Laceweb - Trauma Healing Program

Workshops Manual

Energising possibilities for evolving trauma healers
and voluntary self help trauma healing networks
among Indigenous and Disadvantaged Minorities
in the SE Asia Oceania Australasia Region

Copyright UN-Inma. May be copied and used with acknowledgement of UN-Inma and this webpage for non-profit purposes.

Last updated Feb 2007.

 

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The wisdom in this page has been drawn from the grassroots people of the East Asia Oceania Australasia Region. Consistent with their way, this wisdom is freely available on the Laceweb Internet site. Now a simple secure process has been set up, so people reading and downloading this wisdom may contribute financially if they so desire. You may send a tiny amount or as much as you desire.

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SE Asia, Oceania, Australasia Trauma Context

Many tens of thousands of indigenous and small minority people suffer the continuing trauma of torture and trauma inflicted during conflicts and man made disasters in the region. East Timor and Bougainville are two examples of traumatised populations.

This program has the substantial aim of energising healing processes that may lead to the healing of this massive and continuing human tragedy. The program is based upon tapping the voluntary energy of local nurturers and healers, most of whom are also traumatised, and enabling them to expand their healing repetoire in culturally appropriate ways.

The sheer size of the problem and a yearning to use local way has lead to this Program being centred on using/evolving informal networks of local self help healers.

Cultural Appropriateness:

This Workshop series has been expressly prepared to embody the following features.

Enabling:

  • culturally appropriate workshops

  • actual trauma healing during workshops

  • the passing on of healing ways

  • locals to culturally adapt healing ways

  • voluntary self help networks within and between communities

  • therapeutic community during the workshop series and beyond

Laceweb background

The Laceweb is an informal healing network of indigenous, small minority and intercultural people evolving in the Oceania, SE Asia, Australasia region for over 30 years. The Laceweb pioneered therapeutic community in the region over forty years ago (refer the internet: ).

Acknowledgement

This Laceweb document and Laceweb facilitator(s) draw upon streams of wisdom of indigenous and small minority people in the region passed along Laceweb networks.

Sequencing

The workshop sequencing typically 'unfolds' in an open agenda that is evolved by the local people to best meet their needs. For example, in some contexts, people are fully aware of their issues and needs and desire to move directly into experiencing some of the healing ways in workshops six and seven.

Proviso

The approaches outlined in this Workshop series, when applied by qualified, skilled, experienced enablers are extremely powerful. However, if these processes are attempted to be facilitated by unqualified, unskilled and inexperienced facilitators, not only could they be completely ineffectual, they could result in people being disillusioned. Skilled local facilitators may be evolved during workshop facilitation by Laceweb enablers.

Time:

The program appears as 14 experiential modules (workshops). While written as a seven day program, the timing of the program delivery is very flexible and may be changed to fit local contexts. Some groups may want to extend the time and vary the sequencing. For example workshops may be extended to 10 and 14 day sharing gatherings.

Pre-requisites to being a Participant:

People:

  • who are natural nurturers and typically 'wounded healers', and

  • are of any age and sex, and

  • who are, or have been, and are likely to be, involved in self-healing of self and others,

  • and do this healing naturally in their social lifeworld, and

  • are sought out by others to give nurturing support.

Aim:

This Workshop series is focusing on an extremely sensitive area where the aim is healing in the very process of passing on healing ways. It involves co-learning between participants, and between participants and facilitator(s), in workshops enabled by facilitators.

The workshop series meta-aim is 'meeting the healing needs and wants of local people'. While a wide range of potential content has been built into the program, workshops unfold in open agenda so that local people may take from it and adapt it according to local need, rather than facilitators imposing their specific agenda.

What will happen is that local people may use and adapt some or all aspects of the Workshop series and may explore and adapt the healing ways they want, at their pace.

The Laceweb has more than a 30 year record of passing on these healing ways. The healing and psycho-social processes being explored are powerful. Given this, the aims of the series and each Workshop are expressed in tentative terms to recognise that nothing will happen unless local people want it to happen.

Aim - By the end of the Workshop series, participants may be able to:

  • use trauma healing ways on self and others

  • develop and share culturally appropriate healing ways relating to torture and trauma healing, and

  • support survivors of torture and trauma by evolving and sustaining self help healing networks and therapeutic communities

WORKSHOPS LIST

The Aim may be achieved by participants attending the following 14 workshops:

Establishing Ambience and Contexts

1. Opening Ceremony and Storytelling

2. Introduction to Torture and Trauma Healing and Support

3. Issues in Supporting Survivors of Torture and Trauma

4. Application/Reflection as Healers/Survivors of Torture and Trauma During the Crisis

Receiving the Core of the Healing Ways

5. Healing Processes

6. Experiencing Sharing and Receiving Healing Ways

7. Experiencing, Sharing, Receiving and Adapting Healing Ways

Applying these Ways for Healing Specific Issues

8. Using Healing Ways to Resolve Specific Issues

9. Specific Application of Micro-skills to Women's Issues

10. Specific Application of Micro-skills to Children and Adolescents

11. Getting a Good Night's Sleep

Resolving Issues and Consolidating Possibilities for Action

12. Open Agenda Workshop Addressing Outstanding Issues

13. Issues for Facilitators and Enablers in Evolving Healing Networks

14. Evolving Healing and Support for Torture and Trauma Survivors - Summarising, Review and Action

Context:

This Workshop series draws upon the healing power of therapeutic community. Ideally, the series is experienced in campout sharing gatherings where facilitators and participants jointly enable the constituting of therapeutic community while living closely together for a short time.

Program Adaptability:

In the future, participants who have already experienced the program may repeat the program one or more times and experience a new set of healing ways each time. Such repeat paticipants may be included along side participants who are 'first-timers'.

Number of Participants:

Laceweb facilitators are experienced in working with both small groups as well as large groups (up to 200). It is envisioned that early workshops series may be small (may 10 or even up to 30) with 2 - 3 facilitators.

It is possible that in some healing sharing gatherings in the future it may well be that there may be many hundreds attending with concurrent workshops on offer.

Workshop 1 Opening Ceremony and Storytelling

Objective:

By the end of the Workshop, participants may have established comfort and rapport with the facilitators and each other, and may have resonance with the roles of:

Time:

Half day or longer

Process

A ceremony culturally appropriate for supporting local people and introducing the healing ambience of Torture and Trauma Healing.

Storytelling of healing and nurturing in big and small groups - Healing and Support for Torture and Trauma Survivors.

Activities:

Any matters that any participant wants revisited are posted on butcher paper.

Handouts:

Simple dot-point/diagram/picture handouts in respect of each theme from material generated throughout the group sharing and from prior Workshop series.

Back to Workshop List

Workshop 2 Introduction to Torture and Trauma Healing and Support

Objective

By the end of the Workshop, participants may have:

Time:

Half day or longer

Materials:

  • Materials from prior workshop
  • Activities:

    Facilitators introduce a series of structured experiences and sharings; themes:

    Additional activities:

    Any matters that any participant wants revisited are posted on butcher paper.

    Handouts:

    Simple dot-point/diagram/picture handouts in respect of each theme from material generated throughout the group sharing and from prior Workshop series.

    Additional resources:

    The following Videos may be used as appropriate to context:

    Back to Workshop List

    Workshop 3. Issues in Supporting Survivors of Torture and Trauma

    Objective:

    By the end of the Workshop, participants may be able to identify and explore the specific issues and needs for healing and supporting Bougainville survivors of torture and trauma and explore frameworks for resolving the issues and satisfying the needs.

    Time:

    Half day or longer

    Materials:

    Materials from prior workshops.

    Activities:

    Materials from prior workshops are used to expand on trauma healing issues:

    Workshop facilitator(s) and all attendees are supported to share examples of the above issues in small groups and big group. Healing contexts may emerge using:

    as a means of expressing concerns and options with extensive use of flip charts and output placed where all can see.

    Any matters that any participant wants revisited are posted on butcher paper.

    Handouts:

    Simple dot-point/diagram/picture handouts in respect of each theme from material generated throughout the group sharing and from prior Workshop series and from prior Workshop series.

    Back to Workshop List

    Workshop 4. Application/Reflection as Healers/Survivors of Torture and Trauma During the Crisis

    Objective:

    By the end of the Workshop, participants may be able:

    Time

    Half day or longer

    Material:

    Murals, flip charts, drawings, diagrams and other handouts from prior Workshops.

    Sequence of Activities:

    Workshop facilitator(s) and all attendees contributing in sharing discussion and examples, and by experiencing healing ways, exploring the following themes:

    Additional activities:

    Key aspects are posted on butcher paper and murals; posted material used as a resource for generating handouts.

    Any matters that any participant wants revisited are posted on butcher paper.

    Handouts:

    Simple dot-point/diagram/picture handouts in respect of each theme from material generated throughout the group sharing and from prior Workshop series and from prior Workshop series.

    Back to Workshop List

    Workshop 5. Healing Processes

    Objective:

    By the end of the Workshop, participants may able be to identify and understand:

    Time:

    Half day or longer

    Materials:

    All materials used and generated in previous workshops.

    Activities:

    The following themes may be discussed, explored and models demonstrated by the facilitator(s) and participants engaging in discussions and structured experiences in small and big groups.

    This may be a practical experiential Workshop where participants may experience different models of healing. Participants may experience using healing ways on self and others under the guidance of the facilitator(s)and share feedback with each other and the facilitator(s) on their outcomes.

    Themes explored may be:

    Further Themes:

    Additional activities

    Handouts:

    Simple dot-point/diagram/picture handouts from material generated throughout the group sharing and from prior Workshop series.

    Back to Workshop List

    Workshop 6. Experiencing, Sharing and Receiving Healing Ways

    Objective:

    By the end of the Workshop, participants may be able to provide a rich context with possibilities for exploring, understanding and acquiring healing ways and processes, as well as understanding when to use them in appropriate contexts.

    Time:

    Half day or longer

    Note:

    Typically this Workshop (6) and the following Workshop (7) may involve more than half a day. They are central for the sharing of healing ways. They may involve follow-up sessions among the participants with or without the facilitator(s), as participants further refine their healing ways. Workshop's 6 and 7 may provide a process-model for local sharing healing celebratory gatherings.

    Materials:

    All materials used and generated in prior Workshops.

    Activities:

    This particular session involves all participants in experiencing using healing ways.

    Facilitator(s) intruduce micro-experiences, and participants may experience using these micro-experiences on themselves and each other. The group may work individually, in pairs (with and without a third person in the observer role) as well as in small groups. Periodically participants will give and receive feedback and share discussion.

    There are a rich source of healing ways associated with the following material - far more than may be explored in one, or even two or three Workshops. Facilitator(s) may briefly share the healing ways with participants. Participants may select what they want from all the ways available.

    The micro-experiences

    Additional Activities:

    Handouts

    Simple dot-point/diagram/picture handouts from material generated throughout the group sharing and from prior Workshop series.

    Back to Workshop List

    Workshop 7. Experiencing, Sharing, Receiving and Adapting Healing Ways

    Objective:

    By the end of the workshop, participants may have furthered their experience of using the healing ways on themselves and others, and may have culturally adapted the healing ways to address specific local issues in supporting survivors of torture and trauma.

    Time:

    Half day or longer.

    Note:

    Typically this Workshop (7) and the previous Workshop may involve more than half a day. They are central for the sharing of healing ways. They may involve follow-up sessions among the participants with or without the facilitator(s), as participants further refine their healing ways. Workshop's 6 and 7 may provide a process-model for local sharing healing celebratory gatherings

    Materials:

    All materials used and generated in previous workshops.

    Activities:

    Processes:

    Activity and process in large and small groups:

    Handouts:

    Simple dot-point/diagram/picture handouts from material generated throughout the group sharing and from prior Workshop series.

    Back to Workshop List

    Workshop 8. Using Healing Ways to Resolve Specific Issues

    Objective

    By the end of the workshop participants may be becoming experienced in using a number of healing ways in resolving specific issues:

    Time:

    Half day or longer.

    Materials:

    Materials used and generated in preceding workshops.

    Activities:

    A continuation from Workshop 7 - focusing on applying healing ways in resolving specific issues. Themes:

    Healing blocked Love through Forgiveness of Self and Others:

    Draws on healing ways from Workshop Seven to unblock Love and have Love's bounty enriching every aspect of holistic wellbeing

    Processes:

    As for Workshop 7

    Additional Activities:

    Handouts:

    Simple dot-point/diagram/picture handouts from material generated throughout the group sharing and from prior Workshop series.

    Back to Workshop List

    Workshop 9. Specific Application of Micro-skills to Women's Issues

    Objective:

    By the end of the workshop participants may be becoming experienced in using a number of healing ways in resolving issues especially relevant for women, young women and girls.

    Time:

    Half day or longer.

    Materials:

    Materials used and generated in preceding workshops.

    Activities:

    This workshop focuses on using healing ways to address issues specific to women, young women and girls - themes:

    Processes:

    As for Workshop 7.

    Additional activities:

    Handouts:

    Simple dot-point/diagram/picture handouts from material generated throughout the group sharing and from prior Workshop series.

    Back to Workshop List

    Workshop 10. Specific Application of Micro-skills to Children and Adolescents

    Objective:

    By the end of the workshop participants may be becoming experienced in using a number of healing ways in resolving issues especially relevant for children and adolescents, and families containing children and adolescents.

    Time:

    Half day or longer.

    Materials:

    Materials used and generated in preceding workshops.

    Activities:

    In this workshop, the participants explore ways to resolve and heal childhood trauma and associated issues. Examples:

    Themes:

    Additional activities:

    Handouts:

    Simple dot-point/diagram/picture handouts from material generated throughout the group sharing and from prior Workshop series.

    Back to Workshop List

    Workshop 11. Getting a Good Night's Sleep

    Objective:

    By the end of the Workshop, participants may be able to understand and explore the range of sleep disorders and related issues of torture and trauma survivors; exploring, experiencing and using an extensive range of processes and skills to resolve these issues.

    Time:

    Half day or longer.

    Materials:

    Materials used and generated in preceding workshops.

    Activities:

    Facilitator(s) to explore each of the following themes and introduce healing ways to the participants:

    A set of micro-experiences/processes for resolving the above issues.

    Processes:

    As per Workshop 7

    Additional activities:

    Handouts:

    Simple dot-point/diagram/picture handouts from material generated throughout the group sharing and from prior Workshop series.

    Back to Workshop List

    Workshop 12. Open Agenda Workshop Addressing Outstanding Issues

    Objective:

    To address outstanding issues from the preceding Workshops.

    Time:

    Half day or longer.

    Materials:

    All materials used and generated in the preceding workshops may be used for this workshop. The participants may explore any of the issues or topics that they want to revisit or discuss including those which have been posted on butcher paper during previous workshops.

    Activities:

    Participants have the opportunity to:

    anything that has emerged during the previous Workshops and intervening periods.

    Additional activities:

    Handouts:

    Simple dot-point/diagram/picture handouts from material generated throughout the group sharing and from prior Workshop series.

    Back to Workshop List

    Workshop 13. Issues for Facilitators and Enablers in Evolving Healing Networks

    Objective:

    By the end of the Workshop, participants may be able to identify and explore the specific issues and needs for, and may have commenced action on evolving and sustaining healing networks supporting survivors of torture and trauma on Bougainville.

    Time:

    Half day or longer.

    Materials:

    Activities:

    Processes:

    Additional activities:

    Handouts

    Simple dot-point/diagram/picture handouts from material generated throughout the group sharing and from prior Workshop series.

    Back to Workshop List

    Workshop 14. Evolving Healing and Support for Torture and Trauma Survivors - Summarising, Review and Action

    Objective:

    By the end of the Workshop, the participants (i) may be able to assist in evolving culturally appropriate self help healing networks, (ii) may be able to use a range of healing ways in supporting survivors of torture and trauma and (iii) may have taken the first steps in evolving and sustaining self help healing networks.

    Materials:

    All materials used and generated during preceeding workshops.

    Time:

    Half day or longer.

    Activities:

    Participants may engage in action planning of next steps in evolving self help healing networks:

    Closing ceremony

    Additional activities:

    Brief summaries of healing ways and action may be posted on butcher paper and murals and this content used to generate handouts.

    Handouts:

    Simple dot-point/diagram/picture handouts from material generated throughout the group sharing and from prior Workshop series.

    Providing support

    Perhaps you may want to support this project and the related Micro-Action and be part of an extra-ordinary healing Odyssey.

    Other links:


    Laceweb Home Page

    Evolving a SE Asia Pacific Self Help Trauma Support Intercultural Network - A Small Micro Proposal

    Self Help Action Supporting Survivors of Torture and Trauma in Se Asia, Oceania And Australasia - Small Generalisable Actions

    Short version of the above project

    Back to Workshop List

     

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