Therapeutic Care
The Chrysalis Academy provides a range of therapeutic modalities to help students build their resilience. This includes Trauma Release Exercises (TRE), yoga and mindfulness, nature-based therapies, journaling, art, meditation and music. Therapeutic classes take place on a Thursday for two hours in the afternoon. Students have always reported on the value and power of these sessions. The Academy is supported in its therapeutic work by a number of committed and skilled volunteers. In addition to the therapeutic classes, the Academy also provides coaching, counselling and mentorship services to students.
TRE was developed about 15 years ago by Dr. David Berceli from the USA. He has since taken it to 33 countries and has taught the exercises to thousands of people across the world.
While working in the war-torn Middle East, he discovered that, when people were able to tremor or shake after events such as a war, they avoided the effects of psychological and physical disease later on. He then created six simple exercises which can be done by people from seven years of age and at all levels of fitness. These exercises are designed to ‘switch on’ the body’s natural tremoring mechanism, allowing the person to shake off the excessive toxic chemical build-up brought about by stress and trauma.
Over time (usually not more than three months) the entire physiology of the body returns to balance. The immune system returns to normal and the person doing the exercise also benefits from being more relaxed and calm, with improved sleep, better focus and concentration and relief of any back or joint pains.
Some of the Chrysalis Academy’s senior staff and instructors have been trained by Dr Melanie Salmon, the South African co-ordinator of TRE and have subsequently been certified as TRE providers. Please replace the 5th paragraph with the following wording; “Chrysalis Academy has embarked on a research project in 2012 – the results clearly showing that TRE is a very important modality in dealing with trauma.
Chrysalis will be embarking on a pilot project with their students over the next nine to ten weeks where students will be taught the six exercises and will also do regular tremor sessions whilst completing their three-month programme. The results of the pilot project will be analysed by Dr. Berceli and his researchers in the USA.
For further information, please email Fiona Brophy, the Chrysalis Academy social worker and life coach.