Tag Archive for: Lcsw

ATFT In Rwandan – TFT Making A Difference

Rwandese Rainbow

We have a preliminary report of the progress being made following our ATFT Trauma Relief interventions this August in Byumba, Rwanda. We are attaching the draft that we received from Brother Augustine. The report sent by Brother Augustine, summarizes the reports sent in by each of the thirty-six therapists we trained this August. The therapist’s reports had to be translated from Kinyarwanda to English by Brother Augustine, and this report, attached, contains the responses thus far translated. It is a busy season now in Rwanda and we may get a more complete summary sometime early next year.

It is good to know that the thirty- six therapist the ATFT Team trained have treated 622 people since our departure at the end of August. That is in addition to the 200 plus persons treated by the Rwandan therapists while we were there. It seems that TFT is making a big difference in the lives of the therapist’s, in the lives of those whose lives the therapists touch, and in the larger communities in which they live.

Good work ATFT members! All of you have helped in some really significant way. Thanks especially to team members, Caroline Sakai, Gordon Barrett, Carmen Carrasco, Gary and Cyndie Quinn.

Happy Holidays!

Suzanne M Connolly, LCSW
ATFT Foundation Trauma Relief Committee Chairperson. Read more

Thought Field Therapy’s Role in the Bereavement Process

We acquire the strength we have overcome

By Robert L. Bray, PhD, LCSW, CTS, TFT-DXDr. Robert Bray is the Secretary of the ATFT. He is a respected counselor specializing in trauma and post-traumatic stress issues. He has been deeply involved with TFT for many years and offers TFT Algorithm trainings on a regular basis. His work has been featured on television

In my experience, the most common problem with grief is people not grieving. When a client comes in looking for help with grief, the first question I ask is, “What are you doing? How are you grieving?”

The most common response is that it hurts to much and “I cry ever time I remember (he or she) is gone.”

Avoiding the memories, avoiding the parts of their current life that triggers the memories, or avoiding sharing memories with others is a common coping mechanism to manage the pain even for the toughest person.

Taking the time to be with feelings of love for the one who has died and integrating the fact that person is no longer with him or her is a necessary component in reconstructing a life.

Grieving is an active process requiring our engagement.

Time passively passed without our conscious awareness is of little help in this process. Time spent locked in overwhelming emotion that freezes our thinking and prevents us from taking action is of less help.

Making the change in our being requires living with the reality of having been given the gifts of our loved one and now being without the physical presence of his or her.

TFT provides a means to getting unstuck and using our feelings in this change process.

A woman in her late forties approached me after a presentation at a conference and asked for help dealing with the loss of her son three years
earlier. In his early twenties he had been killed in an industrial accident. She was an experienced mental health professional and was able to describe her sense of being stuck in her grief. Read more