Traumatic Incident Reduction
Traumatic Incident Reduction is a brief, one-on-one, non-hypnotic, person-centered, simple and highly structured method for permanently eliminating the negative effects of past traumas. TIR is part of the larger subject of Metapsychology.

Practitioners delivering TIR and related techniques offer a comprehensive approach to self-actualization called "viewing". Viewing is a person-centered method in which one person, a "facilitator", provides a safe space and a structure that helps another, called a "viewer", to closely examine his or her world in order to gain insight and ability. The viewing curriculum, or just "Curriculum", is a step by step approach to inspecting the structure of the mind. The Curriculum is divided into sections that allow viewers to proceed at a comfortable and non-threatening pace. It enables them to work systematically toward fulfillment of their goals.

TIR, along with EMDR, TFT, EFT and V/KD, has come to be known as one of the “Power Therapies” because it works rapidly and effectively in treating the effects of trauma. As noted in the Journal “Traumatology” Volume VI, Issue 2, Article 5 (August, 2000) by Michael Lamport Commons, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, “Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) (French & Gerbode, 1995; Gerbode, 1989, 1995) is a systematic method of locating, reviewing, and resolving traumatic events that is used in "relieving a wide range of fears, limiting beliefs, suffering due to losses (including unresolved grief and mourning), depression, and other PTSD symptoms" (Gerbode, 1995). Although the technique emerged from psychoanalytic theory and desensitization methods, it has evolved into a "person-oriented and non-judgmental" course of treatment.”

I use the TIR protocol and related applications which have been proven to be extremely effective in resolving the effects of trauma on a person’s life – their physical health, their mental well being, their general functionality. For more information about TIR, please visit www.TIR.org.

Life Stress Reduction
A journey of self-discovery addressing current concerns and issues using a wide variety of techniques to best address the concerns of the particular client. These may include health, relationships, self-esteem, career, and well-being. The purpose of Life Stress Reduction is to clear away the mental debris that is creating unhappiness and inhibiting progress in life. This form of work may include resolving the effects of past traumas using the technique called Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR). After Life Stress Reduction, the client can expect to have renewed hope, general good feelings, revitalization in life, and a readiness, if they desire, to address issues that are universally a part of the human condition.

Elder Life Review
The Elder Life Review service offers the elderly an opportunity to explore their life experience and address areas on which they have attention or need to resolve in some way. Looking back and sifting through, they gain perspective and attain a sense of peace about their life, their loved ones and the relationships and experiences they have had.

Developmental psychologist, Eric Erikson, describes later adulthood as the time in a human life when a human being’s focus becomes one of pulling it all together. If they are successful at that they achieve a sense of integrity about their lives. To the degree they are unable to, there is a sense of despair. Erikson’s philosophy is described as follows:

• Psychosocial Crisis: Ego integrity vs. despair

Ego integrity is the ego's accumulated assurance of its capacity for order and meaning. Despair is signified by a fear of one's own death, as well as the loss of self-sufficiency, and of loved partners and friends. Healthy children, Erikson tells us, won't fear life if their elders have integrity enough not to fear death.

• Central Task: Introspection
• Positive Outcome: A sense of fulfillment about life; a sense of unity with self and others
• Ego Quality: Wisdom
• Definition: Detached yet active concern with life in the face of death
• Developmental Task: Promote intellectual vigor; Redirect energy to new roles and activities; Develop a point of view about death
• Significant Relations: Mankind ("My-kind').

In the safe and non-judgmental setting of the facilitation space, Elder Life Review offers the opportunity to truly arrive at Ego Integrity as described by Erikson.

Conflict Resolution
Through the use of Compassionate Listening and tapping into the innate wisdom of those involved, truth is established and reconciliation is brought about. The universal solvent of skilled communication is the effective tool in bringing understanding and cooperation to difficult situations. Drawing from the concepts of Metapsychology and the work of Terry Warner and the Arbinger Institute, M. Scott Peck, Gene Knudsen Hoffman, Thich Nhat Hanh and others, we respectfully undergo a process, the outcome of which is the establishment of community and responsive relationship.

Communication Skills Workshops and Coaching
Effective Communication is the foundation of Successful Relationships. From the basis of Successful Relationships comes:

• Accord
• Community
• Purposeful teamwork and
• Desired outcomes.

The Communication Skills Workshop is an intensive thirty-two hour program designed to improve communication skills. Skilled communication starts with the fundamentals. Students learn about and practice each of the parts of communication by doing drills that exercise the skills necessary for effective communication. This is followed by vital information on communicating well, getting along well with others and building successful relationships.

The Communication Skills Workshop results in improved:

• Listening skills;
• Ability to acknowledge others so they know they've been heard;
• Ability to get one's message across;
• Ability to establish rapport;
• Ability to resolve misunderstandings;
• Ability to communicate effectively under stressful conditions;
• Ability to guide and control the communication process
• Ability to respond well, even in difficult situations.

Depending on the client’s needs the class may include a module on Presentation Skills and/or a module on Teamwork and Dealing with Differences.

The Presentation Skills module utilizes the fundamental principles of the communication skills workshop and applies them to addressing an audience and combines these with time-tested techniques of speechmaking.

The Teamwork and Dealing with Differences module consists of the following:

1. Working Creatively with Differences

• Introduction and ground rules
• How cultural differences work
• Working interactively to reveal our individual approaches
• Sharing anecdotes to reveal differences
• What similarities emerged under the differences?
• Establishing the desired company culture

2. Creating Solutions to Common Problems

• Airing key issues for the team
• Brainstorming and prioritizing proposed solutions
• Comparing, evaluating, and selecting a plan of action
• Planning how to implement, and setting up a follow-up plan
• Conclusions and recommendations

No matter what occupation or kind of activity a person is involved in, the ability to communicate with ease and certainty is essential. Our workshop is a highly interactive and fun filled workshop, building personal skills necessary for effective communication.

Having discovered the components of communication and its formula and then gaining the necessary practical skills through communication exercises, your team’s ability to master communication and interact skillfully with each other and your customers, will be vastly improved. With the accent on application of knowledge gained and new skills acquired, workshop attendees start immediately to put their newfound abilities to use.

TIR Training
There are three TIR workshops that teach the underlying principles, trauma treatment protocol and a variety of expanded applications effective in addressing trauma. The workshops provide valuable tools for all mental health practitioners as we all have clients who experience the effects of unresolved trauma. Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) is rapidly becoming the treatment method of choice for those therapists who work with traumatized clients. Research indicates that the results clients experience from TIR are stable and long lasting.

TIR training qualifies for credit towards certification as a Traumatologist and for American Psychiatric Association (APA) and National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Continuing Education Credits (CECs) through the TIR Association for Marriage and Family Therapists, Clinical Social Workers, and Mental Heath Counselors. Participants in all specialties will be provided with documentation for use in securing CE credits for their perspective licensure boards and/or professional associations.

The TIR workshops go beyond simply informing participants of the latest overviews and promising practices related to relieving the suffering caused by overwhelming life experiences. The TIR training will teach the participants how to effectively resolve the impact of trauma.

The Level One workshop has been described as follows, “This is one of those all-too-rare workshops that goes beyond concepts and theory to provide concrete instruction and practice in applied intervention skills. I strongly recommend it for any practitioner who works with clients with post-traumatic stress disorder.”

In 2002, Victim Services Center, an award winning domestic violence direct service agency in Miami, which uses TIR and its expanded applications, was evaluated and it was found that all symptoms were significantly reduced or eliminated in an average of 18 hours of treatment. The research data is available at http://www.vscmiami.org/pages/resources.html. This success is incomparable to any other program that assists victims of crime. In fact, there are a number of agencies that now wish to replicate VSC’s model.

Here is a summary description of each one of the three TIR workshops

Level One: TIR-W
This workshop teaches the fundamental principles of trauma and the “active ingredients” of TIR. With an understanding of the TIR paradigm the student facilitator learns the skills necessary to conduct a successful TIR session. In addition to the core TIR protocol the student is introduced to a technique which is both useful in preparing a viewer for TIR and effective in addressing other life issues.

Level Two: TIR-EA
The two level two workshops can be attended in any order. In addition to expanding the facilitators knowledge and strengthening their skillful use of the TIR protocol, the Expanded Applications workshop provides the student with an array of effective techniques used in fully resolving issues related to trauma and life stress.

TIR-CP/LSR
This workshop introduces the students to a broad range of techniques as well as teaching the student how to write effective Case Plans which fully address viewers’ needs by appropriately applying the techniques they have learned.

In Brief:

• TIR is an effective approach to the resolution of traumatic incidents and PTSD;
• TIR has been successfully applied to war veterans, crime and motor vehicle accident victims, domestic violence survivors – both adult and children.
• The three TIR Workshops,
  • Will teach the participants how to effectively resolve the impact of trauma;
  • Qualify for credit towards certification as a Traumatologist and for Continuing Education Credits for Marriage and Family Therapists, Clinical Social Workers, and Mental Heath Counselors.
• Dr. Charles Figley (Florida State University Traumatology Institute) in his "active ingredient" study in 2000 recognized TIR as one of three alternative approaches that is effective in treating posttraumatic stress symptoms.
• It is one of what are now referred to as the four "power therapies".
• The fact that it can be used by both clinical and lay practitioners makes it very accessible.

Please see my listing as an Advanced Traumatic Incident Reduction trainer at

http://www.tirtraining.org/training/meettrainers/

Contact me if you are interested in becoming a TIR Facilitator or trainer. I will be happy to help you with your training, internship and certification. Please note that Continuing Education Credits are given for all TIR workshops.

About Diana Canant
I am a certified Traumatic Incident Reduction facilitator and Advanced TIR trainer. My approach to all the work that I do is Socratic and person centered. I work within the structure of a clear and predictable protocol in which I direct my clients to navigate their mental environment so as to make their own discoveries and come to their own conclusions. In accordance with the work of Dr. Frank Gerbode and the philosophical underpinnings of Traumatic Incident Reduction and Metapsychology, I recognize the innate wisdom of each and every individual. The work of a facilitator is to help the client tap into and draw on that wisdom to bring about the resolution of his or her problems. The TIR approach to the exploration of individual human experience is one that validates the client’s innate wisdom and, from a perspective of unconditional positive regard, we form an alliance with which we address the client’s issues. TIR is a remarkably effective protocol that elegantly solves the effects of trauma, allowing the client to address and integrate the various components of trauma. Thereby, somatic, cognitive, emotional, behavioral and psychological experiences are explored simultaneously and are given whatever significance is appropriate to that individual client.

I was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, and I have lived, worked and studied in the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa. I am a member of the TIR Association and Applied Metapsychology International and the Arbinger Helping Professionals Network (www.arbinger.com). I have over 25 years of experience as a facilitator, trainer and tutor, working with adults and children in both the private and corporate arenas doing personal proficiency and literacy training and personal improvement facilitation, coaching and classes. As a consultant trainer I have experience in a very wide range of industries with companies large and small. I have done substantial work related to cross-cultural communication and cultural orientation as a principal of Worldwize Human Resource Development (www.worldwizehrd.com) and in association with Dr. Alice Clark of Clark Research Associates (www.multiculturalism.com) and I have traveled extensively.

I am dedicated to helping individuals meet their potential. This is a fundamental purpose of mine. I operate on the premise that by strengthening the building blocks you strengthen the structure.

Contact Us

Office: 650.359.1979
Cell: 650.238.4146

E-mail: dianacanant@lifefacilitationservices.com

I am located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Please note that I am willing to travel anywhere in the world to deliver the Communication Skills Workshop, Conflict Resolution, and the TIR workshops.