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Practising the story
SAID ALOUD
Practising the story
Aim . To show that a story becomes healing when it helps us understand our reactions .
Trainer . I said before the break that the story we are telling you can be a healing story . A story becomes healing when it leads us to understand our reactions and emotions and why people react as they do . In this way , it restores hope and meaning . At that moment it begins to heal .
PART II : THE TRAINING
I want you to retell the story to each other . Remember to use general terms , and include no traumatising details .
Role Play 2 . Retelling the story . ( 20 minutes .)
Break into pairs for this role play exercise . One of you will be the Helper and the other the Survivor . Do not choose to describe a very complicated or challenging situation . The aim is to learn a new skill . A complex example may be disturbing or may make learning difficult .
ROLE PLAY EXERCISE
Sit facing each other on chairs or on the floor . Say to the Survivor that you want her to listen carefully while you tell her a story about the Butterfly Woman . Then tell her the story in your own words .
Before you start , look at Figure 2 on the wall ( the Butterfly Woman , capable and in good health ) to help you remember . Make sure you include the Butterfly Woman ’ s good life at the start . Encourage the Survivor to listen to you . Enthral her . Persuade her that you want to share something very important with her . The story should calm her heart and should not make her feel bad . ( See Section 9 of Part III for examples of role play .)
At the end , the Trainer will tell you to come out of your role . Stand up , stop being the Survivor or the Helper , remove the scarf ( if you wear one ), brush your role off , and say aloud : “ I am ( me )”.
Discussion . Use of metaphor . ( 15 minutes .)
DISCUSSION
Discuss what you felt when you told the story . What did you feel when you listened ? What happened ?
Discuss what happened mentally and physically to the Butterfly Woman . What disappeared after her trauma and what new things appeared ? What happened to her body , her heart , her breathing and her thoughts ? What happened to her hopes about the future ? Can she recall good memories from her past ?
Does the metaphor of the Butterfly Woman work ? Do you think a survivor will recognise her own reactions in those of the Butterfly Woman ? Will she understand that she is not alone ?
Do you agree that other women react and feel in the same way the Butterfly Woman does , and that her reactions are natural and often occur after such an experience ?
Trainer . We have looked at different reactions to trauma . We saw how the Butterfly Woman tried to flee , wanted to fight , and experienced freezing or numbing . We saw how she tried to play dead and submit , and how all these responses are ways to survive . People and animals respond to fear in similar ways . These are automatic responses to threat . Our bodies make smart use of different responses to survive .