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A narrative practical theological perspective on the spirituality of female adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015.

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Other Authors: Muller, Julian C.
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2015
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Muller, Julian C.
author_browse Muller, Julian C.
author_facet Muller, Julian C.
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2015 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015.
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/50624
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:36:19.431Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2015
publishDateRange 2015
publishDateSort 2015
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/50624 A narrative practical theological perspective on the spirituality of female adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse Muller, Julian C. heidi.human@lebonecollege.co.za Human, Heidi UCTD Spirituality Childhood sexual abuse Female adults Narrative Practical theology Trauma Faith Spiritual support Theological reflection Religion Communities Empowerment Theology theses SDG-03 SDG-03: Good health and well-being Theology theses SDG-05 SDG-05: Gender equality Theology theses SDG-10 SDG-10: Reduced inequalities Theology theses SDG-16 SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. This is a narrative practical theological perspective on the spirituality of adult, female survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Two questions were asked: first, how is meaning made of traumatic experiences, specifically childhood sexual abuse (CSA)? Second, what is the role of spirituality in this process? Spirituality cannot be examined in isolation, and neither can CSA. The context of the story must be taken into consideration. In this study, the context is the Afrikaner, Dutch Reformed community. Epistemologically, the decision was made to work from a postfoundational, social constructionist perspective. This supports the research design, which is based on narrative, practical theological principles, as influenced by feminist and body theology. A single case study was conducted, using unstructured and semi-structured interviews, emails, and poetry. In this iterative design, emphasis was placed on the co-researcher’s voice, and her input governed the researcher’s choices. The narrative revealed five areas of focus: abuse, identity, her mother, God and faith, and the interrelationship between these. Furthermore, some unique outcomes were identified. This story was presented to a team of three transdisciplinary co-researchers: an occupational therapist, a psychologist, and a Dutch Reformed minister. These contributors shared their ideas with the researcher and the co-researcher, who also gave feedback. A literature review was based on the five areas of focus, the unique outcomes, and the input received from the co-researcher and the transdisciplinary contributors. It was found that it became increasingly difficult to describe spirituality as a discrete concept, as it is intricately bound into the co-researcher’s story: this includes body stories, mind stories, spirit stories, stories of relationships and the community, and stories about God. All of these are in constant interaction, and influence one another. As such, time was spent exploring the interrelationships between these stories, and coming to a better understanding of the self as embodied, emergent and multiple. A proposal is made for narrative transversality as a means for exploring the interactions between stories. Finally, questions are raised about the language of the self, as well as about the gaps in research about women and children in the Dutch Reformed Church. tm2015 bs2025 Practical Theology PhD Unrestricted SDG-03: Good health and well-being SDG-05: Gender equality SDG-10: Reduced inequalities SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions 2015-11-25T09:45:36Z 2015-11-25T09:45:36Z 2015/09/01 2015 Thesis Human, H 2015, A narrative practical theological perspective on the spirituality of female adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, PhD Thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/50624> S2015 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/50624 en © 2015 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Spirituality
Childhood sexual abuse
Female adults
Narrative
Practical theology
Trauma
Faith
Spiritual support
Theological reflection
Religion
Communities
Empowerment
Theology theses SDG-03
SDG-03: Good health and well-being
Theology theses SDG-05
SDG-05: Gender equality
Theology theses SDG-10
SDG-10: Reduced inequalities
Theology theses SDG-16
SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
A narrative practical theological perspective on the spirituality of female adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse
title A narrative practical theological perspective on the spirituality of female adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse
title_full A narrative practical theological perspective on the spirituality of female adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse
title_fullStr A narrative practical theological perspective on the spirituality of female adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse
title_full_unstemmed A narrative practical theological perspective on the spirituality of female adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse
title_short A narrative practical theological perspective on the spirituality of female adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse
title_sort narrative practical theological perspective on the spirituality of female adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse
topic UCTD
Spirituality
Childhood sexual abuse
Female adults
Narrative
Practical theology
Trauma
Faith
Spiritual support
Theological reflection
Religion
Communities
Empowerment
Theology theses SDG-03
SDG-03: Good health and well-being
Theology theses SDG-05
SDG-05: Gender equality
Theology theses SDG-10
SDG-10: Reduced inequalities
Theology theses SDG-16
SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/50624