FIRST CONTACT: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE ROLE OF PSYCHOANALYTIC INFANT OBSERVATION IN SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY INTERVENTIONS Jana Lazarus Dissertation presented for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of Psychology at the UNIVERSITY OF STELLENBOSCH Promoter: Professor Lou-Marié Kruger December 2007 DECLARATION I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the work contained in this dissertation is my own original work, and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it at any university for a degree. _______________________ ________________ Signature Date Copyright © 2007 Stellenbosch University i ABSTRACT Very little is known about the experiences of black children living in poverty in South Africa. This compromises the delivery of appropriate psychological services. This dissertation considers the contribution that psychoanalytic infant observation might make to a needs assessment process within the community psychology paradigm. To date, infant observation has predominantly been used for training psychotherapists and other professionals in Western contexts. The goal of the present project was to conduct a "classical" observation of a mother and child in a low- income South African community in the first year of the infant's life, in order to ascertain what kind of description it would yield. The question was whether such a description is useful for the needs assessment process, and ultimately, whether infant observation is a viable tool for psychologists working in low-income communities in South Africa. The study was set in a poor, semi-rural, so-called coloured township in the Western Cape. The data were analysed using an intersubjective psychoanalytic lens and a social constructionist grounded theory approach. In overview, the findings relate to two main areas, namely a) the nature and content of the resultant description, and b) the effect of the process. The analysis of the case material showed that the observation produced an extremely detailed account of the experience of poverty and oppression, involving the way in which it influences all relationships, including the one between mother and child. The knowledge gained offers clear pointers to the kind of intervention that would benefit the particular infant in the present study, and potentially other infants in vulnerable social contexts as well. One surprising outcome was the extensive way in which the observation functioned therapeutically for the whole family. It is therefore concluded that infant observation can provide a very rich contribution to low-income communities on a number of levels, if it is able to make both the theoretical and practical adjustments needed. It is thus argued that it is necessary to look at infant observation in more critical ways, both in terms of how it has traditionally been conceptualised and how it is and can be applied across all contexts. ii SAMEVATTING Daar bestaan min inligting oor die ervarings van swart kinders in Suid-Afrika wat in armoede leef. Dit lê die lewering van gepaste sielkundige dienste aan bande. In hierdie studie word die bydrae bespreek wat psigoanalitiese baba-observasie moontlik tot 'n behoefte-assesseringsproses binne die gemeenskapsielkundige paradigma kan lewer. Tot nou toe is hierdie observasie hoofsaaklik gebruik om psigoterapeute en ander professionele persone binne 'n Westerse konteks op te lei. Die doelwit van die huidige projek was om - in die baba se eerste lewensjaar -'n klassieke observasie van 'n moeder en kind binne 'n lae-inkomstegemeenskap in Suid-Afrika uit te voer ten einde te bepaal watter soort beskrywing dit sou oplewer. Die vraag was of so 'n beskrywing relevant is vir die behoeftebepalingsproses en, in laaste instansie, of baba-observasie 'n bruikbare werktuig is vir sielkundiges wat in lae-inkomstegemeenskappe werksaam is. Die studie is uitgevoer in 'n arm, semi-landelike, sogenaamde bruin gemeenskap in Wes-Kaapland. Data is geanaliseer met 'n intersubjektiewe psigoanalitiese lens en in ooreenstemming met die sosiale-konstruksieteorie. Kortliks saamgevat, het die bevindinge betrekking op twee hoofgebiede, naamlik (a) die aard en inhoud van die beskrywing wat daaruit voortgevloei het en (b) die uitwerking van die proses. Die analise van die ondersoekmateriaal het getoon dat die observasie 'n besonder gedetailleerde beskrywing van die ervaring van armoede en onderdrukking opgelewer het en, by name, van die wyse waarop dit alle verhoudinge, ook dié tussen moeder en kind, beïnvloed. Die inligting wat ingewin is, gee duidelike aanduidings van die soort intervensie wat 'n positiewe uitwerking sou hê op die spesifieke baba in die huidige studie, en potensieel ook sou hê op ander babas in kwesbare sosiale kontekste. Een van die verrassende konklusies was die mate waarin die hele gesin terapeuties baat gevind het by hierdie observasie. Die gevolgtrekking is dus dat baba-observasie op verskeie vlakke 'n kosbare bydrae kan lewer, mits dit die nodige teoretiese en praktiese aanpassings kan maak. Daar word gevolglik aangevoer dat dit noodsaaklik is om baba-observasie meer krities te ondersoek, en dit geld sowel die tradisionele konseptualisering daarvan as die wyse waarop dit oor alle kontekste heen toegepas word, en kán word. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the many people who made this project possible: Professor Lou-Marié Kruger, who has been a creative force in this work, as well as in my development as a psychologist and a person. There are not enough words. Thank you for standing by me in all ways. The Smit family: Eve, Piet, Maria and Natasha, for allowing me into their home. John Lazarus, for the Tavistock, and for (occasionally) overestimating my abilities. I got it done by Thursday. My parents, my extended family, and my friends, for their moral and practical support, and their love. The people who assisted me during the observations: Carin Bester, for always helping me out. Maxine Spedding and Jeanne Ellis, without whom the work may not have continued. Suzanne de Villiers. Christiaan Schoombie. Francois Rabie. Stephanie Loubscher, for transcribing in such painstaking detail. Celéste Reyneke, for translation. Professor Edwin Hees, for proofreading. Judy Davies, for lending me 20 volumes of The International Journal of Infant Observation and its Applications. Without understanding the gold standard, I might not have realised what lies beyond it. Craig Bovim: see you on the open water. v STATEMENT REGARDING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE I hereby gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance received from the Medical Research Council (MRC) for this research by means of a local postgraduate scholarship through their National Women and Child Health Programme. Opinions given or conclusions reached in this work are those of the author and should not necessarily be regarded as those of the MRC. Financial assistance for developing and disseminating this research by means of an International Science Liaison (ISL) Block Grant from the National Research Foundation (NRF) is also hereby acknowledged. Opinions given or conclusions reached in this work are those of the author and should not necessarily be regarded as those of the NRF. Thanks also to the Division for Research Development at Stellenbosch University, the Postgraduate Bursary Office and Research Sub-Committee A. iv This dissertation is dedicated to my aunt, Professor Elize Botha (19/11/30 - 16/11/07) with my love and gratitude. I see everything…But most people are lazy. They never look at everything. They do what is called glancing, which is the same word for bumping off something and carrying on in almost the same direction, e.g. when a snooker ball glances off another snooker ball. And the information in their head is really simple. (Haddon, 2003, p. 40) And I think that there are so many things just in one house that it would take years to think about all of them properly. Also, a thing is interesting because of thinking about it and not because of being new. (Haddon, 2003, p. 178) Oh, can't you see You belong to me How my poor heart aches With every step you take Every move you make Every vow you break Every smile you fake Every claim you stake I'll be watching you (The Police) TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Page Declaration i Abstract ii Samevatting iii Statement regarding financial assistance iv Acknowledgements v SECTION ONE: ASSUMPTIONS CHAPTER ONE: Introduction 1 1.1 Context of the study 1 1.1.1 A lack of knowledge 3 1.1.2 A lack of services 6 1.2 Using new tools 8 1.3 Aims of the study 10 1.4 The researcher-practitioner 11 1.5 Organisation of the dissertation 13 1.6 Key terms 14 1.7 Conclusion 14 CHAPTER TWO: Theoretical points of departure 15 2.1 Introduction 15 2.2 A definition of postmodernism 15 2.3 A definition of social constructionism 16 2.4 Central concerns in social constructionist thought 17 2.4.1 Reality and truth 17 2.4.2 Subjectivity 17 2.4.3 Language 18 2.4.4 Power 19 2.5 Postmodern psychoanalysis 19 2.5.1 A definition of psychoanalysis 19 2.5.2 Postmodern psychoanalysis 22 2.6 The application of social constructionist thought to the present study 24 2.7 A note about feminism 25 2.8 Key terms 26 2.9 Conclusion 27 vi SECTION TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW CHAPTER THREE: Community psychology and psychoanalysis 28 3.1 Introduction 28 3.2 The origins of community psychology in South Africa 28 3.3 The basic principles of community psychology 29 3.3.1 A definition of community psychology 29 3.3.2 Defining communities 32 3.4 Psychodynamic community psychology in South Africa