2010). <i>Rape crisis counsellors' experiences of working with rape survivors in Cape Town</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14330en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationGregorowski, Claire. <i>"Rape crisis counsellors' experiences of working with rape survivors in Cape Town."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14330en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationGregorowski, C. 2010. Rape crisis counsellors' experiences of working with rape survivors in Cape Town. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Gregorowski, Claire AB - This exploratory qualitative study documents the clinical knowledges gained by Rape Crisis counsellors working with rape survivors in Cape Town. It includes a description of the demographic profile of their clients, the rape experiences that their clients report, the psychological difficulties that clients present with, the methods of treatment being offered by the Rape Crisis counsellors, and counsellors' experiences regarding the effectiveness and/or limitations of these interventions. The research is conducted from a phenomenological hermeneutic framework. A semi-structured interview was developed for the research and was administered to eight counsellors and three counselling co-ordinators across the three Rape Crisis centres in Cape Town. Data were analysed using grounded theory analysis techniques. The research found that for the survivors of rape presenting for treatment at Rape Crisis, the experience of childhood sexual assault (CSA) was common, and that many survivors have experienced multiple traumatisation, or experience multiple ongoing stressors in addition to dealing with the impact of rape or CSA. Participants reported that survivors experience similar patterns of post-rape symptomotology as described in international literature. Treatments offered by participants were guided by the principle of empowerment and closely resembled feminist counselling models. The majority of participants' counselling work focussed on the early stages of recovery from trauma described in the literature, namely establishing physical, community, interpersonal and emotional safety. Establishing physical safety required that participants draw on an extensive network of non-government and other organisations. Treatment also focused on helping survivors to talk about their traumatic experiences and facilitating their connection with others. Participants commonly reported experiencing vicarious traumatisation as a result of their work with clients. The most commonly reported barriers to treatment were clients' conditions of poverty and the limited amount of sessions participants are able to offer due to limited resources. Despite these, the participants reported observing positive change in many of their clients following treatment. DA - 2010 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2010 T1 - Rape crisis counsellors' experiences of working with rape survivors in Cape Town TI - Rape crisis counsellors' experiences of working with rape survivors in Cape Town UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14330 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/14330
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationGregorowski C. Rape crisis counsellors' experiences of working with rape survivors in Cape Town. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology, 2010 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14330en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Psychologyen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherClinical Psychologyen_ZA
dc.titleRape crisis counsellors' experiences of working with rape survivors in Cape Townen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMAen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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