Our aim is to highlight the past, present and future state of affairs of South African psychobiography. Particular attention is given to the trends and the challenges faced by academic psycho-biographers in South Africa. Over the past decade psychobiography has evolved into an established research genre and has become a methodology used by various academics and post-graduate research scholars at South African universities. Psychobiography entails the study of historically significant and extraordinary individuals over their entire life spans with the aim to uncover and reconstruct their lives psychologically. These longitudinal case studies include the psychological study of personalities in diverse occupational fields such as architecture, arts and literature, business and entrepreneur-ship, politics, religion and spirituality, sport, science, as well as the popular biographies of celebrities. Psycho-biographical studies in South Africa have been nurtured in the departments of psychology at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Rhodes University, the University of Johannesburg, and the University of the Free State. Most of these biographical studies have been completed as postgraduate r research endeavours in master's and doctoral degree programmes in psychology where academic staff have initiated and grown psychobiography as a strategic research focus area within their faculties. Psycho-biographical research has considerable logistical and administrative value for postgraduate research and the supervision process, and is also of academic benefit to the theoretical development of South African psychology. In South Africa an array of exemplary personalities constitute a ‘hall of fame’. Their legendary lives are ideal case studies which may be used to develop and/or refute aspects of psychological theory and its applicability to human development over the span of an individual's life.

Psychobiographical studies have been relatively rare in the research scholarship from Southern Africa. The exceptions are the works of especially Fouché and Van Niekerk (2010). In their article on ...

This article serves as the editorial to the Special Issue of Europe’s Journal of Psychology that focusses on “Creating a meaningful life: Psychobiographical investigations.” The introduction provides a brief overview of the articles that offer original and innovative approaches to the growing research area of psychobiography, meaning and identity from different theoretical, methodological, disciplinary and socio-cultural background.

Holistic wellness theories conceptualise wellness as a multidimensional and synergistic construct. The term wellness refers to a way of life oriented towards optimal health and wellbeing in which body, mind, and spirit are integrated by the individual to live life fully within the human and natural community. The proposed Wheel of Wellness Model incorporate five life tasks that are influenced by seven life forces that are, in turn, influenced by global events. In this study, the model is employed to explore the life of Angela Merkel from a psychobiographical and holistic wellness perspective. Merkel was purposively selected as an extraordinary leader who demonstrated exceptional coping abilities and wellness. Findings show that Merkel’s wellness is particularly strong in terms of spirituality and self-direction. Suggestions are proposed how to expand the WoW in the context of latest positive psychology developments and with regard to socio-cultural changes within contemporary societies.

This study aimed to explore psychologists' emotional stress levels, as manifested in anxiety and depression, their coping strategies, and the relationship between stress and coping strategies. A stratified random sample of 238 South African clinical and counselling psychologists completed internet surveys that included a biographical questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Brief Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced (Brief COPE). According to category cut-off points in the manuals, results indicated that 56.3% of participants reported above average anxiety levels, while 54.2% were mildly depressed. A combination of the coping strategies of self-blame, behavioural disengagement, denial, a lack of humour, self-distraction, a lack of acceptance, venting, and substance use significantly predicted anxiety. A combination of substance use, self-blame, self-distraction, denial, and a lack of seeking instrumental support significantly predicted depression. The results suggest that South African psychologists fail to manage their emotional stress as manifested in depressive and anxiety symptoms. A coping programme for South African psychologists in practice and training is recommended. In addition, psychologists are encouraged to nurture their emotional health through psychotherapy and support groups. The limitations of sampling in terms of possible psychological sophistication and self-selection, as well as the need to further differentiate the work settings of psychologists, are discussed.