Tag: rwanda

TFT and Rwanda’s Remembrance Day

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In April — July 1994, extremists from the ethnic majority murdered between 800,000 and 1,000,00 persons, mostly of the ethnic minority, and displaced two million more.

Children witnessed their families killed before their eyes, people left maimed and scarred. The trauma and terror of this time left the country without peace, without trust and without hope. TFT has played a large part in mending these wounds.

Every year in April, the Rwandan people have a Remembrance Day. A period of time to re-affirm a commitment to peace, understanding, hope and to never let this happen again.

The strength of TFT has become so well-known, practitioners were invited to several of the events to treat those overcome by grief, trauma and pain when remembering those days.

TFT Healing During Rwanda Mourning Period

One of the worst disasters is when a country or a people are subjected to genocide.

by Joanne Callahan, MBA*

Last month was the Mourning Period from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. TFT is playing a key role in the healing of that nation through the work of the TFT Foundation. From the teachers in schools to the inmates of prisons, they are using TFT to heal from the atrocities of their past, bringing forth love and peace within their communities.

I want to share a small piece from an email I just received from Celestin Mitabu, one of our Rwandan TFT trainers in Kigali, Rwanda.

“This picture was taken during TODAY’S treatment at Kamonyi genocide site where TFT was invited officially by the District of Kamonyi to heal, assisting people traumatized with the Callahan Techniques TFT. The memorial site has got thirty-eight thousand bodies plus 36 bones recovered recently and they were buried today. This was a huge cloud of thousands of people led by many politicians, police, survivors and armies.

The thing is TFT is successful to any trauma. All the cases we faced today they were healed. We healed very strong cases of trauma and people admired. From morning hours till afternoon we worked hard to show to people that we have now a cure for trauma and people have experienced healing.”

Rwanda

Thank you Celestin and your team for your hard work and dedication to help so many begin to heal.

*Excerpted from “TFT e-zine – News on Tapping”, May 13, 2013

TFT Revives Rwandan’s Hope and Faith in His Country

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To follow the progress of the remarkable film that documents the profound healing and transformation of Rwandan individuals and communities severely traumatized by genocide, go to http://www.trauma2peace.com.

Rwandan Orphans Singing in Thanks to TFT

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400 orphans from the El Shaddai Orphange in Kigali, Rwanda greet the 2007 ATFT Relief Team with song. The Relief Team was there to treat the trauma from the street orphans, victims of the 1994 genocide and HIV/AIDS, that call El Shaddai ‘home’. The 2008 ATFT Relief Team will be returned to Rwanda in May with great success.

Radio Interview: From Trauma to Peace

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Interview on KAOI talkradio in Hawaii with Bob Stone, co-producer of the TFT Foundation’s documentary “From Trauma to Peace” and Joanne Callahan, co-developer of Thought Field Therapy (TFT) and president of the TFT Foundation.

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