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Codeine, a weak opiate, requires increased pharmacovigilance relating to availability, heterogeneous nature of misuse, dependence and associated harm. A scoping review of literature on codeine was conducted using Arksey & O’Malley’s framework (1). Databases searched included PubMed, EBSCO Host, Science Direct, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Cochrane library and Medline from 1994 to 2014. Follow-up search strategies involved hand searching and searching of pharmaceutical, health, medical and drug related websites. Initial zscreening identified 3,105 articles with 475 meeting the inclusion criteria. Eight broad categories organised the literature, data charting and qualitative synthesis. This paper presents implications for practice and makes recommendations to address these issues. Themes identified relate to raising public and practitioner awareness, risk management, dispensing practices and monitoring and surveillance of codeine. Evidence to inform law enforcement, drug surveillance, public health initiatives, harm reduction approaches, pharmacy, clinical and treatment practices is warranted.

Group psychotherapy remains an under-utilised treatment modality in South Africa. Similarly, there is paucity of local research on sexual orientation and psychological well-being. This article attempts to make sense of the potential contribution of therapy groups not only to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) sector, but also to South African society more generally. Informed by a longitudinal study conducted between 1995 and 2003, this article evaluates whether a Gauteng-based therapy group that has been in existence since 1995 indeed meets the needs of its predominantly gay male members, has an impact on their well-being, and can be considered effective in empowering members to deal with various issues in their lives. The study employed a triangulation approach and combined both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Results indicate that the therapy group, hosted under the auspices of the non-profit organisation, OUT LGBT Well-being, received high positive ratings from a purposive sample of 40 members who previously participated in the group. This study confirmed earlier findings that indicated that, due to marginalisation and the threat of discrimination, many gay individuals are prone to experiencing perceived rejection by society, self-devaluation, identity confusion, hiddenness and isolation, excessive self-reliance, lack of trust, control issues, and difficulties in familial interactions. Positive changes reported by participants as a result of their therapy group experience include increased self-acceptance and self-confidence, a heightened sense of identity, increased tolerance in relation to others, increased honesty including disclosure of sexual orientation, and social integration.