Trauma – Page 17 – TFT Trauma Relief

Relieving Trauma of Job Layoffs

Layoffs Hurt, But TFT Helps

by Herb Ayers, MA, LMHC, TFT-Dx

Lay off one person from his or her job and it’s a disaster for the family; layoff hundreds of people from a business or plant, and it’s a disaster for that town.

Layoff disasters occur throughout the United States and other countries every day because of our current economic recession. Paradoxically, our movement out of the recession is not ending layoffs nor is it creating enough needed new jobs.

Economic recession causes a chain reaction loss of jobs that affects the security of millions of people. The outcome generally results in serious emotional problems for those affected.

I’ve been called to visit a number of different companies recently that were in the process of laying off employees. Most of the people being laid off are people who have been with their company for many years; some, upwards of 20 or even 30 years.

Most of these people are not ready to retire and they have essential bills to pay each month such as a mortgage, utilities, car payments, school loans, etc., and they usually lack other financial resources. Therefore, the news that they have to find other employment comes as a terrible shock to them.

One of these companies was on the brink of a shutdown when I was called. The employees had not yet been informed that a layoff was com- ing, so the management wanted me to be on the scene when the announcement was made. In essence, I was like a “first responder” to help employees deal with the firestorm of bad news.

There were 250 employees about to lose their jobs and frankly, they didn’t know me from Adam, but the management assured them that I would be available for counseling if they wished to see me. I was also available to help any of the managers who might become overwhelmed with the problem, and some were.

Over three days, I met with 40 people; some in small groups, some individuals and some couples. In one instance both husband and wife worked in the same company and both were being laid off.

When I arrived, I immediately sensed the tension and the apprehension among the managers. Continue reading “Relieving Trauma of Job Layoffs”

TFT Relieves Trauma of Baby’s Death

From “The Thought Field”, Vol 2, Issue 3

by Fred Gallo

A young mother, 23, saw me about the trauma when her first child was born and died in the hospital a couple days later. This placed a strain of her relationship with her husband since he did not appear to be caring or understanding about this. She was depressed and had lost the love she previously had for her husband.

Although I couldn’t do much for her marriage, we successfully treated the trauma of the death of her baby with a few minutes as well as the trauma of a cousin’s suicide. I saw her for a time and helped her resolve the depression, also with TFT. The traumas never came back to haunt or bother her.

TFT for Traumatic Injury–Human and Animal

From “The ATFT UPdate”, Issue 17, Summer 2011

A Strange Tale and My Smallest Patient
by Terri Perry, TFT-Dx

We moved to Abruzzo, Italy in 2009, to an old house which we are still renovating. Recently we had to demolish part of the house and make new foundations.

For this, two huge cement lorries with pumping equipment had to get to our house, but our driveway was too small. So the only other way was to cross a railway track and over rough terrain, but one thing stood in their way, a large overhanging branch of a big oak tree. It was necessary to cut it off before the lorries arrived and we only had about an hour in which to do it.

Normally we have wonderful sunny weather in Abruzzo but suddenly the sky darkened and the wind became stronger. On this day of all days it was threatening a storm!

My husband put our long ladder against the tree and I stood at the bottom holding the ladder for his safety. He started sawing with the bow saw and it looked as if the branch should drop straight down. The wind was now strong and starting to rain. I only looked away for a split second and I was catapulted to the ground with the full force of the large branch hitting me in the back.

The sharp end of the branch ripped through three layers of my clothing and I lay screaming on the ground in pain. Continue reading “TFT for Traumatic Injury–Human and Animal”

TFT for Survivors of Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami

ATFT UPdate, Issue 17, Summer 2011

Sudden Destruction in Japan

by Ayame Morikawa, PhD, TFT-VT

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”

Replacing Nightmares with Hope

UPdate Issue 8, Summer

El Shaddai Orphange: Nightmares Replaced with Dreams of a Future

by Gabriel Constans

There’s much more to Rwanda than the genocide that took place over thirteen years ago. Yes, there was plenty of carnage that lay in its wake and everyone in the country (the size of New Jersey) was directly affected, especially the children, many of whom ended up on the street, with distant relatives or friends or perished from neglect. Add the scourge of the AIDS pandemic and you found even more homeless and abandoned children living on the streets. The needs outstripped all available resources.

But it only takes one person to make a difference and the street children, also known as “street rebels” in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, were blessed with one such man. His name is NZITUKUZE Sylvester. (In Kinyarwanda, the official language of Rwanda, last names go first and are capitalized).

While Sylvester was in the Rwandan Army he had a vision that he was somehow meant to help the street kids of Kigali. He followed his vision, left the army and started taking children into his home. It wasn’t an easy task. A lot of the kids were filthy, disease-ridden, taking drugs, angry and traumatized. After a year or two of Continue reading “Replacing Nightmares with Hope”

TFT Trauma Training for Survivors of Haiti Earthquake

UPdate Magazine, Issue 16, Autumn 2010

Haiti 2010: TFT Mission to Haiti

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”