{"id":15059,"date":"2015-10-09T00:06:06","date_gmt":"2015-10-09T07:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=15059"},"modified":"2015-10-08T22:12:57","modified_gmt":"2015-10-09T05:12:57","slug":"healing-after-trauma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2015\/10\/09\/healing-after-trauma\/","title":{"rendered":"Healing after trauma"},"content":{"rendered":"

A screenshot of Dr. Gabor Mat\u00e9 and Rita Bozi in The Damage is Done<\/em>, from video by Patrick McLaughlin.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Cultch often presents non-traditional shows that confront uncomfortable questions. This year, one such show, The Damage is Done<\/em> by Rita Bozi, brings to the stage an examination of trauma and its psychological impact on individuals and families.<\/p>\n

The Damage is Done<\/em> combines theatre, dialogue, essay, video, music and dance. It features two performers: Bozi, and physician and author Dr. Gabor Mat\u00e9, who has written on various psychological issues, including addiction. Bozi plays several characters in the show, while Mat\u00e9 plays himself.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Gabor Mat\u00e9 plays himself in Rita Bozi\u2019s The Damage is Done<\/em>. (photo by Farah Nosh)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI comment on Rita\u2019s actions on stage, like a Greek chorus,\u201d Mat\u00e9 said in an interview with the Independent<\/em>. \u201cWe are trying to find some meaning to the trauma endured in the past, the traumas our families went through, and to learn from it. If we don\u2019t process trauma, it will control our lives. The after-effects of trauma influence how we see ourselves: either as victims, or it makes us overcompensate, try to appear more powerful than we are. Sometimes, people try to get away from the pain with drugs \u2013 that\u2019s where addiction comes from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mat\u00e9 explained that deep trauma is often transmitted through generations. It affects social units and families as well as individuals. \u201cThe children of Holocaust survivors often have elevated stress hormone levels. When a young mother is depressed, her baby suffers, even though everyone loves the baby and nobody wants it hurt…. The play is an exploration of how trauma works and how we can find liberation from it. Before we heal, we must find the problem, acknowledge it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He accepted this project despite a busy schedule and multiple speaking engagements because it touches on issues about which he has been advocating for years. \u201cMedical schools don\u2019t teach students about trauma and its psychological impact. When the young doctors start working, they feel the lack of that knowledge. They want a guidance of how to connect physical and emotional healing, and not many people talk about the subject.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, many professionals turn to Mat\u00e9. His seminars are in such demand across North America that sometimes he spends days on the road. \u201cIn the last week, I had eight speaking engagements,\u201d he said. In various American and Canadian cities, addiction workers, trauma specialists, therapists and educators, as well as family members and others, comprise Mat\u00e9\u2019s audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to answer the question, \u2018Why?,\u2019 the same question Rita asks in her play, so I provide the framework for her story. I think it\u2019s very important. So many people suffer from trauma, physical and psychological. It\u2019s impossible to separate the two. I\u2019m not going to launch a second career as an actor, of course,\u201d he added with a smile, \u201cbut it was an interesting challenge, something different. Besides, I like Rita.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bozi also spoke with the Independent<\/em>. She explained that the show was years in development. Its most recent version premi\u00e8red in Yukon last year. \u201cThis show is ultimately about compassions for ourselves and others,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mat\u00e9\u2019s involvement in the project was paramount to her. \u201cI attended several workshops with Gabor and I read his books. He once said, \u2018We need to be asking not why the addiction but why the pain?\u2019 As a therapist and a child of immigrant Hungarian parents who lived through the war, the Soviet occupation and the revolution, I have long been concerned with inherited historical trauma and its effect on families and offspring.\u201d<\/p>\n

She continued, \u201cI wanted Gabor a part of it. Why mention him if I could have him? I had already been making a connection with Gabor through email over our shared Hungarian backgrounds…. He felt like kin. We were speaking the same language (apart from Hungarian) and we both felt the power of the mind-body connection affecting our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took Bozi 12 years from the seed of the idea to the show itself. \u201cI play out my family drama, and Gabor plays the poetic counterpoint. He helps my character come back to \u2018self.\u2019 He helps her understand her own experience of the family situation, her part in it and how to begin to transform the inherited pain. He brings his razor-sharp insights to the show and his ability to be concise about what is happening. He sees what is hidden, cuts to the chase and helps guide one to the pieces of self that were lost when trauma occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Bozi and Mat\u00e9, healing comes from the ability to look at traumatic events from infancy and early childhood with humor and compassion \u2013 even though the damage is done, we can defuse its impact.<\/p>\n

The Damage is Done<\/em> will be performed at the Cultch from Oct. 20-24. Before that, Bozi and Mat\u00e9 are taking the show to Banff, where both their evening shows are already sold out. For more information about the local production, visit thecultch.com\/events\/the-damage-is-done-a-true-story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Olga Livshin<\/strong> is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at olgagodim@gmail.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A screenshot of Dr. Gabor Mat\u00e9 and Rita Bozi in The Damage is Done, from video by Patrick McLaughlin. The Cultch often presents non-traditional shows that confront uncomfortable questions. This year, one such show, The Damage is Done by Rita Bozi, brings to the stage an examination of trauma and its psychological impact on individuals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[880,4631,4629,4628,4630],"class_list":["post-15059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-cultch","tag-depression","tag-gabor-mate","tag-rita-bozi","tag-trauma"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}