Book Contributions

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Piece by piece I was stolen

My Disappearing Act

Wasn’t an act of magic

Wasn’t a trick, or a plan, or at all intended

Each piece, unacknowledged, unseen

Was thus taken away, vanished, forgotten

First by those with unseeing eyes, unhearing ears

Then by me, myself, mimicking the only thing I knew

I have been searching for those pieces

In an attempt to complete the puzzle

This is my Appearing Act

This is my lifetime work, in progress

I see and hear and witness

Those stolen pieces of myself

One by one

I acknowledge their invisibility

I gaze into their blank expressions

I witness their mistrust, their caution

You jolly well should be cautious, be mistrusting

I will wait here, until you are ready to come alive

Until you accept my embrace, and let me 

paint you in glorious colours

Until you are ready to join hands and dance

No longer disappearing in a haze, vanishing 

into a magic cabinet

Appearing, stretching to the light, still unsure, still hurting

But risking the exposure to the elements, 

the warmth, the cool breeze

Even if just for a brief moment

Dear stolen pieces

I give you permission to retreat back into the dark,

Into the nothingness

But only if absolutely necessary

The thieves no longer have the power over you

Their script is no longer your story

Let’s make a new story together -

A peculiar, unfamiliar sort of story

The one that doesn’t shame and doesn’t turn away

The one that is tasting life as if for the first time

The story of possibility of touching and being touched

The story of the Appearing Act and of what happens next

[This is the poem that gave the title to the book]

For my MSc Therapeutic Practice in Psychological Trauma with Chester University, completed in 2016, I conducted a qualitative study of the experiences of 8 counsellors and therapists working with trauma, in applications of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) for self care. 

Bennett, M. (2016). A thematic analysis of the use of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) as a self-care tool by trauma therapists. MSc Dissertaiton (unpublished). University of Chester.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to investigate the use of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) as a self-care tool by trauma therapists. Professionals working with trauma are subject to deleterious effects such as compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatisation and burnout. EFT is an innovative therapeutic and self-help tool, combining the use of acupressure point stimulation with mental focus on, and verbalisation of, the distressing issue. Empirical research supports the efficacy of EFT for a range of conditions including post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. Thematic Analysis was used to analyse the data collected from semi-structured interviews with 8 experienced trauma therapists who are also EFT practitioners. The main findings of the study are: (a) EFT may act as an ‘inoculation’ agent, protecting the therapist from the effects of client’s traumatic material during sessions; (b) EFT is a useful stress management and emotional regulation tool for therapists in their personal and work life; (c) the use of EFT may contribute to enhancing levels of compassion satisfaction in therapists.