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 Efficacy Following Large Scale Traumatic Events

journalphotoTHOUGHT FIELD THERAPY EFFICACY FOLLOWING LARGE SCALE TRAUMATIC EVENTS

Ann L. Dunnewold

Abstract

Thought Field Therapy Efficacy Following Large Scale Traumatic Events: Description of Four Studies Thought Field Therapy (TFT) has been shown to reduce symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress (PTS) with trauma survivors in four studies in Africa.

In a 2006 preliminary study, orphaned Rwandan adolescents, who reported ongoing trauma symptoms since the 1994 genocide, were treated with TFT. A 2008 Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) examined the efficacy of TFT treatments facilitated by Rwandan Community leaders in reducing PTS symptoms in adult survivors of the 1994 genocide.

Results of the 2008 study were replicated in a second RCT in Rwanda in 2009. A fourth RCT in Uganda (in preparation for submission) demonstrated significant differences in a third community leader-administered TFT treatment. The studies described here suggest that one-time, community leader-facilitated TFT interventions may be beneficial with protracted PTS in genocide survivors.

To view the full article from Science Publications, click here

Cite this Article: Dunnewold, A.L., 2014. Thought field therapy efficacy following large scale traumatic events. Curr. Res. Psychol., 5: 34-39.

excerpted from Science Publications, Current Research in Psychology. Volume 5, Issue 1

TFT and Unconscious Traumas

man afraid of driving
stock photo

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.

Trauma Passed to Future Generations

When a man is traumatised changes occur in his sperm which are passed on to his children

How the trauma of life is passed down in sperm, affecting the mental health of future generations

The changes are so strong they can even influence a man’s grandchildren

  • They make the offspring more prone to conditions like bipolar disorder

By EMMA INNES

And new research shows this is because experiencing trauma leads to changes in the sperm.

These changes can cause a man’s children to develop bipolar disorder and are so strong they can even influence the man’s grandchildren.

Psychologists have long known that traumatic experiences can induce behavioural disorders that are passed down from one generation to the next.

However, they are only just beginning to understand how this happens.

Researchers at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich now think they have come one step closer to understanding how the effects of traumas can be passed down the generations.

The researchers found that short RNA molecules – molecules that perform a wide range of vital roles in the body – are made from DNA by enzymes that read specific sections of the DNA and use them as template to produce corresponding RNAs.

Other enzymes then trim these RNAs into mature forms.

Cells naturally contain a large number of different short RNA molecules called microRNAs.

They have regulatory functions, such as controlling how many copies of a particular protein are made.

The researchers studied the number and kind of microRNAs expressed by adult mice exposed to traumatic conditions in early life and compared them with non-traumatised mice.

They discovered that traumatic stress alters the amount of several microRNAs in the blood, brain and sperm – while some microRNAs were produced in excess, others were lower than in the corresponding tissues or cells of control animals.

These alterations resulted in misregulation of cellular processes normally controlled by these microRNAs.

After traumatic experiences, the mice behaved markedly differently – they partly lost their natural aversion to open spaces and bright light and showed symptoms of depression.

These behavioural symptoms were also transferred to the next generation via sperm, even though the offspring were not exposed to any traumatic stress themselves.

The metabolisms of the offspring of stressed mice were also impaired – their insulin and blood sugar levels were lower than in the offspring of non-traumatised parents.

‘We were able to demonstrate for the first time that traumatic experiences affect metabolism in the long-term and that these changes are hereditary,’ said Professor Isabelle Mansuy.

‘With the imbalance in microRNAs in sperm, we have discovered a key factor through which trauma can be passed on.’

However, certain questions remain open, such as how the dysregulation in short RNAs comes about.

Professor Mansuy said: ‘Most likely, it is part of a chain of events that begins with the body producing too many stress hormones.’

Importantly, acquired traits other than those induced by trauma could also be inherited through similar mechanisms, the researcher suspects.

TFT: The Missing Link

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

  1. 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.
  2. That a comprehensive understanding of the significant psychological, neurological, biological and social manifestation of traumatic and violent experiences can have on a person.
  3. 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 Healing Trauma in Uganda

UgandaMission2013_05_14Ugandan TFT Mission: January 12 – 27, 2014

By Roger Ludwig*

Mists of mosquito netting drape around me as I type, cross-legged, on my bed. Beyond are cracked walls and doors ajar. Any effort to make and keep parallel lines in Africa is usually ephemeral. But to do that, in the form of a well ordered scientific study of Thought Field Therapy’s effectiveness, we have come, in addition to training many people and treating dozens of others.

Beyond this room, in the haze of heat, humidity and dust, are now familiar sounds. Children shout, men laugh. There is the loud cawing of ravens, relentless hoopoe of grey doves, and the distant, throbbing hum of the hulking cement factory which towers over this gritty town of Hima. It brings meager paychecks to workers who come from all over Uganda with their separate languages and appearances. They toil in hope of better lives for their wives and children. Our sweat is small in comparison but our dreams are similar for these Ugandan peoples we have come to love.

The work of our mission is now finished, ending, as it began, in fatigue. I arrived two weeks ago at 3:15 am, a smooth landing in Entebbe, grabbed bags and passed customs to see the ever hospitable Fr. Peter waiting to “most welcome” me. It is my third trip to Uganda. Fr. Peter’s musical laugh and loving heart is a tonic, to me and to hundreds of others.

Our Volunteer Team

After two hours’ sleep in a guest house I meet the team at breakfast. Dr. Howard Robson and his wife Phyll are here from England. They have recently retired, he from his cardiology practice, she from nursing. We have worked together on both prior Ugandan trips. It is great to see them.

One of our most important goals is to add to the 2012 study. At that time we trained volunteer TFT counselors, who pre-tested, then treated 256 people who came admitting symptoms of PTSD. A week later they were post-tested. It was a wait-list controlled effort that involved hundreds of people. Dr. Howard directed the study and has taken charge, in his relaxed manner, of this one. We hope to bring many of those 256 back, now 18 months later, for post testing. How have they fared after their brief treatment? Continue reading “TFT Healing Trauma in Uganda”