The Value of Learning and Sharing with the Experts

We just completed our first Optimal Health program in our new training center in Costa Rica.

We were very fortunate to welcome back two of our long term TFT practitioners and trainers, Suzanne Connolly and Nora Baladerian.  They each have a wealth of experience in the field of Trauma, having both participated in the TFT Foundation’s first trauma relief mission to New Orleans following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Nora led that mission and Suzanne has gone on to lead multiple trauma relief missions to Rwanda and elsewhere.  They both have been involved in research, with Suzanne leading much of the TFT research on PTSD.  Nora is now working in studies involving the groundbreaking study about childhood trauma “ACE”, applied to a specialized population.

All the participants of the OH class, myself included, were treated to a powerpoint called Trauma Kills by Suzanne.  This presentation outlined the details on the ACE study, which is so relevant to what we can do in TFT for trauma.

“ACEs” comes from the CDC-Kaiser Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, a groundbreaking public health study that discovered that childhood trauma leads to the adult onset of chronic diseases, depression and other mental illness, violence and being a victim of violence, as well as financial and social problems.

The data was a real eye-opener as it quantified the effects from the below childhood experiences and how they can manifest into negative outcomes which include some of society’s most intractable health issues: alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, suicide, poor physical health, and obesity.

Thanks to Suzanne’s generosity, I will be sharing the summarized date from this study in all of our Optimal Health courses.  Through it, I believe we can better understand the need for the healing of all trauma.

The adverse childhood experiences they measured were:

• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Verbal abuse
• Physical neglect
• Emotional neglect
• A family member who is depressed
• A family member who is in prison
• Witnessing a mother being abused
• Losing a parent to divorce or death
• Substance abuse by a parent or guardian

The CDC-Kaiser Permanente ACE Study and subsequent surveys show that most people in the U.S. have at least one ACE, and that people with four ACEs have a huge risk of adult onset of chronic health problems such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, suicide, and alcoholism.

We have long believed in the importance of healing trauma for all of us.  Suzanne and others have spearheaded the studies on the use of TFT for healing trauma.  The TFT Foundation has led trauma relief missions around the world.  The TFT Foundation hosts a TFT trauma relief blog site with free help to all in need, in 15 languages in print and video: www.TFTTraumaRelief.org

This study supports that knowledge and understanding of the need for healing trauma, with concrete data.  I thank Suzanne and Nora for sharing their knowledge with all our Costa Rica Optimal Health participants.