Emotional Freedom Technique

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)

Today’s guest blogger is Rita Witt, Vice President of Clinical Services for Hope House.

Hope House has long been aware that domestic violence victims are at high risk for post-traumatic stress. Our therapy department has consistently pursued treatment approaches and training to best prepare the therapists to assist our clients in addressing the effects of trauma in their lives. 

Therapeutic approaches have always included simple, empowering techniques and information that clients could continue to use on their own after they left Hope House. Among those approaches are some in the field of energy psychology.

Energy psychology is based on the principle that the body, like everything in the universe, is composed of energy which flows through the body by means of a meridian system. While this is a relatively new idea is the Western world, the healing concepts that it's based upon have been in practice in Eastern medicine for over 5,000 years.

Like acupuncture and acupressure, this approach consists of techniques that utilize the body's energy meridian points.  Energy psychology treatments have both a psychological component and a mechanical/energetic component.

One such energy-based approach used at Hope House is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). A fundamental principle of EFT is that all negative emotions are a disruption of the body's energy.

By tapping, or stimulating certain meridian points with the fingertips, literally tapping into the body's own energy and healing power, one can restore balance to the body's energy, and mend the negative emotions and physical symptoms that stem from the energy disruption. 

Because of this simple and empowering effect, Janet Howard, Hope House Substance Abuse counselor, reports her clients have been especially successful in using it to address addiction.

Using this simple method, the client can take her physical and emotional well-being into her own hands. It's simple for anyone to master; it is non-invasive, highly specific, has no side effects, and best of all, it's free.

If you’re interested in learning more about EFT, please visit http://www.garythink.com/eft/.

October is DV Awareness Month

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. Every year in October, programs across our country bring awareness to this issue that affects so many people here and across the world. DV is vicious and traumatic. We need to talk about it, not just in October, but all year long, until it stops.

How does talking about it help? Once you know what DV is, you will start to recognize when it’s happening to someone you know: your neighbor, your classmate, your co-worker, your sister, your mother, or maybe even yourself.Once you recognize it, you can do something about it. Give the person in the abusive situation your support – let them know it’s not their fault. Give them a hotline phone number and encourage them to call it. Let them know that they’re not alone, and that there are programs available to help them.
As awareness increases, so does the realization that there are so many in need of help:

 

·       At least one in four women will be a victim of domestic violence at some time in their life.

·         Three people die every day in our country due to domestic violence.

This is unacceptable to me.  If we all work together, we can break the cycle and end the violence. Please visit our website www.hopehouse.net to see what you can do to get involved. For example:

·         Give someone our hotline number (816-461-HOPE).

·         Volunteer to answer the hotline.

·         Ask someone from Hope House to speak at your office about recognizing DV in the workplace.

We need your help. People’s lives depend on it.

Pat Robertson On Wife Beating



Pat Robertson

I recently saw a headline that read “Pat Robertson,Televangelist, Encourages Man to Become Muslim So He Can Beat His Wife”.

I was appalled before I even got to the context of the article. I couldn’t imagine any scenario where this statement would be okay to think to yourself, let alone say it out loud.

As I read the article and then watched the video clip, I actually felt sick to my stomach. My daughter was sitting in the room with me and said in alarm, “Mom, you don’t look well! Are you okay?” I responded, “No, I am not okay”. 

Many people respect this man, and he is telling a man to move to Saudi Arabia so he can beat his wife. The look on my daughter’s face, I suspect, was similar to the one on mine.

I am angry that we still have people who think it is okay to make light of domestic violence, condone it, or even recommend it. I don’t begin to know what Pat Robertson was thinking when he made the comment, but whatever it was, in my opinion, it was completely inappropriate.

In the video clip he we hear him saying “She doesn’t want to submit to authority” and since “scripture doesn’t allow for divorce” his advice is to move to Saudi Arabia become Muslim, and then he can beat her into submission.

I find this offensive on so many fronts. I am not going to debate what the Bible or the Quran say about wives, submission or divorce. I understand everyone has his or her own belief system about marriage and religion.

However, domestic violence is not okay, ever. It is not okay to joke about it, or to suggest that it’s a way for a man to get his wife to recognize his authority over her.

We must stand together to say this is not acceptable under any circumstance.

Domestic Violence and Financial Freedom

Imagine you’ve just run from your home in fear, with your children at your side. You’ve moved into a shelter, so you’re living with a bunch of strangers. You feel safe for the first time in a long time, but then the reality sets in: “What am I going to do for money?”

Your abusive partner didn’t allow you to have a job, or handle the finances. At first, you thought that was a dream come true. Now you realize it was all about controlling and isolating you. You haven’t held a job in years, and have never paid bills.

This is a typical scenario for Hope House clients. That’s why, with the support of The Women’s Foundation, we offer a Self Sufficiency Program. The advocates that lead the program work with our clients individually and in groups to help them learn about how to handle their money, and increase their employability. 

In a 2009 study examining issues of concern to women in the Kansas City area, women identified “employment and finance” as the second most important issue facing them today. Within that category, participants identified the importance of job training, access to long-term employment, financial education, and accessible transportation.

Survivors of domestic violence face these same struggles in addition to living in constant fear. The financial cost of leaving an abusive partner can be overwhelming. Once a woman leaves her partner, she becomes solely responsible for providing for her family. 

In Hope House’s most recently completed fiscal year, 10/1/10 – 9/30/11, the average annual income for families sheltered at Hope House was only $4,447 without financial support from the abuser; 93% were below poverty; 54% reported no income at all.

With little or no income, it is impossible for many survivors to immediately be self-sufficient and provide for the basic needs of food, shelter, and adequate healthcare coverage for themselves and their children.

Through the Self-Sufficiency Program, Hope House offers survivors of domestic violence an opportunity to gain both knowledge and skills in financial literacy and job readiness. With these new skills available to her, a mom can now support her kids.

She doesn’t have to wonder if she should return to her abuser because she had no other way to pay the bills. She’s empowered to start a new life, free from abuse.

New Young Professionals Group Formed

­Our guest blogger this week is Ashley Gillard, Hope House Board Member and chair of Hope House Young Professionals.

I am so proud to introduce Hope House Young Professionals (HHYP) as the newest edition to the Hope House family.  It started as an idea just a year ago, which turned into planning, and finally into an official group just a few months ago. 

The purpose for forming this group is to tap into the resources young professionals bring to the table.  Members of the group are from all areas of Kansas City and work in a variety of industries, from law to health care to psychology and beyond. 

Our members offer a willingness to take on new projects for Hope House’s benefit, and to create their own fundraising events that target other young professionals in the area. 

While people in the beginning of their careers may not be able to make a large monetary donation to Hope House, they can offer a yearly membership (only $30), participate in fundraising happy hours, and spread awareness about Hope House to their peers and at their places of work. 

You might wonder why I was so anxious to get this group started.  My journey to become a Hope House Board Member and the chair of HHYP began eight years ago.  It all started in my first women’s studies course as an undergraduate, which opened my eyes to all of the difficulties women face in our world. 

But, what truly changed my life forever was the day I met 16-year-old Nicole. It was the first day of my women’s studies internship at the local sheriff’s office in their domestic violence unit. 

On that day, Nicole had told her mother that her grandfather had been abusing her for years.  They came to the sheriff’s office to seek help in obtaining a restraining order against her grandfather.

Nicole was scared and worried.  But with the help of those around her and the local resources, she made it through the restraining order hearing and through those first difficult months.

What Nicole made me realize is that domestic violence is in all the places you expect, plus all the places you wouldn't expect.  If you and I don’t help in whatever way we can, then people like Nicole might not have caring people around them to help carry them through to better days. 

The Hope House Young Professionals group aims to be a vehicle for change.  HHYP allows people to step up and do what they can to become involved in an important cause. 

Becoming a member is simple.  For $30, you can become a HHYP member for a year, which puts you on our invite list for happy hours and fundraising events like Margarita Ball.   If you’re interested feel free to sign up on the Hope House website, or contact me for more information at ashley.gillard@bryancave.com.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

This was the Hope House shelter when I started
working here. It was the shelter from 1987 to 1995. 

I have been taking a trip down memory lane this week. 20 years ago, on September 2, 1992, I started my first job at Hope House as a Women’s Therapist.

I first joined the Hope House staff shortly after graduating with my Master of Social Work (MSW) degree in 1989, but left after 6 months to pursue another opportunity.

I was lured by more money and the thought that I would have more opportunities elsewhere. While I really liked the other jobs, I knew my true calling was at Hope House.

When there was an opening, I was thrilled to “come back home”. To say I never should have left wouldn’t be true. I learned a lot while I was gone; mostly how much I appreciated and loved working with those who have been affected by domestic violence.

In the past 20 years, I have grown so much personally and professionally. I loved working directly with the clients in shelter. I learned that these survivors have:

•          Strength
•          Optimism in the face of many obstacles
•          Perseverance
•          Grace
•          Creativity
•          Determination to make it another day

I have said before that victims of domestic violence are the strongest people I have ever met. I saw so much of that when I was their therapist and shelter director.

20 years later, as the CEO of Hope House, I'm looking forward to many more years of working to end the cycle of domestic violence. Thank you for your support and encouragement along the way.

Back to School

Well, it’s that time of the year… kids, as well as some adults, are heading back to school. I cannot believe how fast this summer has flown by.

It is exciting to see the seasons ready to change, school beginning and all of the hope and expectation that comes with starting something new.

We’re grateful for our ability to offer school supplies to each child entering school in the fall. They don’t have to go to school worrying about being labeled because they live in a shelter, or they don’t have enough money for supplies.

Our goal is that the children go to school without stress and worry about their living arrangements or what is going on in their lives. They need to focus on themselves and their school work, not finances, shelter, food, etc.

With the graciousness and generosity of our community, Hope House doesn’t have to worry about that either. There is enough for everyone to go to school equipped and ready to learn.

Children are resilient and have such hope and wonder about the world. This optimism can be dampened when there is trauma and crisis in their world. We work hard to help them find it again and bring it back to life.

Good luck to all of our students no matter what age they are. My hope is they have a very successful school year filled with new knowledge and excitement.