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The Butterfly Woman . Her good life .
SAID ALOUD
The Butterfly Woman . Her good life .
Aim . To introduce the Butterfly Woman story and the five focus areas .
PART II : THE TRAINING
Trainer . I will now tell you a story that will continue like a thread through the training . It is about the Butterfly Woman . Listen – and notice what happens to the Butterfly Woman ’ s thoughts , feelings , breathing , heart and body .
The story is a metaphor
Remember that the Butterfly Woman story is a metaphor . Using it , we can talk about victims of trauma and their survival in a manner that distances us from the terrible experiences described . This distancing permits us to look more calmly at the Woman ’ s suffering and her reactions , and understand that she reacts understandably to the violence to which she is exposed . It allows us to explain how trauma affects a person ’ s life – her thoughts , feelings , breathing , body and heart .
In many cultures , storytelling is commonly used to pass on knowledge and wisdom . Such stories are constructed to enable the storyteller to share unspeakable or difficult content . The Butterfly Woman endures great hardship . We understand the psychology of her trauma without speaking about it directly . This is also important wherever rape is culturally taboo . Through the story , women can indirectly identify , reflect on and speak about their own experience . In this way , the story can be healing .
Throughout , therefore , remember that the story is used figuratively , to illustrate what happens .
We will start at the beginning , when life is good for the Butterfly Woman and she is healthy and safe , because we want to understand what is taken away from her , and what changes when she is assaulted . It is also important to know that she has good memories to which she can reconnect later .