EFT – Page 14 – TFT Trauma Relief

TFT Model for Large Scale Trauma Relief

Model for Addressing Trauma after Large Scale Disaster Comes Full Circle

by Suzanne M Connolly, LCSW, LMFT, LISAC

The Association for Thought Field Therapy (ATFT) Foundation* has been working in Rwanda for the last five years, the last three years being devoted to the development of a model of efficient and effective com- munity based intervention following large scale trauma. The ATFT Foundation’s first two years of trauma relief deployments in Rwanda were led by psychologist Dr. Paul Oas and included team members treating the orphans, clinical social worker and marriage and family therapist Suzanne Connolly leading the training of community leaders, and psychologist Caroline Sakai leading a pilot study, which has now been published in the International Journal of Emergency Mental Health.

ATFT Foundation Trauma Relief Committee Chair, Suzanne, being a social worker and systems therapist, began thinking in terms of community involvement and sustainability and together with a colleague, Arizona State University professor Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, developed a model and a research design to explore this model, in a country well known to have experienced such a large-scale trauma. This model would begin with two day training in TFT and Energy Psychology, presented to carefully selected community leaders and followed by a random controlled study in which the newly trained community leaders assist in implementing the research and the newly trained Rwandan community leaders deliver the therapeutic intervention. The next three ATFT Foundation deployments to Rwanda were devoted to the study of this model and were led by Suzanne Connolly. The research from 2008 has been accepted for publication but has not been published to date. The 2009 and 2010 research is waiting in the pipeline.

After participating in five successful ATFT Foundation trauma relief missions to Rwanda, Dr. Caroline Sakai, of Honolulu, took the helm as ATFT Foundation team leader, and led a sixth Rwandan ATFT trauma relief mission in Hawaii. Four trained, English speaking Rwandan TFT practitioners arrived in Hawaii early in September and attended advanced trainings in TFT. Funds and air miles provided by ATFT Foundation donors delivered the four men to beautiful Oahu and back to their beloved Rwanda. ATFT Foundation members also raised funds for in country transportation, meals, a computer and printer, and other needed supplies, and local Hawaiian therapists warmly welcomed their Rwandan visitors.

In Hawaii, the Rwandans received a Diagnostic Level TFT training from Dr. Sakai. The four Rwandans then trained Hawaiian therapists who work with vulnerable groups to use TFT. Later, at the pro bono clinics, the four Rwandans supervised the newly trained Hawaiian therapists as they treated clients in their vulnerable population groups.

Dr. Roger Callahan and Joanne Callahan, founders of TFT, arrived for the last week of the pro bono clinics. Dr. Callahan received two special awards at the farewell dinner, which officially closed the ATFT Foundation deployment. Dr. Callahan was awarded a beautiful crystal globe designed by Stephanie Sakai, who is a Diagnostic Level TFT practitioner, engraved with “Lifetime Humanitarian Award presented to Roger J. Callahan, PhD, for healing the world with TFT, October 20, 2011” from the Hawaii-Rwanda Project. The Rwandans presented Roger a crystal picture frame with a picture of the four Rwandan men with Roger and the engraved words, “In gratitude and honor as we spread the gift of TFT throughout our beloved Africa (engraved with the names of the four Rwandans) Father Jean Marie Vianey, Deacon Augustin Nzabonimana, Reverend Celestin Mitabu, and Prosper Ishimwe.”

And, as during the last five ATFT trauma relief deployments, research was begun during this ATFT Foundation deployment that will enrich both the ATFT Foundation and ACEP. The ATFT Foundation looks forward to working together with ACEP in a shared future.

Excerpted from The Energy Field, Winter 2011,

published by ACEP (Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology)

*ATFT Foundation’s name has changed to TFT Foundation

Using Legs Again with TFT

by Basim Qudori, TFT consultant to Syrian Specialist volunteer help group

I am delighted to be able to report that…I have been able to assist numerous clients with TFT, from several countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Palestine and the Gulf countries with a diverse range of problems to their complete satisfaction and therefore mine.

To give a prime example of my success I refer to the case of Ms. Hayat, a 19 years old girl suffering mental trauma after a post-natal injury left her wheel chair bound after an operation in UK six years ago, she was told by physiotherapist that she must summon the courage to walk.

However the fear of falling was so great that she convinced herself never to try to walk again. Her cousin, a psychotherapist, requested my intervention to provide Hayat with a reversal of herself promise. I used VT, and I found that she had psychological reversals and IET, and even my first session with her resulted in her standing up using a table for support for the first time since her promise to herself six years ago.

Subsequent sessions gave her further confidant until she was able to stand up right unassisted using a frame for nearly ten minutes giving great satisfaction to herself and her whole family.

Healing PTSD for Vets & Firemen

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Tapping into Healing for Wounded Warriors at Leaps of Faith Event

by Patricia Jennings NHC

On June 22 and 23, 2012, approximately 45 wounded warriors and some family members came from all over the US (a smaller group than in the past) to Connecticut for a weekend of water skiing, boating and kayaking. We also had several first responders, firemen, and a para-olympian in ice hockey.

One young fireman came who had been in a fire and had lost 4 of his buddies on 911. Since that time, as told by his wife and sister, he had become unresponsive and in a deep depression. Over the years, there had been no change in his condition, in spite of medication and psychiatrist visits.

His wife and sister came to me and asked if I could help him. I said I would try, if he wants me to. I gave them a brochure about TFT and a copy of the TFT Trauma Relief tapping sequence to give to him.

He received it, and after about 10 minutes I approached him and asked if he would like to try the technique. He said yes he would like to.

After checking him for psychological reversal and correcting it, I had him tap the pain and then trauma tapping sequences. We went through the sequence once and he raised his hand and slapped me a high 5 and had a slight grin on his face. We continued with the 9 gamut and repeated the tapping sequence one more time. His SUD [Subjective Units of Distress] went from 11 to 8 to 5 to 2 and finished with the floor to ceiling eye roll.

He got up off the bench and gave me a hug with a big smile on his face. Two hours later I found him Kayaking with his wife and the following day he went water skiing with some of the other vets.

One of the firemen from New York City who was a first responder to the 911 had been watching me working with the vets. He said that after the trauma that the firemen suffered, the city brought in several counselors to help but it had little effect on the firemen. Then a couple of TFT practitioners from New Jersey came in and the firemen began to heal. He was very excited about TFT.

At the end of the weekend Wounded Warriors weekend with Leaps of Faith, I had helped 22 Vets and firemen begin healing their post traumatic stress and many others took home the Trauma Relief Technique I printed out from the TFT Foundation’s free Trauma Relief web site, www.TFTTraumaRelief.wordpress.com. I have received many thank you cards and emails from the Vets and families. Please share this site with all you can, it can make such a difference in their lives.

Thank you Callahan’s for TFT and the TFT Foundation for these resources.

If you would like to help share TFT at one a future event, please contact me at pjpathways@webtv.net.

***photo from http://www.humanevents.com

Article Excerpted from “Tapping for Humanity”, Summer Issue, 2012

TFT Trauma Relief and Training in Uganda

UGANDA 2012 – Short Report

by Howard and Phyll Robson

We are delighted to make this short report on the TFT Foundation’s work in Uganda in June. The team worked hard to complete a packed program of research and training.

Training was provided for 310 Catechists at three centres within Kasese District of Western Uganda. To prepare for the PTSD study we first provided two days training for 40 catechists. These catechists would be the trainers in the PTSD study immediately following their Trauma Relief training.

The first day of the study was anxiety provoking, would all the participants attend? Many had to travel long distances, of-ten on foot. We were expectant that the study would be carried out effectively as we had been working on the details for over six months. Due to the lack of email facilities much of the detail was planned on the telephone with Fr. Peter, these conversations were recorded on our computer and sent by mail to avoid any misunderstandings.

Our first day went well in spite of our anxieties. However, the team met to identify and rectify any actual and potential problems. Working in a foreign language was challenging, due to pronunciation it was often difficult to understand each other, this difficulty improved quite quickly. The first part of the study took four days.

The first Catechist training took place in Nsenyi, the home of Fr. Peter and Training Centre for Catechists and 116 Catechists attended this two-day training.

We only had one day off before we undertook the second part of the study, again it took place over four days. We employed the same diligent method of having a team meeting each evening to ensure that all was going according to plan.

For the second training we moved to Bukangara Parish where we trained a further 104 Catechists. Each time we provided training and treatment for anyone who requested our help. The team travelled each day during the training to keep the cost down.

Following another day off, we moved to Hima Parish. Due to the distance involved we were guest of Fr Walter. We trained 90 Catechists at Hima Parish. Many of the sick in the Parish came to mass on Thursday, the day we arrived, and Fr Walter asked us to treat as many as possible. Two of the team were assigned to training and two treated the sick with the help of the Catechists we had trained for the study. We worked in the shade of the trees, watched by anxious relatives.

Saturday 30th June was the final day of the study, we planned to review 128 of the wait list group participants, for their post treatment assessment. Some of these participants had first attended on 13th June. We were concerned that there might be considerable fall off in attendance at this stage. It was therefore gratifying to be greeted by a large welcoming group of participants, still clutching their attendance tickets.

We are obligated to Fr. Peter and the catechists for their support and commitment to the completion of the PTSD study. They welcomed us into their lives and it was a pleasure to share the gift of Thought Field Therapy with them.

Free Trauma Relief for Those Affected by Shooting in Aurora, CO

This blog contains many posts demonstrating the profound effectiveness of Thought Field Therapy (TFT) for relieving trauma associated with violence, including mass violence such as the Rwanda genocide and the U.S. Embassy bombing in Nairobi.

Please refer anyone you know who has been affected by the recent shooting in Aurora, CO, to this site where we have written and video instructions for this safe, very powerful self-technique–all given free of charge. Those who could experience significant relief may be shooting victims or their friends and family–even unrelated persons who may experience trauma simply by watching or reading related news.

Healing Birth Trauma with TFT

by Pia Cowley, RN, RM, TFT-Adv & Lianne Schwartz, RM, TFT-Adv

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this…”

Current research in the US and Australia has found that around 1:3 women experience at least one symptom of trauma following birth, with around 1.5-6% developing full blown post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Con- sidering the numbers of women giving birth every day, the potential for trauma is vast.

Birth trauma, in this context, refers to symptoms of PTSD rather than physical trauma to woman or infant from the process of birth (though these may play their own part in the traumatic experience). Birth trauma is frequently misdiagnosed, and mistreated, as postnatal depression.

Birth trauma has countless ongoing negative effects: disruption to the parent-infant bond, reduced rates of breast- feeding (and the long term health implications of this), depression in partners, higher rates of divorce, higher rates of subsequent infertility in woman, and reduced emotional adjustment and cognitive/neurological development in children. One woman describes her journey after birth:

I knew something wasn’t right…everyone seemed to be ignoring the trauma of my birth. Inside my head I was screaming, “WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO ME?? AM I OK?? AM I OK???.” And outside my head, I was waiting for someone, anyone, to acknowledge what a horrific thing I’d just been through. Continue reading “Healing Birth Trauma with TFT”