Publications about the cards
Healing trauma with metaphoric cards
From Therapy Today / September 2007
Survivors of disasters can fall into a vortex of helpless despair – or climb a healing
spiral using a variety of resources. One effective tool to aid recovery is the deck of COPE cards
Crisis and disaster are part of life. We are exposed to dangerous environments through war and terrorism,
ecological, natural or technological disasters and urban violence. Poverty, racial persecution and physical
or sexual abuse also cause suffering and trauma, as do individual crises such as loss and death of dear
ones, destruction and loss of home, abandonment and betrayal.
The trauma vortex
Survivors of such disasters are often left feeling helpless or depressed, plagued with guilt or anger, caught
in the trauma vortex. This metaphor, coined by Peter Levine1, describes the whirlpool of chaos in the aftermath
of trauma. Also called the ‘black hole’ of trauma, it is a downward spiral that traps the traumatised, who may
find it difficult to control their sensations, images, feelings, thoughts and behaviours.
Their essential needs for safety are shaken, as is the right to exist without danger, the sense of competency
and the ability to control one’s destiny. Anger and rage mount, coupled with a deep sense of powerlessness
at their inability to right the situation. The rage can be turned against inwards or against others.
Trauma, then, can create a vortex that pulls people down and tempts them to adopt the victim identity, to the
detriment of all previous personal achievements and future plans. When the ‘traumatic narrative’ takes over,
it becomes the centre of our thoughts, feelings and relationships. The price for adopting victimhood is giving
up control over one’s life. One example was H, a survivor of an Israeli school disaster, where adolescents were
held as hostages and 22 of them killed. Twenty years later, H still signed all his letters as ‘victim of the
Ma’alot massacre’. He visited the graves of his schoolmates every day, apologising to them for his survival.
From victim to victor
A different outcome of trauma can be a healing spiral that pulls people up. People are
apt to find inner hidden resources, and transform their priorities by attending to family, social and spiritual
values. How do we make the choice to move from being a victim to becoming a victor? Some do it by taking an
active role in resolving the trauma, assuming responsibility for self-healing, assuming responsibility for
healing others. Others may choose compassion and forgiveness.
One dramatic example is the forgiveness rituals engaged in by the Amish community in Pennsylvania after
six girls were killed by a local milk lorry driver. Some survivors focus on altruistic work and lobby for
important social causes. One example is Mrs. G, the mother of a murdered girl, who wished to spare the life
of her daughter’s murderer and made it her life mission to fight against the death penalty in California.
There are healing methods that will help traumatised individuals manage their hyperarousal and contain their
explosiveness and hypersensitivity. This can be done by shedding light on the pull of the trauma vortex, and
providing knowledge and practice of coping resources. It is, however, imperative to understand the nature of
traumatic reactions and how individuals and groups vacillate between the two vortices, from hope, optimism,
energy and altruism to fatigue, frustrations, disillusionment, polarised thinking and back again5.
COPE – the art of healing
When trauma is beyond words, we look for non-verbal and psychologically safe methods of expression and sharing.
People are relieved when offered the opportunity to approach their painful experiences step by step, starting
by using symbols and metaphors. One of the most effective tools in eliciting healing metaphors is a set of
illustrated cards called COPE cards, that belong to a specially designed genre of associative cards (the OH-cards
series). COPE cards, initiated by myself, painted by the Russian artist Marina Lukyanova and issued by the German
publisher Moritz Egetmeyer, represent an international joint effort to deal with the consequences of traumatic
events and help heal psychic wounds6. The 88 cards enable their users, whether playfully or therapeutically,
to access deep feelings and narrate their experiences.
By using COPE cards, participants can learn to identify their own particular ways of coping with crisis, stress
and trauma. The experience of randomly selecting cards and dealing with the associations they evoke can elicit
new ideas and possibilities, instead of repeating familiar patterns of thought and response. COPE cards help us
reach our inner pain and discover our inner strength. A sort of ‘virtual training’ takes place in dealing with
challenging situations, in surfing beyond time and space, in experimenting with possible solutions to c
onflict-laden issues – all within the safe world of image and metaphor.
BASIC Ph coping modes
In the process of researching for ways of promoting resilience and healthy ways of coping, we have developed a
new model of ‘coping resources’ acronymed BASIC Ph.
This is a holistic multimodal framework that contains six modes of coping resources: Belief systems, Affective
expression, Social support, Imagination/ creativity, Cognitive processing, Physical behaviour. These six modalities
merge into one in our worldwide traumacoping training programs, and are represented by six COPE ‘hand’ cards:
1. Belief systems refer to faith in God or a supernatural power, trust in other human beings
or trust in oneself. Faith and hope are welldocumented mental coping resources with trauma.
2. Affect is the feeling aspect of consciousness. The heart symbolises love and hate, fear and courage, grief
and joy, jealousy and compassion etc. This coping mode involves chiefly the ability to recognise feelings and name
them, and then to express them by verbalising (telling, writing, dramatising) or by nonverbal activities, such
as free play, dance, painting, sculpting or music.
3. Social coping skills focus on interaction with others. Such interactions include the giving and receiving
of support by family members, friends and also professional helpers. In the aftermath of trauma, there is a
strong need to bear witness – the traumatic experiences need to be acknowledged, expressed, listened to,
witnessed by caring others, tolerated, contained, treated and healed.
4. The Imaginative/ metaphoric mode is the key to coping when traumatic experiences are ‘beyond words’.
It offers many creative ways of expressing painful memories. Images in the COPE cards elicit personal hidden
memories or fantasies related to the traumatic experience. Any COPE card (or combination of several cards)
can function as an opportunity to surpass dire reality and find solace in imagination.
5. Cognitive reprocessing means using cognitive skills to make sense of the trauma narrative as it unfolds
in reaction to the visual images of the cards. This is yet another mode of gaining control over posttraumatic
issues and painful memories. The purpose of re-telling the traumatic story is to re-visit the scene in safe
mode (thereby releasing its grip of terror and horror), analyse and understand the demand of the situation,
and plan strategies of rescue and coping.
6. Physical (body/mind) coping modes. The trauma is stored in the body. Levine1 suggests the use of body awareness
and somatic experience for unfreezing the somatic trauma and regaining body-mind control. These methods are used
to build a flexible balancing of tension and relaxation, establish body-boundaries and re-examine the relationship
between personal space and trust. The other projectivemetaphoric cards in the set, which support verbal and
nonverbal expressive methods, help to access repressed experiences. We have found this multimodal approach most
effective in helping people cope with trauma and negotiate ways of resolving conflicts in situations of violent
armed conflicts, suicide prevention and domestic violence. In actual traumatic situations, people usually employ
a combination of coping styles to survive.
Getting started
The first step toward recovery and healing is to reach physical and psychological safety and security. In this safe
space, it is possible to vent feelings by verbal and nonverbal means, to share dreams, nightmares and other traumatic
reactions. When appropriate, mourning and memorial rituals can promote positive affirmations of resilience.
Any COPE card or combination of cards can serve as a trigger for the narration of the event and responses to it.
Using the COPE Cards provides an opportunity for recounting personal recollections of traumatisation in a safe
environment, since metaphoric stories triggered by the visual images of the cards are one step removed from anguished
reality. This ‘creative distance’ facilitates
recall and the working through of trauma experience. The use of image and imagination serves as a protective screen
against being overwhelmed by intense emotions. When the memories become too much to bear, one can always return to
the imagined story, or look for other cards that may serve as anchors for a sense of thriving, surviving and healing.
Identifying coping skills This activity aims to discover our normal ways of coping. and also identify those coping
modes that are blocked in times of crisis. What resources would be required to make them available in times of need?
1. Spread the six COPE ‘hand cards’ face up on the table, and identify each of them according to the BASIC Ph model
(Belief, Affect, Social, Imaginative, Cognitive, Physical modes).
2. Pick six cards at random from the COPE cards deck and place them face down on top of the ‘hand cards’, so that each
‘hand card’ is covered by one card.
3. Turn the top cards up, one at a time, and reflect how they connect to the ‘hand card’ that represents one coping
mode. Let the top card help you describe how you use the relevant coping mode in your life, in a positive or a
negative way. For example: My ‘imagination’ coping mode helps me detach myself from my worries (positive), and my
‘social’ coping mode makes me needy and overdependant on others (negative).
4. Now, think of a time in your life when you experienced severe stress or crisis. Turn the remaining COPE cards face up
and choose three cards that describe this experience.
5. Try to identify which of the coping modes you have employed to deal with that crisis.
Use the cards to tell the story of your coping.
6. Try also to identify those modes that you have not used – and turn their representative cards face down. These cards
represent those coping modes that were blocked by the traumatic event.
7. Find cards that will help you reactivate those blocked modes.
8. Reflect on the whole process of how you identified your existing resources for coping with crisis and how you
activated additional resources. Share your reflections. Re-tell the story of your traumatic experience, and how it
was transformed by the use of all six coping modes. The tsunami: examples The following are examples of the variety
of coping modes emerging from COPE cards work with survivors of the tsunami disaster in Thailand
The stories were triggered by the COPE cards as a response to the question: What helped you most during and after
the disaster? Belief in God or in supernatural powers: ‘At the time of the Tsunami I was praying in the mosque.
The wave arrived abruptly, flooded the street, circulated the mosque and did not touch it. A miracle happened and
I was saved with the grace of God.’
Affect and expression of their feelings: ‘There was a time when I experienced an immense feeling of pain inside me.
It’s hard to explain. I could not find words to share my feelings with my friends. I did not dare burden them with
my agony. That’s why these cards were so important for me: they allowed me to deal with my own feelings, same as
everybody else in our group. I am not ashamed any longer. It is a relief.’ Social skills: ‘I volunteered to help
people who were hurt. Their suffering was much greater than mine. By helping others I helped myself.’
Imagination: ‘Do you want to know how I was saved from death? As I was drowning, I imagined a strong rope in the
water. I seized it and pulled myself up. I was saved, in spite of the fact that there was no real rope in the
water.’ Cognitive solutions, the search for information and understanding: ‘Two weeks after the tsunami, I still
could not fall asleep. So night after night I searched for information about tsunami on the web. Then I started
visiting schools and sharing my newly acquired knowledge. That is why they sent me to this training.’
Physical activity: ‘I had to immerse myself in the hard work of cleaning the debris of the storm. This was the only
way I could manage my anxiety and sadness.’ Another teacher said: ‘Working with children, I succeeded in calming them
down by engaging them in vigorous movements until they tired, sat quietly, breathed deeply and relaxed.’ In conclusion
There is no one single appropriate method of coping for all situations, all people or all ages. Each person, family,
and community has their specific combination of coping modes, which constitutes their basic coping language. The
effective way for the therapist to help is to join the victims’ basic language, and then guide them in developing
additional coping resources.
Ofra Ayalon, PhD is an internationally renowned traumatologist, author and trainer in
the field of trauma and coping with terrorism. She is currently Director of Nord Cope Center in TIVON, Israel, and
senior consultant at the Community Stress Prevention Center in Israel.
Email: nord@netvision.net.il
New tendency in therapy: magical cards instead of the couch
From LA NACION (The Nation), Argentina, Saturday, May 13, 2006
At that precise moment in which silence breaks into the psychotherapy session
and there are no words that allow one to describe what one thinks and feels,
a new tool helps to find a way to do it.
The "Kesem" Cards of Association are a new therapeutic resource used in Europe,
Canada and the United States and already has a place in psychotherapy.
In Argentina they appeared for the first time during the last Argentine Congress
of Psychiatry, in the city of Mar del Plata "Kesem", that in Hebrew designates
the 18 card packs of an illustrated story which help to guide the therapy in cases
of crisis. Kesem also means "magic."
" To speak of magic in psychology? Yes, because it shows that the cards produce in
the patients an effect different from the other methods", explained Laura Landa,
director of the Ikaron Institute, of Haifa, Israel, to La Nacion.
Landau, an Argentine psychologist who has been for 23 years in Israel, and used the
cards in the group therapy to deal with the effects the uprooting in the South American
immigrants in that country, as well as in individual therapy as a resource in cases
of sexual harassment.
The use of cards "facilitate the evocation of repressed and/or denied situational images",
according to Landau during the course that she gave at the congress, when talking about
the case of a patient who participated in research conducted at the University of Haifa.
But, how did the cards work in this case? "As a motivator, of images not only related
in their content, but also in their associative capacity as much in terms of thought
as in evocation."
Barriers of defense
Pictures, abstract forms, landscapes, graphs of relation, words and silhouettes are some of
the contents of the decks.
"The cards allow that the patient lowers his barriers of defense, that is what it is
constructed in the conscious speech. When growing, we gained barriers and the cards help
the person return to a stage of play, who are more projective", indicated to La Nacion
the psychologist Maria Florencia Russo, director of the Center for the Study of Therapeutic
Resources (CERT), that foments the local use of the cards.
The therapeutic strategy consists of making available to the patient a particular deck,
according to its personal characteristics and the situation that is intended to loosen.
The patient picks a card at random and she observes it while the therapist encourages a
dialogue based on the meaning that the patient gives the image. Thus, little by little,
the dialogue is constructed that silence had interrupted.
"The use of cards would be weakened if the therapist tried to interpret what happens to
the patient from the chosen card –– emphasized Landau, who is part of the team of the
Center for the Study of Therapeutic Resources. the person itself is the one who describes
and it interprets, and the therapist is the one that listens to the conscious speech and
analyzes the whole."
Unconscious projections
Metaphors, signs and images help the unconscious to "speak" and the person can look at what
was forced to remain hidden.
The way to obtain it is through projection by means of which the person attributes characteristics
of the unconscious to objects on the outside.
The cards, that according to the psychologists are not a test, can be applied in the treatment
of any pathology in adults and children. They are useful in group work, when what is wanted
is to detect what prevents the group from working well, as well as with problems that are
individual.
In general, the cards usually are introduced in the therapy to promote dialogue, relating,
and building mutual confidence during the session, and to face situations of conflict and stress
for the patient.
According to the research conducted in the University of Haifa, the cards help to develop the
imagination and the metaphoric thought.
"They encourage the patient to reflect on the sources of the description –– said Russo.
It is habitual that the patient makes the card responsible for the history that she relates,
that is where the magic of the name of this resource (kesem) resides."
According to Laura Landau, the cards have no single (official) interpretation and neither are
they mystical.
"They only help insofar that the person and the therapist can put on the table a certain problem
so as to move on, even while the deepest crisis is being treated."
Breaking the Silence
What are the "Kesem" Cards of Association?
- They are 18 [card] decks with portraits, abstract forms, and words that help break the silence of a client.
- At this time they are in use in Israel, Canada, USA, and various European countries, as a new tool in psychotherapy.
Nueva tendencia en terapia: cartas en lugar de diván
De la Redacción de LA NACION, Sábado 13 de mayo de 2006
En ese preciso instante en que el silencio se instala en la sesión de psicoterapia y no hay palabras que
permitan describir lo que se piensa y se siente, una nueva herramienta ayuda a encontrar la forma de hacerlo.
Las cartas kesem son un nuevo recurso terapéutico que en Europa, Canadá y los Estados Unidos ya forman parte
de la psicoterapia. En el país se presentaron por primera vez durante el último Congreso Argentino de Psiquiatría,
que se realizó en la ciudad de Mar del Plata.
"Kesem", que en hebreo designa los 18 mazos de cartas de cuento ilustrado que ayudan a guiar la terapia en
casos de crisis, también significa "magia". "¿Por qué hablar de magia en psicología? En realidad porque nos
da la pauta de que las cartas producen en los pacientes un efecto distinto de lo ya conocido",
explicó a La Nacion la licenciada Laura Landau, directora del Instituto Ikaron, de Haifa, Israel.
Landau, psicóloga argentina radicada desde hace 23 años en Israel, aplica las cartas en la terapia de grupos
para tratar los efectos del desarraigo en los inmigrantes sudamericanos en ese país, así como también en terapia
individual como recurso en casos de acoso sexual.
El uso de las cartas "facilitó la evocación de imágenes situacionales reprimidas y/o denegadas", según comentó
Landau durante el taller que dictó en el congreso, al referirse el caso de una paciente que participó de una
investigación en la Universidad de Haifa.
Pero ¿cómo actuaron las cartas en método en ese caso? "Como motivador, no solamente de imágenes relacionadas
en su contenido, sino también de una capacidad asociativa tanto en términos de pensamiento como en evocación."
Barreras de defensa
Retratos, formas abstractas, paisajes, gráficos de relación, palabras y siluetas son algunos de los contenidos
de los mazos.
"Las cartas permiten que el paciente baje sus barreras de defensa, que es lo que se construye en el discurso
consciente. Al crecer, ganamos barreras y las cartas ayudan a que los adultos puedan volver a jugar, que es más
proyectivo", señaló a LA NACION la psicóloga María Florencia Russo, directora del Centro para el Estudio de
Recursos Terapéuticos (CERT), que fomenta el uso local de las cartas.
La estrategia terapéutica consiste en poner a disposición del paciente un determinado mazo, según sus características
personales y la situación que se intenta destrabar.
El paciente retira una carta al azar y la observa mientras el terapeuta dispara el diálogo a partir del significado
que el paciente le da a la imagen. Así, de a poco, se construye el diálogo que el silencio había interrumpido.
"Se desvirtuaría el uso de las cartas si el terapeuta intentara interpretar lo que le ocurre al paciente a partir
de la carta elegida -enfatizó Landau, que integra el Centro para el Estudio de Recursos Terapéuticos-. Es él el que
describe e interpreta, y el terapeuta es el que escucha el discurso consciente y analiza el todo."
Proyecciones inconscientes
Metáforas, signos e imágenes ayudan a que el inconsciente "hable" y la persona pueda contar aquello que luchaba
por permanecer oculto. El camino para lograrlo es la proyección mediante la cual la persona atribuye cuestiones
del inconsciente a objetos del exterior.
Las cartas, que según las psicólogas no son un test, se pueden aplicar en el tratamiento de cualquier patología
en adultos y chicos. Resultan útiles tanto en grupo, cuando se quiere detectar aquello que impide que el conjunto
funcione bien, como individualmente.
En general, las cartas se suelen introducir en la terapia para entablar el diálogo, la relación y la confianza
mutua durante la sesión, y para enfrentar situaciones de conflicto y de estrés para el paciente.
Según las investigaciones realizadas en la Universidad de Haifa, las cartas ayudan a desarrollar la imaginación
y el pensamiento metafórico.
"Logran que el paciente reflexione sobre el porqué de su descripción -dijo Russo-. Es habitual que el paciente
responsabilice a la carta de la historia que relata, que es donde reside la magia del nombre de este recurso."
Según precisó la licenciada Laura Landau, las cartas por sí solas no indican nada y tampoco son místicas.
"Tan sólo ayudan a que la persona y el terapeuta puedan poner sobre la mesa un determinado problema para poder seguir
adelante, aunque se esté tratando de la crisis más profunda."
Indagar el silencio
Qué son las cartas kesem
- Son 18 mazos con retratos, formas abstractas y palabras que ayudan a indagar en el silencio del paciente.
- Se utilizan actualmente en Israel, Canadá, Estados Unidos y varios países de Europa, como una nueva herramienta de la psicoterapia.
Wenn die Erinnerung einen beinahe erdrückt
Badische Zeitung vom Montag, 27. Mai 2002
Der Buchenbacher Moritz Egetmeyer hat Wort- und Bildkarten entwickelt, die traumatisierten Menschen helfen sollen,
ihre Erlebnisse zu verarbeiten.
Von unserer Mitarbeiterin Kathrin Ganter
BUCHENBACH. Assoziative Karten für Fantasie, Kreativität und Kommunikation
sind seit 15 Jahren das Metier von Moritz Egetmeyer, Inhaber des OH-Verlags
in Unteribental. Die spielerischen Werkzeuge werden mittlerweile auch von Ärzten,
Therapeuten und Lehrern eingesetzt. Nun hat Moritz Egetmeyer ein neues Projekt
in Angriff genommen: Karten, die traumatisierten Menschen helfen sollen, über
ihre Erlebnisse hinweg zu kommen.
Vor 16 Jahren begann die Geschichte der Karten mit "OH",
dem ersten Kartensatz, der auch dem Verlag seinen Namen gab.
"OHsteht einfach für den Ausdruck der Überraschung", erklärt Moritz Egetmeyer.
Das Prinzip von "OH" ist einfach: Auf eine größere Karte,
auf die ein Begriff aufgedruckt ist, wird eine kleinere Bildkarte mit einem kunstvoll
bemalten Motiv gelegt. Der Betrachter
kann nun die Beziehung von Wort und Bild beschreiben oder sich eine kleine
Geschichte aus-denken. Ein Beispiel: Auf die Karte mit dem Wort "Liebe" kommt
das Bild eines schwer beladenen kleinen Esels. Eine mögliche Assoziation
wäre, dass der Esel - als Symbol für einen Menschen - die schwere Last eines
anderen aus Liebe trägt.
"
Spiel" ist eigentlich der falsche Ausdruck für die Karten von Moritz Egetmeyer. Denn
normale Spiele haben eine Anleitung und feste Regeln. Doch bei den Karten aus
dem OH-Verlag soll möglichst wenig vorgegeben werden, um der Kreativität der
Benutzer freien Lauf zu lassen, daher vergleicht sie der Verleger mit einem "Farbkasten".
"Die Karten haben weder etwas mit Orakel zu tun, noch sind sie mystisch oder spirituell",
hebt Moritz Egetmeyer ganz deutlich hervor.
Die Karten sind jedoch nicht nur ein spannender Zeitvertreib, sie werden auch
von Menschen, die sozial oder pädagogisch arbeiten, verwendet. Dabei geht es
nicht in erster Linie darum, dass die Assoziationen Rückschlüsse auf das Seelenleben
eines Menschen zulassen, sondern dass sich dieser öffnet und kommunikations-bereit
wird. Des Weiteren werden assoziative Karten von großen Firmen für Schulungen
ihrer Mitarbeiter benutzt.
Literary Arts in Personal Development
Printed in LAPIDUS issue # 6, Jan.04,
www.lapidus.org.uk
Storytelling Cards; An Interview by Steve Weir
Several years ago I met a deck of cards quite unlike any that I’d seen before.
The same size as traditional playing cards, the Saga deck contained images evocative
of fairytales and myths.
Having been introduced to them within a therapeutic context, I remember that
the cards I chose spoke to me with clarity and profundity. They invited me
to understand the image through the process of my own creativity, interpreting
its layers of meaning as I understood the answers I was searching for.
I’ve now used these cards both as a personal development tool and within workshops
and have always found them to be invaluable jumping-off points for unleashing
the power of my own creativity. Intrigued by their history, I contacted their
publisher, Moritz Egetmeyer.
Moritz first discovered these ‘cards of association’ seventeen years ago whilst
studying psychology in Canada. He had been brought up in the Black Forest area
of Germany, and after five years of study in Vancouver, he ‘wanted to get back
in touch with the land, so moved to a remote, beautiful island off the Pacific
coast.’
It was here in ’82 that island life inevitably brought him into contact with
fellow islander, Ely Raman, a Mexican artist who shared a passion for German.
‘Ely had produced a small edition of OH cards, and although he’d been unable
to find a commercial publisher, his friends had encouraged him to keep the
dream alive.’
The OH cards are a set of 88 picture cards, supplemented by 88 word cards.
To play, a picture card is placed inside a larger word card. The word, such
as ‘game’, ‘love’, ‘grief’ or ‘letting go’ forms the framework for interpreting
the picture. A total of 7744 combinations are possible.
Moritz said, ‘I soon discovered that working with the OH cards produced something
very special that came from inside, like a dream, but with the quality of a
day dream.
They provide an intuitive, spontaneous answer. Although they can be used as
a game, with many players taking part, there is no strategy, no points, no
right or wrong and no judgements. Their only aim is to release the imaginative
creation of the participant.’
‘My belief is that the goal of any therapy is to help the individual towards
greater authenticity. The primary aim in any interaction with people is to
lead them to themselves. I immediately saw that if I was to use psychotherapy
in my practice, the cards were just the sort of tool that would fit within
my preferred frameworks.’
[…ganzer Artikel]
Infos und Bestellung der assoziativen Karten bei:
OH-Verlag, Moritz Egetmeyer, Postfach 1251, 79196 Kirchzarten
COPE cards meet Tsunami survivors
Dr. Ofra Ayalon, NORD COPE Center, Tivon. Israel, June 2005
COPE Cards have recently traveled across three continents, rushing to heal
the wounds of human-made trauma as well as natural disasters: in post-Tsunami
Thailand, in Russia, following the terrorist attack on the school in Beslan,
as well as in a trauma oriented workshop in St. Petersburg, and also in a Coping
training seminar in Istanbul. The effect of these cards on people who come
from such a vast variety of cultural and ethnic background is amazing. Cope
Cards were jointly conceived by three cultural roots: the German publisher
of OH cards, who planted the seeds of the idea of a card deck for working with
trauma following a conversation with a friend who escaped from the Rwanda terrible
massacre, then developed by an Israeli trauma psychologist and painted by a
Russian artist. These cards have the virtue of eliciting associations and profound
personal responses across geographical, cultural and religious boundaries.
According to participants' feedback in each of all these multi-cultural workshops,
sharing their stories has been largely facilitated by the cards and seems to have an
ameliorating effect on them.
This report will focus on our recent COPE CARDS workshops in Thailand, conducted
in the course of two large post-Tsunami seminars for survivors and helpers.
The seminars were held in June 2005, six month after the onset of the Tsunami
disaster. They took place on Phuket Island, parts of which were badly devastated.
Over 200 participants, most of them from Thailand, with a number of participants
from Singapore, Indonesia & Malaysia took part in the training seminars.
Organized by the Prince of Songkhla University's Art and Cultural Centre with the help
of three Israeli trainers and sponsored by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee,
the workshop was held to help local helpers, particularly teachers and social workers,
cope with their own trauma before helping traumatized children.
Many of the participants were teachers from the disaster area, who suffered
great losses and unspeakable anxiety. Others were volunteer helpers, or otherwise
near-miss people, who experienced secondary traumatization by the mere physical
or psychological proximity to the scenes of the disaster.
These training seminars, each lasting for five days, were conducted by three
Israeli experts who shared their experience in trauma psychology, medicine
and arts. Our aim was to train helpers in specific skills for treating trauma &
loss by creative body-mind methods, and to develop sources of physical and emotional
support for Tsunami surviving children and families. We also tried to help
the helpers to recover from secondary traumatization & deal constructively with
compassion fatigue.
Experiential learning helped by expressive art therapy, movement, body/mind
healing and guided imagery, helped bridge the gap of language and cultural
expectations. All these activities encouraged the narration of the trauma stories.
We believe that the trauma story has to be told, heard and witnessed by others
in order to allow the healing process to take place. But although telling he
trauma stories to others helps us manage the pain, very often the traumatic
experience is just beyond words. There is where using metaphoric cards becomes
useful for weaving a narrative around the images, without exposing the gory
details or the personal horror. This process is especially useful in cultures
that don't encourage open expression of feelings, such as, for example the
Thai culture that does not condone public tears at all, and especially not
for males. One woman, who suffered heavy losses of family members in the Tsunami,
said in a choking voice: "I thought nobody would want to listen to me, and they would
think I was crazy. But deep inside I wanted someone to listen:
The Cards workshops were conducted in subgroups of 25. Participants were asked
to choose two cards each, in search for a metaphor or visual description of
their manner of coping with a traumatic events in their lives. Half the cards
were face up, while the other half were face down. The choice of an open card
promotes a sense of control and mastery, while picking up a card at random
creates suspense and surprise, and allows new learning and insight.
While sharing in small groups a great number of stories of pain & loss emerged,
some dating back to early childhood. It seems that the common
disaster triggered previous loss and unresolved grief that were elicited by
the pictures and shared in the confidence of the group.
Having unloaded the emotional burden, participants were guided to look for
their inner strength, find the card- image of their coping skill, and then
identify it according the holistic coping model of following six coping channels:
Belief, Affect, Social, Imagination, Cognitive & Physical coping channels:
(B.A.S.I.C.Ph). Naming an inner resource helps to encore it and empower its owner.
One woman picked up a picture of a tree and said: "after the Tsunami we cried so much –
that our tears hang up from every tree like rain drops…"
- What helped her? She used emotional expression as her coping channel. Religious
faith helped a number of people, whether it was Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish or
Christian faith. A few others were helped by helping others.
Many said that through the cards they found new venues for continuing their struggles and
change from victims into victors.
Dr Ofra Ayalon, NORD COPE center
Moritz Egetmeyer, OH cards publisher
Artist Marina Lukyanova, St. Petersburg
Psychologist Dr. Ofra Ayalon, Pediatrician Dr. Gillat Raisch &
Art-therapist M.Ed Nira Shiran-Mizrachi
