Brief Academic Biography

Prof Elmien Lesch holds a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology (University of the Free State) and a PhD in Psychology (Stellenbosch University). She has a specific interest in close relationships (both romantic and family relationships.) In line with this interest, she has pursued training in an evidence-based relationship-focused therapy model and is now a certified Emotionally Focused Couple Therapist, Supervisor and Trainer. She also has a small practice where she focuses on providing relationship psychotherapy, and she frequently presents training events in Emotionally Focused Therapy. Prof Lesch is a NRF C-rated researcher. She coordinated the MA Clinical Psychology Programme from 2016 – 2023.

Research

Research Topics

  • Father-child relationships
  • Same-sex relationships
  • Single women and intimate/close relationships
  • Couple Therapy training and practise in Africa and South Africa

About My Research

My research interest is in experiences of, and processes in, close human relationships. Close relationships refer to a range of relationships, including family, friend, and romantic relationships. It is well established that human beings’ general well-being is promoted by these relationships throughout the human lifespan. Conversely, problematic or unsupportive close relationships can be a source of severe psychological distress, and relationship problems are often indicated as the single most frequent presenting problem in people seeking counselling and psychotherapy. Furthermore, a lack of, or unsatisfactory close relationships have been linked to mental disorders such as depression. Due to the evidence of both the enhancing and impeding impact of close relationships on general health, it is argued that a health and social policy focus on close relationships could be a cost-effective strategy to improve well-being on a societal level. It is therefore important in a developing country like South Africa with a strained government health budget, to nurture and safeguard close relationships that promote health, and provide interventions for those that undermine health.

Despite the importance of close relationships for human physical, social and mental health, we know relatively little about men and women’s experiences in close relationships; as well as the quality of, and processes in, the broad range of close relationships in the diverse South African population. In my research, therefore, I focus on generating information about close relationships (romantic and family close relationships) in various contexts. I am currently working on a project that explores men’s fatherhood ideas and practices. Men’s increased involvement in caregiving can play a critical role in changing traditional and restrictive gender roles in South Africa by providing men with the opportunity to expand their family roles and in so doing, role modelling alternative masculinity practices to their children.

I have also begun to explore an area closely related to close relationships, namely couple therapy. Given the dearth of information on the practise of couple therapy in South Africa, I would like to investigate topics such as: (i) South Africans attitudes towards utilising couple therapy for their own relationships. (ii) Non-professional forms of relationship interventions, for example, the use of indigenous forms of couple and family interventions and the interventions provided by religious leaders. (ii) Experiences of couple therapy. (iii) Couple therapy services and training in South Africa, for example: Who provides couple therapy in South Africa? Which modalities are used by practitioners? I would also like to explore the relevance of Emotionally Focused Therapy for South African couples.

Teaching

Coordination of Programmes and Modules

Undergraduate

  • Module coordinator Psychology 348: Psychological interventions (2010-2012)
  • Undergraduate module coordinator (2016 -2017)

Postgraduate

  • Module Coordinator Psychotherapy 711: 2011-currently
  • Programme Coordinator: MA (Clinical Psychology) 2016-2023

Teaching Areas

Postgraduate:

  • Psychotherapy
  • Couple and Family Therapy
  • Individual Clinical Supervision

Selected Publications

Lesch, E. & Kelapile, C. (2016). “In my dreams she finds me… and she wants me just the way I am”: Unmarried fathers’ experiences of fatherhood. Men & Masculinities, 1-22. doi: 0.1177/1097184X15601476. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X15601476

Lesch, E. & Scheffler, F. (2016). Fathers, adolescent daughters and gender in a low-income South African community. Journal of Gender Studies, 25(5), 540-556. doi: 10.1080/ 09589236.2015.1051521. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2015.1051521

Lesch, E. & Adams, A. R. (2016). Sexual intimacy constructions of heterosexual couples living in a low-income, “Coloured”, farm worker community in South Africa. Journal of Sex Research, 53(9), 1082-1095. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2016.1144170

Lesch, E. & Adams, A. R. (2016). Couples living with and around alcohol abuse: A study of a farmworker community in the Cape Winelands, South Africa. Social Science & Medicine, 156, 167-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.03.030 doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.03.030.

Lesch, E., Casper, R., & Van der Watt. (2016). Romantic relationships and loneliness in a group of South African postgraduate students. South African Review of Sociology, 47(4), 22-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2016.1182442

Lesch, E., Brits, S., & Naidoo, N. T. (2017). “Walking on eggshells”: Experiences of same-sex student couples on a South African university campus. South African Journal of Higher Education, 31(4), 127‒149, https://doi.org/10.20853/31-4-893 doi: 10.20853/31-4-893.

Lesch, E., De Bruin, K., & Anderson, C. (2018). A pilot implementation of the Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy group psycho-education programme in a South African setting. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332691.2017.1417940

Lesch, E. & van der Watt, A. S. J. (2018). Living single: A phenomenological study of a group of South African single women. Feminism & Psychology, 28 (3), 390-408. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353517731435

Lesch, E. & Brooks, S. (2018). Man talk: Exploring sexual communication between fathers and sons in a minority South African community. Sex Roles, 81(3),173-191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0988-3

Lesch, E., & Parker, M. (2019). “We are Equal”! Gender Constructions in a Group of Middle-Class South African Muslim Couples. Gender Issues, 36(1), 23-45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-018-9210-8.

Lesch, E., Briedenhann, C., & Du Toit, M. (2019). The maintenance of gender inequality in South African tertiary educated heterosexual couples. Journal of Family Studies, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2019.1619617 doi: 10.1080/13229400.2019.1619617

Attridge, N., & Lesch, E. (2020). Inconceivable: South African Lesbians Talking About Being Voluntary Childfree. Sex Roles, 83(9), 636-655. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01132-2 DOI:10.1007/s11199-020-01132-2

Lesch, E., Gittings, L., Dunn, S., Maharaj, P., Louw, H., Enderstein, A., Nell, E., Nordien-Lagardien R. & Pretorius, B. (2021). Connections and Disconnections. In Sonke Gender Justice, Human Sciences Research Council (2021). State of South Africa’s Fathers (pp. 24-49). Retrieved from https://genderjustice.org.za/publication/state-of-south-africas-fathers-2021/

Van der Watt, A.S.J., Spies, G., Roos, A., Lesch, E., & Seedat, S. (2021). Functional neuroimaging of adult-to-adult romantic attachment separation, rejection, and loss: A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, online, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-020-09757-x

Asiimwe, R., Lesch, E., Karume, M., & Blow, A. J (2021). Expanding our International Reach: Trends in the Development of Systemic Family Therapy Training and Implementation in Africa. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12514

Van der Watt, A.S.J., Roos, A., Du Plessis, S., Bui, E., Lesch, E., & Seedat, S. (2021). Reframing romantic relationship breakups in emerging adults: A narrative review of attachment, neural circuitry, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332691.2021.1908197

le Roux, M., & Lesch, E. (2022). Exploring the caring of fathers in low-income, rural communities in South Africa. Journal of Family Studies, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2022.2035246.

Peterson, J.M. & Lesch, E. (2022). “A child needs both a mother and a father”: The parenting constructions of a new generation of tertiary-educated South African prospective parents.). Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 52(4), 715-742. https://doi.org/10.3138/jcfs.52.4.09

Moodley, M.C. & Lesch, E. (2023). Closeness in father-adolescent daughter relationships: a South African study. Journal of Family Studies, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2023.2211554.

Nell, E., & Lesch, E. (2024). Abdication of responsibility for father–child contact in a group of Black South African non-resident father families: A systems perspective. Journal of Family Issues, 0192513X241236556.

Van der Watt, A. S. J., Du Plessis, S., Ahmed, F., Roos, A., Lesch, E., & Seedat, S. (2024). Hippocampus, amygdala, and insula activation in response to romantic relationship dissolution stimuli: A case-case-control fMRI study on emerging adult students. Journal of Affective Disorders, 356,604-615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.04.059.

Macleod, G. & Lesch, E. (2024). “These are his rules, our rules”: Constructions of fathers as disciplinarians within low- income families of the Western Cape. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 54(4), 361-386. https://doi.org/10.3138/jcfs.54.4.04

Corleis, V. & Lesch, E. (2024). Empowering daddy’s little girl: A selective review and synthesis of literature on fathers’ engagement with daughters and its potential to empower daughters. Men & Masculinities. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X241287517

Nell, E. & Lesch, E. (accepted). Non-resident father families’ expectations and interactions about provision hinder father involvement in South African Black low-income families. African Studies.

Websites and other Relevant Links

I am the co-founder of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, South Africa (www.eftsouthafrica.co.za; www.facebook.com/eftsouthafrica) which is affiliated with the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy (iceeft.com).

I am certified Emotionally Focused Couple Therapist, Supervisor and Trainer. In this capacity, I provide continuing professional development activities, in collaboration with international trainers, in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). EFT is one of very few couple therapy modalities with substantial evidence of effectiveness. The EFT model prioritizes emotion and emotional regulation as the key organizing agents in individual experience and key relationship interactions. It is based on a clear, explicit attachment conceptualization of relational distress and adult bonds.