The understanding and approach of trained volunteer counsellors to negative racial sentiments in traumatized clients.
Date
2009-03-02T08:35:20Z
Authors
Sibisi, Hleziphi
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Abstract
In the current South African context there is a strong likelihood of the occurrence of trauma
incidents that involve people of different races. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this has
contributed to the increased expression of negative racial sentiments by victims of trauma,
especially in crime related trauma, when the perpetrator/s are of a different race group to the
victim. This research study locates itself within the small number of studies that have sought to
engage with the problem of negative racial sentiments as a response to trauma. This study
focused particularly on the observations, explanations and interventions of volunteer counsellors
in having to engage with this content in traumatized clients. The study sought to understand the
impact that the expression of negative racial sentiments had on the process of trauma counselling
and debriefing and on counsellors personally. The research was operationalized within a
hermeneutically oriented qualitative research framework. The participant group was comprised of
11 volunteer counsellors from different parts of Johannesburg and from different organizations.
Participants were chosen through purposive sampling and face to face semi-structured interviews
were used as the method of data collection. Thematic content analysis was employed to analyze
the interview texts. The findings suggest that negative racial sentiments are a commonly
occurring response following a trauma. Counsellors predominantly understand negative racial
sentiments to be part of the trauma symptom pattern, in that they explain such responses as
‘trigger’ reactions. Counsellors also understood the sentiments to represent pre-existing
prejudice, exaggerated and re-evoked by the trauma. The findings indicate that counsellors were
developing and utilizing skills and interventions mainly of their own design in engaging with
negative racial sentiments, as they are generally not trained on how to engage with this content in
trauma counselling. Counsellors use interventions such as normalizing, psychoeducation and
CBT based interventions when they do intervene, but in some cases make a choice not to
intervene. Counsellors reported considerable discomfort and suggested that although case by case
intervention was important, some guidance as to how to work in this area would be useful. The
contextual nature of the problem and related interventions was also highlighted.
Description
Keywords
Traumatized clients, Volunteer counsellors, Racism