In terms of the setting, participants indicated that they were mostly willing to conduct sessions anywhere convenient, however they were most comfortable conducting sessions in their psychotherapy rooms. They gave examples of sessions that were conducted in
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hospitals, coffee shops, in the homes of clients where there were disturbances that they were not able to control; which impacted negatively on those sessions.
In terms of normalising, participants shared that they used personal as well as other people’s experiences that were similar to those of their clients as examples to normalise situations their clients were faced with.
For gifts and bartering, participants indicated that they had challenges because even though they included in their introductory sessions that they cannot receive gifts from the clients; clients still left gifts with their receptionists or insisted that they take the gifts. Participants were torn between taking their training to heart and their cultural practises, in that not taking a gift implied rejecting a client and receiving it implied that they were going against their professional training as psychotherapists.
Participants added and highlighted differences between ways of living that are Western influenced and African influenced. For example what is culturally applauded and appreciated in African attitudes, like a person that decides to look after his family and stay in his family home, whereas in the Western perspective that can be perceived as a lack of personal development or dependency syndrome. Another example is that a person is accompanied when going to see a doctor, so this may be why people attend psychological sessions accompanied by a friend or a relative.
On the point that uBuntu is not without faults, participants indicated that some of the
disadvantages of uBuntu that were highlighted included that African people feel obligated to help, even if the help sometimes is disadvantageous for the one being helped. Another point raised was that family members become demanding and feel entitled to benefit from the achievements of the family member who seems to have more resources that they do. In relation to cultural changes, P5 shared:
I am trying to explain this thing context … sometimes in nowadays it will be
misinterpreted you know and greeting people is also part of uBuntu ya those things and going out of the way to help another person its quite complex really there’s various issues or facets to it. Yes sometime if even winding down your window to give something to someone on the road you think twice nowadays that’s why I’m saying its context dependent as well.
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To conclude, suggestions on how to define uBuntu were made. It was also emphasised that the uBuntu definition should include such cultural practices that prioritise the value of the people’s humanity, kindness; that African people do not align themselves with tacit nature in that they are not always aware of the knowledge they possess or how I can be valuable to others.
PART B: uBuntu
This section focuses on uBuntu and responds to research questions 2, 3 and 4, namely:
What uBuntu principles are applicable to psychotherapy practice experienced by psychotherapists?
What are the experiences of psychotherapists (positive and negative) regarding incorporating uBuntu into their practice?
What can the study recommend in relation to incorporating uBuntu into psychotherapy?
I start by giving the definitions of uBuntu according to the understandings of participants, then go on to define uBuntu as an African way of living, and discuss the faults of uBuntu as described. Thereafter I share experiences of psychotherapists about uBuntu principles that are applicable to psychotherapy and I finalise this section by discussing uBuntu
misrepresentations.
5.7 Defining uBuntu
Participants were asked to give their own definitions of uBuntu in the interviews. P2 defined uBuntu as:
uBuntu comes from the word ‘umntu’ (human), so uBuntu is being human, it’s being humane, its loving others unconditionally, maybe, I can’t be love because I’m not God but it’s giving love to others it’s being compassionate, it’s giving the little that you have, the ability to share with others, and not necessarily monetarily… lending an ear if somebody’s asking for directions taking a few seconds out of your time and say look that is the route that you must take. That’s uBuntu sharing something of your own to others. I try at all times to give of what I know of the knowledge that I have, to
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disseminate the skills that I think you need so I would say you probably need this, have you tried that? That’s uBuntu, sharing of whatever I know…
P2’s understanding of uBuntu thus highlights unconditional love, compassion, giving and sharing, helping, giving your time or knowledge, skill, and assisting people including strangers. P3 expands on the human-ness of uBuntu as indicated:
uBuntu is about humanity, humanity, helping others and not help only your own, the fact that that person is a human being you extend a hand of help and also being generous, … for example as Africans you know the extended family thing you help the relatives, you don’t only help the immediate ones. When you educate, you also educate relatives you pay for their education and all. I mean even people you do not know, you would, some people in our culture they will take them and stay with them and help them …this is a human being let me just treat that person with respect and also take care of my fellow human being in whatever way, it does not have to be money, in whatever way.
This illustrates an emphasis on generosity that goes beyond the immediate family. P8 shared his perception of uBuntu by also emphasising human solidarity:
uBuntu to me now means human humanity, humanness to be a human being any other being.
In uBuntu traditional settings, relationships are important. Trust is one of the important features of a good relationship. This good relationship and trust becomes the basis for interdependence of people to one another. P4 indicated:
… people will knock on your door and request a cup of sugar without feeling anxious that you are going to get it, … that kind of knowing that you can absolutely rely on someone without thinking too much about it, that is important, and that there is an understanding between these two people that you can rely on each other … it is automatic. …it’s feeling of knowing deeply deep down knowing that no matter what you do there is someone who is available and willing to provide that kind of a feeling.
P4 thus emphasises being able to rely on each other, leading to a deeper sense of being supported.
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The following quote responds to research question one; what uBuntu principles are applicable to psychotherapy practice experienced by psychotherapists? Participants felt that the
profession requires them to behave in a way that does not suit their way of living following uBuntu. P1 indicated:
It is in me, ikum kaloku endidalwe nayo and ndiyayazba kaloku (it is in me, it is
something I was born with) and I know when to give someone a break it is something
that we have to do and I know at the back of my mind that we are not allowed to do this.
This refers to help whether permanent or temporal as a principle of uBuntu. It means a brief provision of basic needs to someone that offers a breather, while the person is busy figuring out what to do about their unfortunate situation such as poverty. This highlights another dissonance and some tensions experienced by participants between cultural values and professional structures. This contradicts the Eurocentric psychotherapy that implies that psychotherapy helps one to help himself.