We offer workshops in public and cooperate with medical institutes, public offices, and other parties.
The people in the area are very sensitive to the words of “trauma”, “PTSD”or even “Psychological” problems. It may come from our cultural spirit of Chivalry that we should not mar the pleasure or the serenity of another by expression of our sorrow or pain and that we should try to attain our mind level at the highest good.
We as professionals are very careful dealing with their emotions and pride to offer the best support for them.
This letter was written by the director of the Rwandan Orphans Project in support of the upcoming TFT project in Uganda, a collaborative humanitarian mission between the USA-based TFT Foundation, the U.K. ATFT Foundation, and the Mats Uldal Humanitarian Foundation, Norway.
The project will follow the TFT Foundation’s large-scale model for trauma relief which includes giving humanitarian relief through TFT and training local leaders in TFT so that they can continue the work after the relief teams have left. The project will also include a 3rd TFT/PTSD study, as well as a TFT/malaria study led by Dr. Howard Robson.
If you would like to help us promote world peace and relief from suffering through the upcoming Uganda project, you may donate by clicking here. However much you can help is greatly appreciated.
On March 11, 2011, a terrible earthquake and tsunami struck northern Japan. In it’s wake it left 15,019 people dead, 5,282 people injured, and 9,506 people missing as of the time of this report. Approximately 500 kilometers or 311 miles of coastline were affected some of which was totally destroyed. We felt the earthquake in Tokyo as well.
As soon as we were able, our Japan Association For Thought Field Therapy CRT (JATFT), sent two psychiatrists, 2 psychologists (including myself), and 1 nurse to Miyagi National Hospital. The hospital was established in 1939 and has 14 departments but they do not have a psychiatry department. Therefore, our team served as their psychiatry department. The hospital is located in the very south part of Miyagi Prefecture at the border of Fukushima Prefecture. It is located 60 kilometers or roughly 37 miles from the atomic power plant.
The town, Yamamoto-Cho, had approximately 17,000 inhabitants and they lost 900 lives. This town is famous for its strawberry and apple farms. The apple farms are in the mountainous area and they stayed safe, but only 5 strawberry farms were left out of a total of 400 strawberry farms. Most of them were located along the coastline.
Arranging Trauma Care
One of our aims is to support nurses who are working there and those who have lost their families and houses. One of our members, Dr. Nakahara, D.D.S., who works at the hospital is trained at the Diagnostic TFT level. She arranged our schedule and found that a nursing care facility, and a nursing school, around the hospital had lost many old people, workers, and some small children. Continue reading “TFT for Survivors of Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami”
By Phyllis Robson, TFT-Adv, and Howard Robson, MD, TFT-Algo
When we heard of the disastrous earthquake that struck Haiti on 12th January 2010, we immediately thought that TFT would have much to offer to the traumatised population following the initial rescue and emergency interventions.
Haiti has a troubled history; It was occupied by European colonists. The native population died out and African slaves were used to replace them.
Plantations and logging provided great economic benefit for the colonists, but at a critical cost to later generations of Haitians. Deforestation caused soil erosion and mudslides. Despite achieving independence over 200 years ago, the country has been marred by violence, instability, poverty and corruption. There is a lack of infrastructure and a susceptibility to hurricanes.
When the opportunity to visit Haiti came later in the year, on behalf of the ATFTFoundation, we were in a position to volunteer. We were to be part of a mission led by Dr. Jean-Murat Carolle (Angels for Haiti), which was part of a larger medical mission led by Dr Charles René.
We immediately thereafter began collecting supplies for the visit, especially as part of the project was to enable the children to express themselves through arts. These supplies included pens, paints, brushes, books and paper, as well as some medical and dental supplies and toiletries.
We were particularly grateful for the help of our dentist and family and friends. We were also grateful for the provision of the TFT algorithm manual in French from Suzanne Connolly, which we modified slightly for the local requirements, and printed sufficient copies for our expected training sessions. We managed to obtain a reasonable rate from the airlines for our considerable luggage excess.
Essential to visiting a country such as Haiti is to understand the local culture and attend to personal safety and health (vaccinations and anti-malarial drugs). We attended to these issues as much as possible, to maximise our contribution to the mission and not be a burden.
We left home in the early hours of 1st July, 2010, via Newcastle, London, Miami and Port-au Prince for La Vallee de Jacmel in Haiti. La Vallee is a mountain village serving a rural population in southern Haiti, 11 miles from the coastal city of Jacmel. The primary occupation is farming; there is economic hardship, and lack of resources and infrastructure.
Although some distance from the epi-centre of the earthquake, there had been ten deaths within the region of La Vallee Jacmel which also had suffered considerable structural damage. The experience of the earthquake and after-shocks had affected many local people. There had also been an influx of people from more affected areas. These people had lost homes, possessions and whole Continue reading “TFT Trauma Training for Survivors of Haiti Earthquake”
A pilot project in San Diego has demonstrated the effectiveness of TFT in helping immigrants and refugees to resolve post traumatic stress symptoms. The San Diego Elementary School Counseling Partnership (through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education) sponsored a traumatic stress clinic for children and families in the mid City area of San Diego for two months.
Although short in duration, it proved to be of great value. This project, serving an inner city school area, provided services primarily to immigrant and refugees. Andrew Jackson Elementary School, home base for the study, serves several immigrant communities.
Seventy percent of the 1,165 students at the school have limited English proficiency. Ninety-seven percent of the students receive free breakfast and lunch at the school. This population was chosen for several reasons. Continue reading “Relieving Trauma of Refugees and Immigrants”
Coming home to New Orleans was not easy, but no one thought it would be. What we had thought would be a long weekend visiting friends during a perfunctory evacuation to North Louisiana, we slowly realized, was the beginning of a long, and scary road home. Nothing could have prepared me for the turns and twists, disappointments in who didn’t help and amazement at who did, and the level of commitment of so many life-long friends and family members who came forward with money, supplies, and all we needed to survive those first months after leaving all we knew as our lives behind.
No amount of sensationalized media coverage could have prepared me for what I saw as we drove into the city for the first time, even though the Mayor still banned entrance to our part of the city. The vastness of the devastation began to truly sink in as we quietly drove down the interstate past a gray, abandoned landscape. Occasionally, houses that appeared to have been blown apart by Continue reading “Relieving Trauma from Hurricane Katrina”
By Ayame Morikawa, Ph.D., TFT-VT, TFT-RCT
