Sweden

Header Image Source: Used with appreciation to Smart Water Magazine >>>

Linked to the Swedish Language Version >>>
of the Nightingale Declaration for a Healthy World and NIGH's Swedish Advisors >>>

Tapping for Healing & Peace!
From Sweden to the World!

“Our world needs people who are calm and in peace with themselves ... to be able to be in peace with others, to live in peace with others.” Gunilla Hamne, Trauma Tapper, Founder of the Peaceful Heart Network >>>

This video shares the Trauma Tapping Technique as a First Aid intervention that can be multiplied in areas with great challenges of emotional and traumatic stress. Anyone can learn it and share with others.

An Awesome Way to Heal & Contribute to World Peace

by Deva-Marie Beck, PhD, RN, DTM, International Co-Director of the Nightingale Initiative for Global Health >>>

I first met Gunilla Hamne — an awesome Swedish global citizen and activist — in 2011, when she first visited Canada to widen her network by sharing her Tapping skills and teaching these healing skills to others. As it happened — when I met her — I had just completed several months on a small team of care givers. Together, we had being keeping watch on a close friend who was enduring severe mental illness. With our friend was finally placed in the best hospital care and receiving successful treatment, I was able to take a break.
But I was exhausted at every level — physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Looking back now, I realize I was enduring Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Then, all I knew was that I was numb and strangely lost. When Gunilla shared her ‘Tapping’ with me, I immediately felt a sense of renewal and this approach helped me to heal over time.

Gunilla Hamne, Global Citizen Activist

Beginning her career as a world-traveled Swedish journalist, Gunilla had already demonstrated the value of Tapping techniques to heal emotional trauma in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and in Rwanda since 2007. Motivated by learning about Tapping — as form of energy psychology — from Dr. Carl Johnson, a renowned Professor of Psychology and Trauma Expert, Gunilla had become deeply committed to sharing this healing method with as many people as possible.

“...remarkably effective to reduce traumatic emotions in areas where war has caused great suffering.”

One of the young TTT participants in West Kenya, Misuri.

Called ‘Tapping' — Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) have been demonstrated as a solution for a many related issues, including stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD, trauma, physical pain, phobias, weight management, cravings, and even performance issues in scholastic, business, athletic and artistic pursuits. Often introduced as emotional acupuncture, EFT is a therapy that reduces the intensity and impact of prior traumatic events.
As above, Gunilla had witnessed how the ‘Tapping’ Dr. Johnson had shared with her was remarkably effective to reduce traumatic emotions in areas where war has caused great suffering. She became dedicated to practicing and teaching this technique as her life’s top priority. Soon thereafter, she met Ulf Sandström — a Swedish trauma facilitator >>> — who had been focused on relieving suffering and preventing violence by sharing similar methods for trauma relief and resilience to stress. Together, they established the Peaceful Heart Network >>> a Swedish non-profit now active in over 30 countries and with 100.000 people, mostly in conflict

and post-conflict areas and where natural disasters have left people vulnerable and hyper vigilant. These countries include Afghanistan, Chad, the DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Uganda — as well as for trainings in Canada, Finland, Greece — for Afghan refugees — in Sweden and in the United States. With this endeavour, the Peaceful Heart Network (PHN) has conducted studies on the positive effects of their 'Trauma Tapping Technique (TTT) on children liberated from being 'child soldiers' for armed forces in the DRC.

In my review of their work, I appreciated many stories shared on PHN’s News Blog >>> For instance, one of PHN's Tapping colleagues, Margherita Zilliacus from Finland, has been doing TTT training at a rehabilitation center for drug addicts in Dakar in Senegal. The social workers who participated found the method useful and gave it a new name: Nioko Bokk which in their language wolof means “This is for everybody!” Margherita also went to the neighbouring country Sierra Leone — volunteering for Fambul Tok >>> — a world renowned NGO known for community approaches to reconciliation and restoring trust between people after their ten-year-long civil war. To watch an inspired video about PHN's work in Sierra Leone, click here >>>

“Nioko Bokk' means 'This is for everybody!' ”

Now available as an audiobook on most platforms like Storytel >>> Amazon >>> and Spotify >>>

Another inspiring story is from Murigo Veneranda who started her multiplying effect experiment using TTT together with the refugees in the Kigeme camp in Rwanda in 2013. She trained eight people — among them the president of the refugee committee a man called Benjamin. Then, she told them to train five people each. After a few of weeks they called and said, “OK, now we are 40….” Now, over 500 refugees have been trained. Murigo says, “They will still teach others. Imagine if we could reach almost everybody in the camp!” Also in 2013, Gunilla reported how the Swedish printing company — GL-Tryck >>> — enabled PHN to spread thousands of pocket-sized instruction booklets in French and in English in both the DRC and Rwanda.

Gunilla teaching TTT to Salim Rajani on NCY Subway Train # 1.

Gunilla also shared another encouraging story about her 2012 visit to New York City where she was invited to visit the United Nations Headquarters. While there, she stopped to reflect in the Meditation Room initiated by the Swedish former UN Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjöld. Of this encounter, she said, “the solid rock in the middle makes the room very still. A contrast to the rest of New York.” Later, she met a friend named Hjalmar who was doing theatre work in reconciliation processes in different parts of the world, including for AHRDO, based in Kabul >>> Then, Hialmar invited Gunilla to see a theatre performance portraying the difficulties of being Latin

American immigrants in the US. They left the UN building and walked towards Subway Train # 1 where three of Hjalmar´s Afghan colleagues joined them. When entering the train and finding space to sit down in spite of the rush hour, one of them, Salim Rajani, asked, “Could you please teach me that trauma tapping? Hjalmar showed us once in Kabul but I don't really remember how to do it properly.” “Of course,” Gunilla said, “just a pleasure. But it has to be here in the train because this is the only time we have together. Is that OK with you?” “No problem!” was Salim´s non-hesitant answer. A couple of weeks later, she received an email from Salim who had returned to Kabul: “Dear Gunilla, Thank you for teaching me the Trauma Tapping... I just had a training with victims of the war, mainly widows... We used the TTT when they were telling their story. It was really great and useful!”

From Kabul, “Thank you for teaching me the TTT methodology... I just had a training with victims of the war, mainly widows... We used the TTT when they were telling their story. It was really great and useful!”

TOP: Monique Pat and Penny Cooper, Aboriginal nurses at Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, BC. BELOW: TTT participants from the Health Center in the Pacheedaht First Nation community on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.

I was also pleased to learn about the Peaceful Heart Network's work to help with reconciliation and healing within Canada's Indigenous communities and the struggle of the native people there. Many of them have been deprived during many, many generations.
This is especially true for those who were pulled from their families to be educated in the so-called Residential Schools, often run by Catholic priests and nuns. But, this was not a happy or effective education. The children were forbidden to speak their language, to have any contact with their families or be in touch with their traditions. They were stripped off their culture and lost their sense of belonging to family and community.
Today, their suicide rates and levels of depression and anxiety are much higher than among the majority population.
Lately, British Columbia's First Nations communities have been encouraged to develop more of their own health system.

“Thank you for bringing this tool to us. We can now begin to work on the traumas with a different approach.... It actually works and will be very useful in our communities where there is a lot of suffering.”

This development made it easier for them to invite the Peaceful Heart Network to share the TTT trainings. For example, Victoria's Jubilee Hospital now features a ceremonial room where traditional forms of healing are recognized — including the TTT training where one of the Aboriginal nurses — Monique Pat — introduced the workshop with a sage smudging ceremony. When the training was completed, Monique commented, “Thank you for bringing this tool to us. We can now begin to work on the traumas with a different approach... It actually works! It will be very useful in our communities where there is a lot of suffering.” Another one of the participants in the Pacheedaht workshop said, “We have had eleven suicides just in our family. I am, myself, a survivor of sexual abuse and suicide. Now I want to help others in the community. I hope to be able to use this tool of TTT”

TTT participants featured on the Peaceful Heart Network Facebook Page >>>

Image Sources: SDG Logos # 3 and # 16 accessed according to UN guidelines >>>.
All other images used with appreciation and permission — accessed from the Peaceful Heart Network's webpage >>> and Facebook page >>>