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APPENDICES
4 . Creating a safe place . ( 10-12 minutes .)
This exercise helps survivors who are in “ freeze-mode ”, feeling numbed and frozen .
Make yourself comfortable , with your feet on the ground . Feel and relax your body , your head , your face , your arms , spine , stomach , buttocks , thighs , legs . Choose whether you want to close your eyes or keep them open during this exercise . Listen carefully to the Trainer ’ s voice .
• Think of a place in which in the past you were calm and confident and safe . It may be outdoors , at home , or somewhere else . It can be a place to which you have been once or many times , which you saw in a film or heard about , or imagine . You can be there by yourself or with someone you know . It can be private , unknown to others , somewhere that no one can find without your permission . Or you can decide to share it with others . This place must suit you and meet your needs . You can constantly recreate or adapt it . It is comfortable and richly equipped for all your wants . Everything you need to be comfortable is present . It is somewhere that fits you . It shuts out every stimulus that might be overwhelming .
• Imagine this place . Imagine you are there . Take time to absorb it in detail : its colours , shapes , smells and sound . Imagine sunshine , feel the wind and the temperature . Notice how it feels to stand , sit or lie there , how your skin and your body feel in contact with it .
• How does your body feel when everyone is safe , and everything is fine ? In your safe place you can see , hear , smell and feel exactly what you need to feel safe . Perhaps you take off your shoes and feel what it is like to walk barefoot in the grass or in the sand .
• You can go to this place whenever you want and as often as you want . Just thinking about it will cause you to feel calmer and more confident .
• Remain there for five more seconds . Then prepare to return to this room , open your eyes , stretch yourself , do what you need to return to the present .
5 . Re-orienting to the present . ( 10 minutes .)
This exercise is of help to survivors in ‘ freeze-mode ’, who feel numbed and frozen .
Form pairs and sit together . One of the pair should play a helper and the other a survivor . The Helper should assist the Survivor to use her senses to put herself fully in the present and feel safe . Take turns .
Look round you and name 3 things you see .
• Look at something ( an object , a colour , etc .)
• Tell yourself what you are seeing .
Name 3 things you hear .
• Listen to a sound ( music , voices , other sounds ).
• Tell yourself what you are hearing .
Name 3 things you touch .
• Touch something ( different textures , different objects ).
• Tell yourself what you are touching .
Now , notice your state of mind .
• Do you feel that you are more present in the room or less present after doing the exercise ?
• Do you feel calmer or more energised ?