natural disaster – TFT Trauma Relief

July 2018 Japan Floods

Submitted by Ayame Morikawa.

Japan Floods occurred in the vast area and killed 126 after torrential rain and landslides in July 2018.

We offered the seminar for disaster assistance in International Pacific University, Okayama Campus with JEMDRA-HAP in Sep 15-17.

On September 15th (Sat), 17 (Mon), Japan’s torrential rain disaster support seminar, “Overcoming the Power of the Region” – seminar on how to take care of your heart after the disaster was held at ipu Pacific University. There was also a promotion for the humanitarian support program in Japan.

From experts to students, a lot of people have joined. In particular, many of the trans-Pacific University students have already participated in volunteer support for disaster support, and we believe that we have learned skills to support interpersonal aid and regions, and we believe that it will be a great power to support reconstruction.

Dr. Niki, M.D. (Chairperson of JEMDRA-HAP) and Dr. Morikawa, Ph.D. (Chairperson of JATFT) lectured the importance of mental health care and introduced the practical techniques, TFT and HRV Coherence Breathing.

The audience was doctors, nurses, teachers, counselors, public workers, students, and lay people.

The students of IPU have engaged in volunteer activities in the disaster areas and added the new skills of TFT to heal others.

We introduced TFT Foundation’s contributions to Rwanda as a good model of community recovery from tragedy.

TFT for Trauma from Mexico Earthquake

Let us help survivors of the earthquake in Mexico deal with its aftermath by reducing the effects of trauma–and pass this on! Thank you, Leonor Zarazua, for this diagram of the simple trauma relief technique.

TFT Trauma Relief for Hurricane Harvey Victims

Natural disasters such as Hurricane Harvey in Texas–and its aftermath–can traumatize hundreds of thousands of people, greatly adding to the burden of putting together the pieces after such a tragedy. Thought Field Therapy is powerfully effective in relieving the debilitating effects of trauma. Please help by passing along the link to this site to whomever you may know who has been affected by the hurricane: http://www.TFTtraumarelief.com. To go to the precise page with instructions and video demonstration of this easy, self-administered tapping recipe, click here. As there is a large Spanish-speaking population in the affected area, click here to reach instructions in Spanish.

TFT Trauma Relief for 911 Dispatchers

For an excellent article on using TFT to relieve the significant trauma that can be experienced by 911 emergency dispatchers, click here.

The article was written by Jim McAninch, Executive Director of Your Solution for Stress, www.yoursolutionforstress.com. Jim is a veteran who has worked as a journeyman tradesman in the steelworker union for thirty years. He has been a certified employee assistance professional (CEAP) for over twenty-six years, is a certified trauma responder (CTR) and past executive board member of the Association of Traumatic Stress Specialists. Jim has been a board member of Pittsburgh’s Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team for 20 years. He is also a member of the Ethics committee of the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (ACEP), a member of the Research committee of the Thought Field Therapy (TFT) Foundation, and currently co-chairs the TFT Foundation’s trauma relief committee.

Rwandans Teach the World to Heal

Suzanne M. Connolly, LCSW, LMFT

People in Rwanda are helping one another heal using a form of energy psychology called Thought Field Therapy (TFT). TFT is the original form of energy psychology and the original tapping therapy. It was developed in the early 1980s by psychologist Dr. Roger Callahan. It has continued to be refined and updated through the years. It is the first energy psychology technique to be recognized by the National Registry of Evidenced-based Practices and Procedures (NREEP) as being evidence-based.

Rwandan community leaders, professionals and para-professionals have treated at least 20,000 members of their communities for symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In most cases, the PTSD has been directly or indirectly the result of atrocities com- mitted during the 1994 genocide in which between 800,000 and one million persons were killed in a matter of ten weeks.

Suspicious at first, former subjects in a research project have reported that they thought the professionals were “evil” and “from Satan” when they were asked to think about what happened to them and/or their families during the 1994 genocide and then tap on themselves in a particular way. They said things like, “At first we took it as an opportunity to hang out.” Then they thought the professionals “were crazy” and this could not possibly work. Some of these same skeptics later became TFT facilitators, helping their neighbors to heal using TFT.

Many of the survivors of the Rwandan genocide have suffered from PTSD in the more than twenty years since this tragedy. People suffering PTSD often experience flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive memories, anger, rage, hypervigilance, shame, anxiety, depression and sometimes even suicide. Overwhelmed, they feel there is no way out. They often turn to alcohol and drugs. Individuals and families, and often entire communities and countries, can be devastated.

Small groups of professionals from the non-profit organization the Thought Field Therapy Foundation* have made seven trips to Rwanda, beginning in 2005, teaching community leaders to heal themselves and then to train others in their communities to heal themselves using TFT. Continue reading “Rwandans Teach the World to Heal”

TFT Relief for Flood Victims in Chile

Floods at III Region, Copiapó, Chile – May 2015

by Mariela Prada, PhD

The purpose of this paper is to describe briefly the experience of one week of mental health workshops with a company’s employees and their families who were suffering from the effects of a devastating flood.

The events happened in Copiapó, Chile, located in the III Region, 800 kilometers north of Santiago, Chile. On March 23 and 24, 2015, there were 4 floods that caused much destruction. There were a lot of people who suffered damage or loss of their homes, household goods and even some deaths.

After the flood the community itself responded to the basic needs in three major groups; families, neighbors and co-workers. There were no governmental social services avail- able during the first weeks.

Considering this situation, a company asked a team of specialists to provide some help to
their workers and their families. Thought Field Therapy (TFT) was chosen as the most appropriate tool to provide a quick and effective healing experience. The group of mental health professionals asked for some advice from a TFT expert, Mariela Prada, to design an adequate trauma relief algorithm, which was part of the workshop program.

The team designed a workshop with three areas of intervention to work with them: emotional education, trauma healing tools and networking analysis. The workshop included the TFT algorithm, a relaxation routine, and a working group analysis of individual and social resources.

For a period of five days there were 8 workshops and 75 attendees who shared their experiences. They learned about trauma and learned a routine to deal with anxiety. The people followed the instructions in spite of never having seen anything similar to TFT. They practiced the TFT technique without any resistance.

They demonstrated they felt relief and gratitude. Their faces at the beginning of the workshop showed anxiety and tension. At the end of the workshop their faces showed relaxation, and some were even smiling. It is interesting to note that the therapists experienced the benefits of tapping as well. Because they were using the tapping itself during demonstrations they felt energized instead of exhausted.

The final evaluation of the workshop showed a level of success. This was a single intervention with no plan for a follow up workshop. This was a time of peace and reflection about the tragedy and time of recovery after the flood. Each one learned something useful and maybe they will use tapping again.

excerpted from “The Thought Field,” Vol. 24, Issue 10