Category: stress

TFT Transforming the Wounds of Genocide

By Caroline Sakai, PhD, TFT-VT:

2010 ATFT Foundation Deployment to Byumba and Kigali in Rwanda

The Rwandan community leaders in Byumba who were trained as TFT therapists in 2009 and 2010 have treated over 2000 people in their community. The Izere Center has established an ATFT Rwanda branch, and TFT treatment offices that are manned by volunteers and part-time practitioners twice a week treat an average of 30 people a day with TFT on those treatment days.

In the Bishop Servillien Nzakamwita of Byumba Diocese’s opening reception, a government official noted that traveling down the streets he noted that the people of the sector had changed from depressed and not working, not smiling, not waving—to being productive and positive, smiling and waving and greeting each other since the ATFT team had been there the previous year and the TFT treatments of trauma had commenced.

This year the ATFT Foundation team led by Suzanne Connolly included Caroline Sakai, Cyndie Quinn and Gary Quinn. Caroline Sakai and the team did a review and abbreviated diagnostic training for the 33 therapists trained in 2009.

Suzanne Connolly led an algorithm training for 34 new therapists. The 2009 and 2010 therapists were all community leaders selected from orphanages, education, clergy, social work, psychology, business, police, nursing, government service, and others by Father Jean Marie Vianney Dushimiyimana of Izere Center, principle priest of Nyinawimana Parish and Brother Augustine Nzabonimana.

Then both the previously trained and the newly trained Rwandan therapists treated 603 people from the community who were suffering from 667 traumas and related issues. For the 667 traumas and related issues the mean SUD before treatment was 8.4, and the mean SUD after treatment was 0.2. The median SUD pre-treatment was 9, and the median SUD post-treatment was 0. There were 518 females and 82 males treated.

The major problems treated were trauma, anger, rage, fear, sadness, grief, pain, anxiety, depression, guilt, shame, and phobia. For a few of the people who were treated that had more complex issues that algorithms did not fully address, the Rwandan therapists who had the diagnostic level training treated them with supportive supervision. The ATFT Foundation team provided supervision as needed.

Additionally some villagers who were treated the year before just came by to express their appreciation for having TFT in their lives, as they were no longer suffering from trauma, rage, anger, fear, guilt, and pain symptoms.

In Kigali previously trained therapists did a review, and new therapists were trained. Also many of the participants of the PTSD research project done in 2008 returned to do a two year follow-up on the same assessment measures. Many of the participants spontaneously shared about their progress over the past two years since treatment of their traumas and related issues.

As the forgiveness and reconciliation efforts to reintegrate the Rwandan community have been in progress for a few years now, a number of Rwandans mentioned wishing that they had had the tools of TFT earlier to help with healing the wounds of trauma, calming and fears and anxiety, and working through the rage, resentment and anger that many harbored deep within despite their many attempts to think, talk, wish and pray them away.

They expressed their gratitude at having more means of healing the hurts, resolving the rage, facilitating the restitution and reconciliation efforts, reaffirming their faith, and restoring their hope. For the ATFT team, it further encouraged our convictions voiced so clearly by the Rwandans one after another, that TFT must be made more widely available to help all genocide survivors, all who have suffered from large-scale trauma.

 

From Trauma to Loving Life–through TFT

Written by Gabrielle Williamson, Australia, Oct 2010 (from Volume 17, Issue 3 of “The Thought Field”):

In 2000 I was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after a brutal physical attack. Because of head injuries I was unable to complete thoughts or make any sense of the world. This led to debilitating depression as even simple tasks like cooking had become difficult. I was also suffering from severe anxiety and did not know how to engage in society. I became a relative hermit and put on a lot of weight. All I could manage was eating, sleeping and watching videos. My depression grew and intense rage emerged as I ruminated day after day on the attack.

Five years passed in this manner then one day I was introduced to a local TFT Practitioner who listened to my story and offered to give me a treatment with TFT. I was totally skeptical, yet after several treatments I lost the depression and became more functional. Soon, not only did my fear of people and being in public places disappear, but I began to rekindle my former career as a singer/ songwriter and performed my songs at local venues. Previously my memory had been so damaged due to head injuries that I had had trouble remembering my songs. It improved using TFT.

I also became a TFT practitioner and continued to clear phobias, stress, confusion, love pain and rage as they emerged and began helping my friends with TFT as well. Soon I had several regular TFT clients. Chronic depression and anxiety became things of the past.

I realized with gratitude that I had started living my life again and it was better than it had been even before the assault!

In 2006 I won $1,000 first prize in a major local songwriter’s quest and went on to record an album of my songs. I organized every detail of my own album launch which had been an unfulfilled dream for 30 years.

Today I have 4 different part-time businesses which I run myself including a small TFT client-base, many friends, hobbies and interests and am living the life I always wanted to live, as cliche as that may sound! I am an active member of my community and the world at large and feel I have something to contribute. I have no doubt that I am capable of moving on to achieve even greater goals as my life unfolds.

This year, 2010, I will be 50 years old and have never been happier than I am right now. I believe that TFT has very significantly contributed to my healing process when very little else seemed to be working. It is simple, fast and effective as a modality of therapy and easy to administer to myself and others when the need arises. I highly recommend it to anyone. I will continue to rely on its help as it is an invaluable way to be free of all kinds of problems both mental/emotional and physical.

TFT After Brutal Rape of 13-Year-Old

Dr. Roger Callahan, founder of Thought Field Therapy, wrote the following in the newsletter “The Thought Field”, Volume 6, Issue 4:

A health care professional became very interested in my work when she observed obvious improvements in some of her patients and herself as a result of TFT done by a colleague. After observing such events over a period of two years, she began to wonder if TFT might be able to help her daughter who had been raped two years earlier when she was only 13 years old. Lenore (a fictitious name) had been in psychotherapy for two years with a very dedicated psychotherapist. Despite the fine efforts of the therapist, Lenore was still suffering terribly.

The possibility did not initially occur to the mother that TFT might help her daughter’s condition since her many disturbances were clearly due to a terrible reality situation. Believing the conventional view, she assumed that the problem would have to be treated gradually over a period of years and that a rapid treatment could not possibly have a good effect on such a terrible and real situation.

Prior to the rape Lenore was a very sociable, happy, and generally outstanding child. Lenore was doing very well in school and was doing well in a number of ways.

After the rape, Lenore became a completely different youngster. She began to overeat and purge. She constantly obsessed about the rape and had regular severe nightmares. Formerly a superb student, she became a very poor one. She was hospitalized in an institution specializing in eating disorders. Unfortunately, she became worse while in the hospital and began cutting herself and taking laxatives. Continue reading “TFT After Brutal Rape of 13-Year-Old”

TFT Relief for Haiti Earthquake Survivors

In July, 2010, Carolle Jean-Murat, MD, facilitated an ATFT Foundation training and treatment project in her native Haiti, following the devastating earthquake in January. Dr. Carolle recently sent this heartfelt words of gratitude:

The ATFT Foundation (charitable arm of the Association for Thought Field Therapy) provided a generous grant and the gracious help of a husband and wife team Dr. Howard and Nurse Phyll Robson, both TFT trainers from England, we provided a 3-day training involving 30 Haitian teachers, nurses, community leaders, medical and nursing students, from as far as Port-au-Prince.

The training not only helped them personally but also gave them the opportunity to help relieve the trauma of as many earthquake survivors as possible. Even more importantly, trainees learned techniques on how to relieve pain, which would be beneficial in an area when medical personal and pain relief medications are scarcely available.

Many community leaders asked me to convey their heartfelt thanks to the TFT team. I have talked to some of the attendees in Haiti for these past few days. Here is what they had to say:

“In a culture where a mental illness is frowned upon, the TFT training gave us a new perspective on how we human work. This tool is a lifetime gift. Many of us now see our fellow human being in a different light.”

“After taking the training, it has helped me improve my communication with those I serve.”

“After losing everything including my home, family members, and everything I worked for, participating in the TFT training gave me a new lease on life. I am now a healthy citizen who is using the tools I have learned to help those who were suffering just like me.”

“It was such a great gift that we received from the Robsons – who taught from the heart.”

“As a teacher, I use these techniques with my students; their attention span in the classroom has greatly improved.”

Awareness During Anesthesia–and TFT’s Help

AWARENESS DURING ANESTHESIA: My Personal Mission to Help Others
by Jeanette Magdalene, PhD

Published in “ATFT Update”, Issue 15, summer 2010

I’ve worked with a problem known as Awareness During Anesthesia for the last 18 years. Many people don’t know that an estimated 100 people per day, or more, will wake up during their surgery and not be able to speak, move, open their eyes, or do anything to let the doctors know they are awake! This is a frightening experience that happened to me in 1990 during my own surgery.

I woke up before the surgery even began only to find myself buried within my body that no longer worked as I knew it. The surgery began. I felt every cut of the knife, smelled and felt my flesh burning, heard everything everyone was saying and even stepped outside of my body as my heart started to go into arrest. I then viewed everything the doctor was doing to get my heart under control. I even heard the doctor say there was nothing wrong with me! He said, “Misdiagnosis, so never needed the surgery to begin with.”

The real nightmare for me began Continue reading “Awareness During Anesthesia–and TFT’s Help”