Submitted anonymously
The more I’ve done traditional therapy to help deal with the aftermath of being in TIP (which I was skeptical of for a long time because of what I was taught), the more righteous rage I feel for how careless TIP is with trauma.
When you deal with trauma with a trauma-aware therapist, they’re very careful. They tell you what you can expect, they explain sensations and feelings you might experience–not only in the session but in the hours and days following, they give an overview of the process, and they present materials where you endorse your consent.
Because you know what? Bringing up others’ trauma is really really dangerous, and can seriously harm that person. But teachers in TIP (or students on panels) who have zero trauma-awareness training dive right in, and its the basis for many of the healings. For me, many of those experiences were re-traumatizing, and when I sometimes sought help with what I was experiencing, no one knew what to do. Send light? Do some other healing?
I had friends in the training who shared that a particular healing was so traumatizing that they vowed to never do it again.
Trauma isn’t a toy. You can’t build systems around trying to “heal” it when you know nothing about it except the magic juice you invented to deal with it.
A friend of mine once took level 1. Between week 1 and 2, trauma that was provoked from the first class surfaced and she had a really difficult time. When she was in class 2 and heard her teacher give a list of “things you might have experienced,” she was very upset. She asked how dare the teacher not prepare students for what they might experience. She felt like it was a violation of consent and a betrayal of her safety. Since I’d never done traditional therapy and had only done the Training, I didn’t know what she was talking about, and felt she just didn’t “get it”.
Now I know. From the first class of Level 1, teachers are playing with psychological principles for which they have no actual training. But the language of the course is so convoluted and wrapped in concepts that seem to be metaphysical and about “meditation”, and about such a wide range of topics for which a TIP teacher can’t possibly be fully educated in, that they probably don’t even realize the potential harm in what they’re teaching.
If you’re a teacher, you have to stop. You’re endangering people’s lives and there well-being. Take a step back and ask yourself if you really know how to deal with trauma. If you’re not sure, talk to a trauma-aware professional and see how much they know. You would be surprised.
I sincerely hope no one else has to die before people realize the danger of what they’re provoking.