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Ending the story
SAID ALOUD
Ending the story
Aim . To end the story in a good way .
Trainer . We now have one last exercise to do together . How do you think the story ends ?
PART II : THE TRAINING
At last , the time came for the Butterfly Woman to visit her family . She was very nervous and had a hard time concentrating . Together with the other woman from her village , she had worked hard to recall good memories from the village , so the bad ones were not so strong .
The helper warned her that the village and its surroundings would be very triggering . She said : “ Use everything you have learned about grounding . Once you are grounded , there is one more strategy that can be of great benefit . That is : actively see how the present moment differs from when the trauma occurred . You know that trauma-reminders trigger trauma-reactions . If the river starts to trigger a trauma-reaction , actively try to see how the river now is different from the river then , by examining it closely , and by telling yourself that it is now peaceful , the soldiers have gone , and so on . When you actively orient yourself and see that it is safe , this will help you to see what has changed in the village , and you will be able to separate past from present . You will give yourself a new experience that will soon become a good new memory , strengthening you and your connection with the present and sending past memory back to the past . This will also tell you that the danger is over . When you detect differences , you can say them out loud to yourself .”
The Butterfly Woman felt prepared to go back to the village to meet her husband and children . With a helper , she decided to go .
Exercise 8 . Ending the Story . ( 15 minutes in small groups .)
EXERCISE
Form small groups to discuss how the story ends . Consider the questions on the flip chart .
• What did the Butterfly Woman bring to “ ground herself ” when she returned to her village ?
• How did she help herself to stay connected to the present moment ?
• What did the helper do to support her ?
• How did she feel when she saw the river that she loved , where she had been raped ?
• How did she feel when she saw her children and her husband ?
• How did she react ?
• How did her children react ?
• How did her husband react ?
• How did her husband ’ s relatives react ?
• What did other people in the community do to help her when she returned ?
• Could the Woman connect with other members of the community ? With whom ? How does the story end ?
The Trainer will ask you to come back into plenary and write up your thoughts .