Newsletter: Spring, 2002

Popular Education for Trauma Healing
— Patricia Mathes Cane, Ph.D. Capaticar Founder/Co-Director

Capacitar's unique contribution to trauma healing and the empowerment of people is Popular Wellness Education. Capacitar learned Popular Education methods over the last 13 year through collaboration with many grassroots centers in Latin America. Popular Education was first developed as a methodology by Paolo Freire in Brazil to liberate people marginalized by political and economic oppression. Freire proposed: At all stages of their liberation, the oppressed must see themselves as people engaged in the vocation of becoming more fully human. (Pedagogy of The Oppressed) Teaching a process of reflection, judgment and action, Freire encouraged grassroots people around the world to overcome their sense of powerlessness and act in their own behalf, leading to the transformation of person, community and society.

Inspired by the power and impact of Popular Education, Capacitar has applied this methodology to the healing of body, mind and spirit. Through this approach people are empowered to see, judge and act — accessing their own body wisdom drawing on their own culture, strengths and resources to heal and transform the person, community and society.

The Popular Education approach, in contrast to a therapeutic approach that places power in the hands of the clinician or therapist, empowers grassroots people in their own healing process, teaching them practices they can use in their daily lives for physical and emotional pain.

Capacitar practices are simple and effective. Some come from ancient cultures, such as Tai Chi and Acupressure, and serve to balance the energy of body, mind and spirit which can be blocked with traumatic experience, resulting in headaches, pain and chronic disorders. Other practices are from current research, such as emotional freedom techniques (EFT), tapping exercises for unblocking energy. The practices have been researched and field tested internationally with thousands of participants affected by violence and trauma with many positive results.

Capacitar's approach complements individual therapy and mental health programs. However, where Capacitar works there are usually few mental health resources for grassroots people, and when available, are often resisted because of cultural bias.

Popular Education also involves the multiplier effect in the community. Training leaders who in turn train others, Capacitar's Popular Education Wellness Program has been an effective way to empower large numbers of people suffering from violence and trauma, multiplying the work on many levels.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, both in the U.S. and elsewhere, more people than ever have been deeply affected by traumatic stress. Several New York psychiatrists at the December 2001 conference of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) noted that the massive problem of trauma in New York was beyond the scope of individual treatment. Our recent work in New York confirmed these reports.

Because of the effectiveness of the Popular Education approach, Capacitar's work continues to expand. This year Capacitar will be working in 20 countries and 14 states with new work starting in Mississippi and internationally in the Dominican Republic, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya and Indonesia. Teams are currently being trained in East Timor, Chiapas, Guatemala, and Columbia, where violence and trauma escalate daily. This newsletter will share some of the work being done in these places.

Following the Spirit of Paolo Freire and Popular Education, Capacitar's mission is to empower oppressed and traumatized people in the work of healing and transformation.