TFT Healing at 20th Anniversary of Rwanda Genocide

Since the year 2004, 10 years after the Rwanda genocide took place, April 7 has become an annual Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Rwanda Genocide. The commemoration actually lasts the entire month of April and commemorates the deaths of 800,000 people who were murdered during the 1994 genocide. Celestin Mitabu is a TFT practitioner and trainer who is dedicated to relieving the suffering of his fellow Rwandans. The video above is a synopsis of how he and others helped heal trauma with TFT during the 2014 commemoration, the 20th anniversary of the genocide.

Following is a further description:

By Celestin Mitabu, TFT Trainer, Greats Lakes, Rwanda:

During the first week of the commemoration on 7th 4/2014 we send our team to Amahoro National Stadium to help people. Many of our therapist that served at Amahoro stadium are University Students survivals of the Genocide known as ARG. TFT–Have trained many of the ARG students and we have been working well with them and they are very committed to help people during this time.

We have a total number of 184 TFT therapists who helped people during this period of commemoration, and they have been giving me daily reports after every treatment. I have received many encouraging reports from practitioners….We are planning to have a common meeting at the end of the commemoration which will include all 184 therapists and we will hear testimonies because they treated many people and they have different testimonies. Some told me that after treatment some of the clients asked them contacts so that they will meet another time which to me is very good.

Sandrine told me that when she was treating some one in Nyamirambo Stadium there came a Medical Doctor working with the Ministry of Health he is an Egyptian man he was like confused while watching Sandrine practicing TFT until he told her to leave the client alone, but Nancy, who is in charge of Mental Health at the Ministry of Health, told Sandrine to continue and the results was positif at the end.

Last year during the commemoration, TFT started at the grass root level (Villages, Cells, Sectors, and Districts), but this year we started at the National level (National Stadium of Amahoro, Regional Stadium of Nyamirambo, and famer site of Nyanz Kicukiro among others). Last year, because we started at the lower level wherever we went, TFT controlled the treatment, but this year, because we started from the top and were mixed with different teams (Medical Doctors, Mental Health agent, different Humanitarian Organizations: Ibuka, CNLG, Haguruka, etc.), we all worked under the control and protocol of the Ministry of Health. That is why, before starting to get involved in the treatments at the top level, we applied to the Ministry in charge and CNLG for recognition. And we did the TFT Campaign ahead of the treatment, and the campaign was taken to the Universities where you find people that are in charge of the Humanitarian work/helping.

Another great thing that we did during this first commemoration week is that I taught TFT to two different Rwanda Community Radios: Musanze/Ruhengeri Community Radio and Rubavu/Gisenyi community Radio. Each Radio station gave me one hour and fifteen minutes. The topic was Trauma Control. At Musanze, I was interviewed by a journalist first to tell the listeners what TFT means and how it came about. Then how we do our activities and what are the results. Then I taught the Trauma Algorithm. I told them about the Major treatments of trauma, the 9G , 2 reversals, and how to set the SUD. Our listeners called us asking questions for help. They are still calling. At the end of the teaching, the chief Editor requested if we can have a permanent teaching on the Radio, saying the teachings are very relevant and appropriate to the event.

From Musanze/Ruhengeri we went to Rubavu, which is a different District, and we had the same teachings and the same methodologies, but we were interviewed by the Chef Editor and another Journalist. After teaching we were asked more questions by the Journalist and listeners–more than the first interview. At the end, the Chef Editor said to us it would be good for every village in Rwanda to have at least two therapist trained in TFT.

To us this is a great achievement, to spend 2hrs and 30 minutes teaching TFT on different Radio stations and have million(s) listening to us, especially that the teachings took place at 5:00 and 8:00, when everybody is at home after work relaxing.

Some of the pictures taken from the studio, it as still day time but the second teachings at Rubavu /Ruhengeri it was night and pictures are dork but the journalist who is working for our documentary told me that he will add light to those night pictures.

TFT and Unconscious Traumas

Treating Unconscious Traumas with TFT

By Dr Colin M. Barron M.B. Ch. B, TFT -VT

Sammy, a 45-year-old chartered accountant developed great anxiety about driving on motorways (the UK term for freeways) and had two sessions with a TFT algorithm practitioner without any effect. Sammy had no conscious recollection of how this problem developed but when I subjected him to the TFT diagnostic process using Voice Technology I discovered a trauma at age 19 which he had no conscious recollection of.

At the start of the session Sammy’s SUD for motorway driving was 9. After treating this unconscious trauma it dropped to 3 and then by treating the presenting problem i.e. driving on motorways, the SUD dropped to 1. A few days later I received a text message from Sammy in which he said he had driven on motorways several times since the treatment session without any anxiety. This case illustrates well the value of checking for past traumas which may be relevant using the TFT diagnostic process. Although this can be done using TFT – Dx (muscle test- ing) it is much easier to do using the TFT – VT process as it is much less tiring for the client.

Excerpted from The Thought Field, Vol. 23, Issue 4

Note by Mary Cowley: For issues such as this, the trauma technique taught on this blog may very well help. If it doesn’t, there may be an underlying trauma of which you are not aware. You can try holding this thought in your mind: “possible underlying trauma”–and repeat the trauma technique. If it still doesn’t help, we recommend consulting with a TFT practitioner trained at the following levels: TFT-Dx, TFT-Adv, or TFT-VT. To see a list of such practitioners, go to http://www.tftpractitioners.net.

TFT and Dealing with a Loved One’s PTSD

Living Better with Your Loved One’s Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – How Not to Catch It as You Help Them Heal

by Robert L Bray, PhD, LCSW, TFT-VT

Of course you cannot catch it like the flu or a bacterial infection.

When your loved one is exposed and develops dysfunctional survival and coping reactions, thinking, or behavior, do not just wait for time to heal this injury. Waiting adds to both of your stress levels and makes you more susceptible to developing more symptoms. Traumatic Stress Responses come in many forms. Even if your loved one does not meet enough of the 20 symptoms listed in PTSD criteria, the pain and healing can be just as difficult and they need your help. The closer your relationship, the deeper the love, the more at risk you are for the conditions that could lead to you getting your own dose of post traumatic stress.

Traumatic Stressor events can be any form of violence presenting a threat to life or safety. These events encompass a huge range and could be a one-time high- intense event, such as a car crash or shooting. Or it could be many less intense events over time, such as waiting for the next time a drunken rage ends in a physical fight or having to live in an environment under constant threat of attack. We all have our breaking points and traumatic stress can be a response to war, combat, assaults, childhood abuse, rape, domestic violence, natural disaster, or social indifference.

You can be affected by something called vicarious traumatization or secondary trauma, which can happen when you’re connected with someone through love and you know that your loved one has been overwhelmed and exposed to traumatic stressor events. This reaction is normal, and while it does not happen in every case and is not a test of your love in any way, you need to be aware of your own responses to knowing what happened to your loved one. You can find yourself with your own intrusive images and sensations about events and your own problems such as sleep, avoidance, or other symptoms causing dysfunctions in your work, relationships, or living a positive life. You must acknowledge and treat your own PTSD to be available fully to help another. There is much to be done to help and you are not alone. Using Thought Field Therapy is the best place to start. When

the overwhelming feelings are addressed, you can think and act in healing ways for you and the ones you love.

Continue reading “TFT and Dealing with a Loved One’s PTSD”

TFT: The Missing Link

Figure 1. A representation of the medical model conceptualisation of the relationship between “symptoms” and “treatment.”

Thought Field Therapy – The missing link to effective trauma-informed care and practice

By Christopher Semmens Clinical Psychologist Perth, Western Australia

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Arthur Schopenhauer

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Niccolo Machiavlli

Trauma- informed care and practice is a framework for the provision of services for mental health clients that originated in the early 1990s and has especially been put forth as a sensible service model since Harris and Fallot’s 2001 publication Using trauma theory to design service systems. Trauma-informed care can be seen to be characterised by three main considerations in regard to the provision of treatment services:

That they incorporate a recognition of the reality that there is a high incidence of traumatic stress in those presenting for mental health care services.
That a comprehensive understanding of the significant psychological, neurological, biological and social manifestation of traumatic and violent experiences can have on a person.
That the care provided to these clients in recognising these effects is collaborative, skill-based and supportive.

In Australia these ideas were the focus of a consciousness raising conference: Trauma-Informed Care and Practice: Meeting the Challenge conducted by the Mental Health Coordinating Council in Sydney in June 2011. The conference was part of an initiative towards a national agenda to promote the philosophy of trauma-informed care to be integrated into practice across service systems throughout Australia.

It has only really been since studies such as Continue reading “TFT: The Missing Link”

TFT Relieves Rescued Dog’s Severe Trauma

A graduate of the TFT Boot Camp shares how past traumas severely limited the life of her female border collie:

Client B is a 6 year old female Border Collie. She is a rescue and has been with my family for 2 years.

Her condition: massive anxiety.
The reason: In her past home she was low dog on the totem pole. The couple had 5 Border Collies total and they were all working dogs. Client B had been attacked by one dog and then the rest had piled on (pack mentality). She had to go to the vet after each one of these attacks ( I believe there were 3) and have stitches. After the last attack she was on crate rest for 6 months, severe damage had been done to the tendons and ligaments in her left shoulder.

When I heard about her plight I agreed to take her. She was terrified of Continue reading “TFT Relieves Rescued Dog’s Severe Trauma”

TFT and Horses

TFT and Horses: An Interesting Journey

by Steven Rogat, LPC, TFT-Dx

I am excited to share some of the successes, and some of the non –successes of my work with horses using Thought Field Therapy. It is not something I ever planned on doing, but after learning of the helping potential of TFT with Equines, I wanted to give it a shot. I also have an affinity for horses (and ponies are okay too, I guess), so when asked if I could work with a horse, I quickly, although nervously, agreed.

I received a call from a woman, Sylvia, whose horse, Red, shied away from, and tried to refuse to go into tall grasses – anything over about 8 inches or so. This behavior seemed to come on suddenly with no obvious stressor causing it.

All the work we did was via telephone. First I had Sylvia (dismounted) lead Red toward the grass, until Red started showing signs of anxiety (ears flat, breath quicker, eyes tending to roll upward). When the anxiety appeared, Sylvia stopped, and I had her first pat the horse’s PR spot, right behind the shoulder. Then we moved on to Sylvia tapping herself as a surrogate while holding a hand on Red.

We didn’t know what caused the stress, but a general rule of thumb I use is that something happened to cause it – an experience that then provided a memory. So, we started with the complex trauma algorithm. Again, Sylvia tapped her own points while touching Red -Eye Brow, Under Eye, Under Arm, and Collarbone. She needed to do the series twice, and then the horse calmed down.

We took the horse closer to the grasses until the anxiety surfaced, and then stopped in order to do the points again. Closer and closer to the grasses we went. It took about

Continue reading “TFT and Horses”