AFSA THANDANANI TIME PUBLICATION: SUPPORTING OLDER CARE GIVERS IN THE ERA OF HIV

Precious Greehy

AFSA  THANDANANI TIME PUBLICATION: SUPPORTING OLDER CARE GIVERS IN THE ERA OF HIV The AFSA has published a booklet called Thandanani Time: Supporting Older Care Givers in the Era of HIV/AIDS. This booklet details the implementation, experiences and accomplishments of the Thandanani Time Programme (TTP). The booklet also aims to expand AFSA’s experiences to others who have the same interests and wishes to spread out its knowledge for new interpretations or adoption to deal with reality in different contexts. The concept of Thandanani Time (time for loving) was commissioned by the AIDS Foundation of South Africa in collaboration with Rob Smetherham Bereavement Services for Children (RSBSC) in 2005.  The programme makes liberal use of the principles and practices of both filial therapy and gestalt play therapy. Filial therapy is a special kind of play therapy or healing that is done between the carer and the child for the purposes of healing any emotional disturbances that the child might be experiencing.  Play therapy principles and skills include reflective listening, recognizing and responding to the child's feelings, building the child's self-esteem through structured weekly play sessions, using selected toys. Gestalt play therapy is a technique that also uses play to allow children to express their problems in drawings or in other symbolic manners to make other people aware of their feelings. However, the application and practices of the TTP as detailed in this booklet are from various community perspectives and experiences and aimed at giving the reader a strong South Africa ‘taste’ of how filial therapy and gestalt play therapy can be adopted and modified to suit various cultural backgrounds and environments.  All interventions should be culturally appropriate.