All of the processes, tools and techniques contained in
this website are for educational purposes only and represent
the personal experience and opinions of the authors. They are
intended to be facilitated by an experienced trained
facilitator for maximum benefit, though one can usually obtain
some benefits when using the processes on one's own. None of
the processes or information contained on this site are meant
to replace professional medical advice or
therapy.
 Acu-POWER™
Trauma Release Process
Butterfly Hug
EF&H
Releasing Traumatic Stress
Emotional
Freedom Technique (EFT)
MATT
(tm) (Miracle Acupressure Tapping
Technique)
RET Quick Release Technique
Rapidly
Integrated Transformation Technique
(RITT)™
The
Steps of TAPAS Acupressure Technique (TAT)
TAT
Group Protocol and Butterfly Hug
For
Additional Process Click On the
Article
Antidote to the Psychological Effects of
Terrorism
Acu-POWER™ Trauma
Release Process
The
following comes from the material in my book Freedom From
Fear Forever using Acu-POWERä
By Dr.
James V. Durlacher
Rate any
of the following emotions on a scale of 1-10, 10 being
unbearable and one being no feeling of discomfort at all. as
you tap,keep a note of how the intensity is going
down.
Before
starting tap on the side of your hand (the karate chop area)
while saying out loud, three times, " I deeply accept
myself even though I have the feeling of_________"
In each of
the following, there are two places to tap. One or both will
help. As you tap, you will know which is most effective
because you will feel an immediate relaxation of you
feelings.
If you
have grief, sadness or anguish, tap on the front of your
shoulders just below the outer extremity of your collar bone
or at the outer part of the lower part of your
nose.
If you
have fear, or dread, tap just below the collar bone where
it joins the breast bone or on the upper side of your nose at
the level of the inside corner of your nose just below the
eyebrows.
If you
have a feeling of vulnerability, being lost, deserted or
abandoned, tap on the side of your face just in front of the
ear canal or just above your eyebrows, two
thirds the way to the outside edge of them.
If you
have a feeling of hopelessness or lack of control over events,
tap on the side of your ribs five inches below your arm pits
or on the bony part of you face just below the center of your
eyes.
If you
have anger or resentment tap on the ribs just below the
nipple on a male or breast on a female or at bony part of the
side of the face just at the outside corner of your
eyes.
Be
sure to concentrate on your emotion as you tap. If you
get stuck an any level from 10 on your way down to 1, tap
on the side of your hand (the karate chop area) as you did
before you started, while saying out loud, three times, "
I deeply accept myself even though I can't get lower than a __
on my feeling of_________"
While this
will help most, if does not release your emotions or
bring them down to an acceptable level click on the site
below.
Dr. James
V. Durlacher
Author of Freedom From Fear Forever
http://www.freedomfromfearforever.com/
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"EF&H Releasing Traumatic Stress"
©
2001 Richard Ross. All rights reserved.
The
“EF&H Releasing Traumatic Stress” process can be used to
relieve the trauma of recent events following 9/11, or it can
also be used to release the emotional charge around ANY past
traumatic experience.
This
gentle, yet deep, process very quickly results in a shift in
energy accompanied by a profound sense of peace and
relaxation.
Here's the
technique:
While you
do this process, tune into the unwanted feeling, and/or
memory, that is particularly stressful to you.
1. Locate
a tender, or sensitive spot on left side of chest. For most of
us it is beneath the collarbone and above the breast area on
the left side. Find the spot on yourself by pressing, using
one or two fingers, around this area until you find a spot
that is more tender, or sensitive than the area around it.
While rubbing that spot continuously in a small circle, repeat
the following out loud:
“Even
though there’s a part of me that feels angry and helpless
about what happened, I deeply and completely love and accept
myself.”
“Even
though I think this has been a terrible thing, I choose to be
at peace now.”
“Even
though I don’t yet understand the meaning of what happened,
I’m open to finding some good in all of this.”
2. Tap
lightly on the inside end of either eyebrow, end near bridge
of nose, with one finger tip, and repeat out loud "I release
any programming from my past that caused me to react in this
way.”
Then,
while your finger tip still is touching that point, take one
deep slow breath in and out.
3. Tap
lightly on outside side of either eye, on bone near temple and
repeat out loud "I release all the anger I have about what
happened".
Then,
while your finger tip still is touching that point, take one
deep slow breath in and out.
3. Tap
lightly under either eye on bone, and repeat out loud "I
release any fear I’m feeling because of what
happened".
Then,
while your finger tip is still touching that point, take one
deep slow breath in and out.
4. Tap
lightly under nose (above upper lip) and repeat out loud "I
let go of any confusion or embarrassment I have around what
happened".
Then,
while your finger tip is still touching that point, take one
deep slow breath in and out.
5. Tap
lightly under bottom lip (in crease before chin begins) and
repeat out loud "I release any shame I have because of what
happened".
Then,
while your finger tip is still touching that point, take one
deep slow breath in and out.
6.
Now take a moment to breathe deeply, reflect again on the
traumatic event, and notice how much calmer you are. Give
thanks for the healing that has happened.
I hope you
find this exercise helpful. Please let me know how it
worked for you, and if there is any further way that I can
support you.
______________________________
Richard
Ross created the Emotional Freedom & Healing (EF&H)
work and supports clients by telephone from around the
world at: (505) 828-3527
emotionalfreedom@richardross.com or http://www.emotionalfreedom.com
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Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
Created by Gary
Craig
Step
#1 The Set-up: While continuously tapping on
the Karate Chop point (using 3 or 4 fingers tap along
outside edge of other hand), repeat three times, out loud,
this affirmation: “Even though I have this…….(insert the
condition- for example “Sadness and Fear”)…, I deeply and
completely love and accept myself, and I forgive
myself”.
Step
#2 The Sequence: Tap about 7 times on each of the
following energy points (while repeating just the words of the
issue or condition – For example “This sadness &
fear”) : EB, SE, UE, UN, Ch, CB, UA, UB,
Th., IF, MF, BF, KC. The abbreviations for these points
are summarized here in the order in which they should be
tapped.
1. EB =
Beginning of either Eyebrow (tap on inside end of eyebrow,
nearer nose)
2. SE =
Side of each Eye (tap on bone)
3. UE =
Under the Eye (tap on bone)
4. UN =
Under the Nose, (tap above upper lip)
5. Ch =
Beneath lower lip (tap at start of
Chin)
6. CB =
Beginning of either Collar Bone (nearer
throat)
7. UA =
Under either Arm (tap about 4” below armpit)
8. UB =
Under either Breast (for women, about an inch below breast /
for men, about 2” below nipple)
9. Th =
Thumb (tap outside side of thumb near base of nail)
10. IF =
Index Finger (tap side next to thumb, near base of
nail)
11. MF =
Middle Finger (tap side nearer thumb, by base of
nail)
12. BF =
Baby Finger (tap side nearer ring finger, by base of
nail)
13. KC =
Karate Chop area (using 3 or 4 fingers, tap along outside edge
of other hand)
Note: It helps to remember that all the tapping
points proceed down the body, that is, each tapping point is
below the one before it. That makes it a snap to
memorize and after a few trips through, the process will be
yours forever.
Step #3-
The 9-Gamut Procedure: Continuously tap on the Gamut
point (located on the back of the hand, about an inch back
from the knuckle of little finger & ring finger) while
performing each of the following 9 actions: Eyes Closed,
Eyes Open, Eyes looking down hard Right, Eyes down hard Left,
Roll the Eyes in a Circle clockwise, Roll the Eyes in a Circle
counter-clockwise, Hum two seconds of a Song, Count to 5 out
loud, Hum two seconds of a Song.
Step
#4 Repeat the entire Sequence (Step#2, above) once
more.
For more
information about EFT, visit http://www.emofree.com/ The complete
EFT Manual (80 pages) is available to anyone, as a free
download, at the website.
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MATT
(tm) (Miracle Acupressure Tapping Technique)
by Philip Friedman,
Ph.D. (c) All rights reserved
(This
approach consists of a series of modules. Usually it is best
to do all of them, though sometimes you can leave out one
module. Repeat as needed)
First give
yourself a SUDs (subjective unit of distress) rating from 1 to
10 with 10 being the most distressed and 1 being the least
distressed you have been on each problem you are working on.
After each module give yourself another SUDs rating. Continue
through the sequence until the SUDs rating becomes
1.
Module
1 The Psychological Uplifter.
"Even
though I have this problem or negative emotion, (fill in
the emotion e.g. fear, anxiety, hurt, anger, depression
sadness, guilt, shame, grief, marital problems, family
problems, relationship problems,____________ etc.) I
accept myself deeply and profoundly and I am a good person".
This is
repeated 3 times while rubbing on the sore point i.e the
neurolymphatic point on the upper chest. ( a weak or
vulnerable spot on the upper left side of the chest) Then say
"I love myself unconditionally despite my problems and
limitations" 3 times while rubbing on the sore point i.e the
neurolymphatic point. Then say ³I am entitled to miracles 3
times while rubbing on the sore point i.e the neurolymphatic
point.
Module
2 Tapping Sequence 1
CF (center
of the forehead or third eye area); EB (eyebrow), OE (outside
eye), UE (under eye)
Tap
continuously on these points (with 2 fingers of one hand on
the CF point and with 2 fingers of both hands on the other
points) while saying:
Releasing all the (negative emotion, e.g. fear,
hurt, sadness, anger, guilt) I choose to be at peace and/or I
am at peace. 2-3 times out loud.
Take 3
deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the
mouth.
Module
3 Tapping Sequence 2
AL (above
the lip); BL (below the lip); BN (back of the neck) and CB
(collarbone).
Tap
continuously on these points (with 2 fingers of both
hands while saying)
Releasing all the (negative emotion, e.g. fear,
hurt, sadness, anger, guilt) I choose to be at peace and/or I
am at peace. 2-3 times out loud.
Take 3
deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the
mouth.
Module
4 Forgiveness Module
First tap
continuously 4 inches under the left arm (parallel to the
nipples) while saying part 1 of the Forgiveness
Affirmations.
Then tap
continuously 4 inches under the right arm (parallel to the
nipples) while saying part 2 of the Forgiveness
Affirmations.
Finally
tap continuously the TP (thymus point in the center of the
chest) while saying part 3 of the Forgiveness
Affirmations.
FORGIVENESS AFFIRMATIONS
I forgive
myself for my contribution to the problem.
I forgive myself I
am doing the best that I can.
I forgive myself, I
release all judgments against myself.
I forgive myself I
release all criticisms against myself.
I forgive myself I
release all grievances against myself.
I forgive myself I
release all attack thoughts against myself. Forgiveness is the
key to happiness.
I forgive
him/her (use the person¹s name) for her contribution to the
problem.
I forgive him/her (use the person¹s name) he/she is
doing the best that he/she can. I forgive him/her, I release
all judgments against him/her. I forgive him/her I
release all criticisms against him/her. I forgive him/her I
release all grievances against him/her. I forgive him/her, I
release all attack thoughts against him/her. Forgiveness is
the key to happiness.
Forgiveness is the key to happiness (2 times).
There is forgiveness in my heart for myself and for him/her (2
times-usually use the person's name). T here is love in my
heart. (2 times) Deep down I am the Presence of Love (2 times)
I am at peace (2 times); I am calm, relaxed and at peace (2
times) I thank God/the universe my problems have been solved
and I am at peace (2 times). I thank God/the universe I am
healed and I am at peace. (2 times)
Philip H.
Friedman, Ph.D is the Director of the Foundation for
Well-Being in Philadelphia and Plymouth Meeting, Pa. and the
Founder of Integrative Healing and Integrative Energy and
Spiritual Therapy Contact him at: integrativehelp@home.com or
http://www.integrativehelp.com/ or
610-828-4674
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RET Quick Release Technique
www.rapideyetechnology.com
Here is a simple yet effective quick stress relief process you can do for yourself to get a sense for Rapid Eye Technology. Just follow the simple directions here. Please keep in mind this is a SIMPLE demo without a trained RET technician. Doing a session with a RET technician is the only real way to determine if RET will work for you.
1. Identify something that is stressing you. Keep it simple - maybe something recent. For more stressful material, or to do more than this simple process, seek a technician in your area to work with.
2. While thinking about what is stressing you, gage how much you feel it on a scale of 0-10 with 0 meaning not at all and 10 meaning totally stressed out.
3. Cast your eyes back and forth in a zigzag pattern while moving the zigzag slowly up and then down and then up again and down again. Do this until you feel like you can't do it anymore or like you really want to blink.
4. Blink hard 3-4 times
5. Take three deep breaths, letting each out all at once in a sigh.
6. Gage again how you feel on the same 0-10 scale and notice the difference in the way you feel.
7. Repeat the process to de-stress more or to process another issue.
To deal with more stressful material we suggest you contact a RET technician in your area. www.rapideyetechnology.com/directory.
This demonstration process is intended for simple stress and is not intended to replace competent medical or psychological assistance. If you are dealing with physical problems or an emergency, seek qualified medical attention.
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RAPIDLY INTEGRATED TRANSFORMATION TECHNIQUE (RITT) ™
Basic
Directions: Think of an issue; note your level of discomfort
(0=none, 10=intense). Or think of a craving (0=no
urge, 10=intense urge).
Imagine you are a tree and
will be clearing from the branches (the conscious mind) to the
roots (the subconscious). As you lightly tap each point using
two or three fingers, think about the issue and read aloud
what is in quotation marks.
- Karate Point—outside edge of hand
“I
release this challenge/issue to Higher Power (God/ Spirit)
to transform it and my relationship to it, never to take it
back or passively receive it back.”
- Heart Point—sore spot above
left breast, gently rub in a circle toward shoulder
3
times: “I love (accept) myself unconditionally even though I
have this issue/challenge.”
- Crown (top of head)
“I bring in Higher Power (Spirit/God/ Light) into all
the branches to the deepest roots of this issue and ask for
healing for the highest good.”
- Eyebrow (either eyebrow, tap
where the eyebrow starts, near bridge of
nose)
“I release all
the sadness in all the branches to the deepest roots around
this issue.”
- Under eye (on bone just under eye,
centered)
I release all the
fear in all the branches to the deepest roots around this
issue.”
- Under nose and chin (using
sides of thumb and index finger, tap both spots at once—side
of index finger will be under nose & side of thumb will
be on chin)
“I release all
the shame and embarrassment in all the branches to the
deepest roots around this issue.”
- Collarbone (make a fist and gently thump below
collarbone, on breastbone)
“I release all
the hurt and all the grief in all the branches to the
deepest roots around this issue.”
- Under Arm (tender spot about 4 inches below
armpit, in line with nipple)
“I release all
the guilt in all the branches to the deepest roots around
this issue.”
- Inside wrist (tap where watchband would fasten, palm
side of wrist)
“I release all
the pain in all the branches to the deepest roots around
this issue.”
- Little finger, side of nail (tap on the side of
finger next to ring finger)
“I release all
the anger in all the branches to the deepest roots around
this issue.”
- Third Eye (point between
eyebrows)
“I release all
the trauma in all the branches to the deepest roots around
this issue.”
- Index Finger (side nearest thumb) [At least 3 of
the following.]
Breathe.
Reassess your level of discomfort or level of urge. If
above 0, repeat steps 1-12. When at a zero continue to
step13.
- All
spots (from # 4-11)
“I bring in
Higher Power (Spirit/God/Light) to replace the ____
(sadness, etc.) in all the branches to the deepest roots
around this issue.”
Energized For Life
PO Box 86642,
Tucson, AZ 85754, USA
Voice Mail 800/995-0796 ext. 0321;
Fax 520/743-9483
Email EnergizedLife@aol.com
Website http://www.energizedforlife.com/
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THE STEPS OF TAPAS ACUPRESSURE TECHNIQUE (TAT)
© 2001
Tapas Fleming, L.Ac. All rights reserved.
Before
starting each problem you want to clear, either ask the body
if it’s OK to work on this now via a muscle test or
bioenergetic field test, or pray or make an intention that "If
it’s time for this to heal now, then let it be so" or whatever
means that in your own words.
How to do the “TAT”
pose:
With one hand, lightly touch the
tip of the thumb to the area 1/8 inch above the inner corner
of your eye.
With the fourth finger (ring
finger) of the same hand, lightly touch the tip of the finger
to the area 1/8 inch above the inner corner of the other
eye.
Both finger tips are now on either
side of the bridge of your nose.
Place the tip of the middle finger
at the third eye, a point midway between, and about ½ inch
above, eyebrow level.
You now have all three fingers
lightly touching the three points.
Now place your other hand on the
back of your head, with the palm touching the head so the
thumb is resting at the base of the skull just above the
hairline. The palm cradles the occipital bone.
Both hands should be resting
gently. No pressure is necessary.
At each step stay in the pose up to
4 minutes, or until there is a shift in the energy, then go on
to the next step.
The first thing to clear up is the following statement:
"I deserve to live, and I accept love, help and
healing." Do all the Steps of TAT about that. You
only need to do it once ever.
Here are the instructions
for each TAT Step given in the form of you working with
another person. If you are not working with another person,
you can briefly write and/or briefly reflect on “what
happened” after doing each step.
To immediately gain
relief from traumatic stress, identify the most stressful part
of the trauma for you. This is what you will be focusing
on in each of the following steps. You can repeat all
the steps for the next most stressful part of the trauma the
next time you do TAT until nothing remains that is still
stressful for you.
Step 1
Put your attention on the most stressful part of the
trauma and do the TAT pose.
What happened?
Step 2
Put your attention on
"It happened, it's over and I'm OK" and do the TAT
pose.
What happened?
Step 3
Put your attention on
either: "All the origins of this trauma are healing now"
or "God (or whatever name you use), thank You for
healing all the origins of this trauma" and do the TAT
pose.
What happened?
Step 4
Put your attention on
either: "All the places in my mind, body and life
where this has been a problem/resonated/been held/been stuck
(your choice) are healing now" or "God, thank
You for healing all the places in my mind, body and life
where this has been a problem/resonated/been held/been
stuck" (your choice) and do the TAT
pose.
What happened?
Step 5
Put your attention on
either:
"All the parts of me that got something out of
having this problem are healing now"
or
"God,
thank You for healing all the parts of me that got something
out of having this problem."
What
happened?
Step
6
Put your attention on
"I forgive everyone I blamed for this problem, including God
and myself" and do the TAT pose.
What happened?
Step 7
Put your attention on
"I ask forgiveness of everyone I hurt because of this
problem" and do the TAT pose.
What happened?
Review
After you’ve completed the TAT
Steps, put your attention on the most stressful part of the
trauma (your Step 1 image). Check and see if there’s anything
about that part of the trauma that still bothers you. If
there is, put your attention on that and do the TAT pose for a
couple of minutes. Continue in this way until there is
nothing about it that hurts you, troubles you or feels stuck.
You will know you’re done because when you think about
that part of the trauma, you feel free and at peace.
Keep your TAT work to a maximum of
20 minutes per day actually in the TAT pose.
Drink
several glasses of water on the days you do TAT.
When
you are done with your work, I recommend that you give thanks.
I don’t believe that TAT itself does the healing.
I believe that it is God, Divine Love, or the natural
energy of life that does the healing. TAT opens the gateway
for the healing to occur.
You have my love and best
wishes for your health and happiness,
Tapas
Fleming
TAT INTERNATIONAL
Sharing the
celebration of Love by delivering inner peace, relaxation,
more vibrant health, and empowerment -- one person at a time.
PMB 7000-379 Redondo Beach, CA 90277 (310)
378-7381
Fax (310) 378-2318 e-mail
tapasvini@aol.com http://www.tat-intl.com/
Note: The TAT
workbook, which can be ordered from the above address contains
above process and complete information on using this work in
many situations.
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TAT GROUP TREATMENT PROTOCOL
By:
Ignacio Jarero, Ed.D., Ph.D., C.T.
This
protocol has been performed by the Mexican Association for
Crisis Therapy after natural disasters for groups of 2-190.
The settings have been in a field under a tree, in a
shelter and in a classroom.
We present
ourselves. We always make a circle, usually on the
floor. We ask for God (or whatever the person believes
in) to help us.
We teach them how to do the TAT
pose and the Butterfly Hug. Immediately following the TAT
Protocol is a description of the Butterfly Hug.
Here is what we tell them:
Have a very good
posture. Put your hands on your thighs. Close your eyes.
Do abdominal breathing. Imagine you have a little
balloon in your stomach and that you inflate and deflate.
Do this slowly and with tranquility - smoothly.
Now, just observe what is happening in your
mind, your feelings, your emotions and your
body sensations. Look at your thoughts,
feelings, emotions and body sensations that are
passing by as you would observe clouds in the sky. Just
observe what is happening. Meanwhile you are breathing deeply
and slowly.
Now, with the eyes of your
imagination, I want to ask you to go to a place which is real
or imaginary where you feel safe. I want to ask you that
with the eyes of your imagination you observe the colors and
shapes -- all the things in your safe place. I want to
ask you that with the ears of your imagination, you listen to
all the sounds in your safe place. Your safe place is inside,
deeply inside of yourself and nothing and nobody can hurt you.
I want to ask you that with the nose of your
imagination, you smell all the smells of your safe place.
I want to ask you that with the touch of your
imagination you touch something in the safe place and you feel
what it feels like. Remember that your safe place is
inside, deeply inside of yourself and nothing and nobody
can hurt you. I want to ask you that all those sensations that
you have felt you locate in some part of your body. The
sensation in your body reminds you of the safe place. I
want you to spread that sensation all over your
body. Remember that from this day on
you can go to your safe place any time you want to and the
more often you go, the more secure you will feel.
We are in 5, and you are in the safe place. We are
in 4 and we are starting to come to this place that also is a
safe place. We are in 3 and you feel the energy in your
whole body. We are in 2 and you are ready to open your
eyes. We are in 1 and you can open your eyes when you
are ready. You don't have to talk immediately.
You have lived through a natural disaster (or
the name of the traumatic event, for example: a
terrorist attack), a very difficult experience.
So we are going to teach you a beautiful and very
powerful technique to help you to process the traumatic
event. This technique is called Tapas.
The pose
of Tapas is: we take these two fingers, we put them here
etc. (We supervise that the pose is OK).
I
want to ask that you close your eyes and remember the
event or the trauma as if it were a movie starting at
the beginning through the end of all that you
lived. When you finish, open your eyes.
From your whole movie, I want to ask that you take a
picture of what the worst part of it was for you. Do you
have it? In one scale from 1-10 where 0 is no
disturbance and 10 is the maximum disturbance, write
down how strong your disturbance is when you are
remembering the first and most disturbing picture of your
movie. If there are no pencils, just remember the
number. Now I want to ask you to locate the disturbance
in some part of your body. Did you find it? Now
with that image and that sensation in your body, I want you to
do the Tapas pose for three minutes.
As soon as they
have the Tapas pose, we say: Now, just observe what is
happening in your mind, your feelings, your emotions and your
body sensations. Look at your thoughts,
feelings, emotions and body sensations that are
passing by as clouds in the sky. Just observe what’s
happening. Meanwhile you are breathing deeply and
slowly.
After the three minutes, you say:
OK, please put your arms down. I want you to come back
to the original picture and tell me by raising your hands how
many of you have a disturbance level between 5 and
0? By raising your hands, how many between 6 and
10?
The second and subsequent times you hold
the Tapas pose for two minutes.
Ask the people who did not
reach 0 to go back to the original picture and repeat the
instructions of "Just observe" until everyone (or almost
everyone) reaches 0.
Note: the people who
reached 0 during the first round of doing Tapas pose can go to
the safe place (doing Tapas pose or the Butterfly Hug) while
the others are continuing to process the traumatic
event.
You must put attention in the persons
that do not reach 0 and speak with them at the end of the
protocol in order to offer them one-on-one intervention.
In this intervention you can use Individual TAT, any
Energy Psychology Technique you prefer or EMDR.
If the arms of the people doing the Tapas pose get tired,
they can alternate the Tapas pose with the Butterfly Hug.
When the first target (most disturbing picture)
is processed, say: I want to ask that you rewind the
movie of your memories and I want you to watch the whole movie
again. When you finish you can open
your eyes. I want you to observe if there is any other
disturbing picture. If there is, we do the reprocessing
part of the protocol again. We keep going until they can
see the whole movie without disturbance.
At the end we say: I want to ask you to
visualize yourself in a future positive image with positive
thoughts, emotions, feelings and sensations and I want you to
do the Tapas pose for three minutes. (This is called
Future Template.) Please raise your hand when you are
able to visualize yourself in that template. You must
put your attention on the people that were not able to
visualize themselves in that template and speak with them at
the end of the protocol in order to offer them one-on-one
intervention.
NOTE: Remember that you can do this pose at home whenever
you want.
THE
BUTTERFLY HUG
By Ignacio Jarero,
Ed.D., Ph.D., C.T.
The
Butterfly Hug was originated and developed by Lucina Artigas,
M.A. (Co-founder of our association), during our work
performed with the survivors of Hurricane Paulina in Acapulco
Mexico (1997).
For the
origination and development of this technique Lucina Artigas
was honored in 2000, by the EMDR International Association,
with the Creative Innovation Award.
The
butterfly hug is a Dual Attention Stimulation (DAS) that
consists on crossing your arms over your chest, so that
with the tip of your fingers from each hand, you can touch the
area that is located under the connection between the clavicle
and the shoulder.
The eyes
can be closed or partially closed looking toward the tip of
the nose.
Next you
alternate the movement of your hands, simulating the flapping
wings of a butterfly.
You
breathe slowly and deeply (abdominal breathing), while you
observe what is going through your mind and body (cognitions,
images, sounds, odors, affect and physical sensations) without
changing, repressing or judging. You can pretend as though
what you are observing is like clouds passing by.
This
exercise should be done for as long as the person wishes to
continue.
This
method could be used in various contexts, for
example:
- As an
anchor to install the “safe place” technique. ·
- To
anchor positive affect, cognitions and physical sensations
associated with images produced by the technique of “guided
imagination”. ·
- During
the EMDR standard protocol some clinicians have also used it
with adults and children to facilitate primary
processing of a fundamental traumatic memory or memories. It
is thought that the control obtained by the patient/client
over his/her contra lateral stimulation, may be an
empowering factor that aids their retention of sense of
safety while processing traumatic memories. ·
- During in vivo exposure to process the experience. In
the Quiche´s region of Guatemala the persons that are
witnessing the burial of their relatives, use the Butterfly
Hug to be self-comforted and to cope with the
experience.
In the
EMDR Integrative Group Treatment Protocol (EMDRIGTP) used to
work with children and adults who have survived traumatic
events (you can find this protocol in our web page http://www.amamecrisis.com.mx/ click on Protocols in English icon), to process primary
traumatic memory or memories, including the death of family
members.
During
the protocol the patients/clients are observing the drawing
while doing the Butterfly Hug (DAS).
During
this process the children and adults are under the close
supervision of mental health professionals, who form the
“Emotional Protection Team.”
“The
Butterfly Hug has been successfully used to treat groups of
traumatized children in Mexico, Nicaragua and Kosovar refugee
camps” (Shapiro, 2001. Page 284. EMDR Basic Principles,
Protocols, and Procedures. Second Edition).
- Use of
the Butterfly Hug in session with the therapist has been
seen to be clearly a self-soothing experience for many
trauma-therapy clients. ·
- Once
the patients/clients (children or adults) have learned the
Butterfly Hug in session, they can be instructed to take
this method with them to use between sessions, whether to
modulate any disturbing affect that arises, to reground with
their Safe Place or simply to help them get to sleep more
easily. ·
- Some
professionals use this method simultaneously with their
patients/clients, as an aid to prevent secondary
traumatization.
- Others
professionals have used this method as substitute for
touching patients/clients, saying: “Please give yourself a
butterfly hug for me.”
END
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