By Sr. Bernadette Fadegnon, MMM

The State in Mato Grosso, where we are located, sponsored a course in Integrative Community Therapy for the health workers in the state. Because of the partnership we have with the Secretary of Health of our district of Alto Boa Vista, this opportunity was made available for us. I am ever grateful for the learning I am going through.

What is this Integrative Community Therapy (ICT)?
It is a practice of a round table conversation created by Dr Adalbeto Barreto, a Brazilian theologian, medical doctor, anthropologist, and psychiatrist who through his experience and observation, discovered that the reason why the majority of people go to see a doctor is not necessarily for physical illness treatment, but they just need to talk out their personal, family and work-related problems. And when they have the space to express what is bordering them, in the process they experience healing. He made the following hypothesis “when the mouth speaks, the body heals”.

ICT is the first and only therapy created by a Brazilian and is a technique where issues that are preventing one’s life to be well lived and flourishing, are expressed by the individuals in the group through focusing on the emotions/feelings that are behind the issue. With the help of questions and sharing of experiences, strategies from the same group are shared to deal with the issues. It is a round-table conversation where everyone is equal and could share his/her joy, pain and experience of how to deal with the specific situation. It is a kind of round table conversation that values the wisdom and support of the people in the group.
It could be thematic or non- thematic round talk. Dr Adalberto conducts many round table talks. One of these past weeks, he conducted a thematic round table conversation based on the recent concern in Brazil and around the world. The burning of forests.

He started by acknowledging the ongoing forest fire that we are hearing, seeing, witnessing and feeling around us and within us. These fires affect our physical health, causing allergic attacks, rhinitis, sinusitis, asthma. It also affects our mental and emotional health, causing anxiety, fear and panic. Our air is polluted and our children and elderly people are having trouble breathing.

The strong wind and lack of rain facilitate the spread of the fires and the spread of ashes. These fires in turn destroy houses, burn forests, and kill animals of every kind and is a cause of despair.
The forests that are the lungs of the planet are in agony. The scenario is chaotic.
This forest fire damage is not limited to just the destruction of forests and air quality, but it affects our mental health.
Like a forest fire, the human person can witness outbursts of anger, panic attacks and depression. A short temper can lead to explosive and devastating attitudes. Strong emotions can cause emotional problems such as anguish, despair and helplessness. The lack of love, blind passion, and anger can cause problems between us and those we love and live with.
In the same way that a fire can destroy the wealth of a forest, uncontrolled emotions can destroy friendships and prevent us from living peacefully as brothers and sisters.
Like the smoke of a burning bush can block the view of the horizon, so also our limited knowledge can lead us to preconceived ideas and stereotyping one another. This can prevent us from embracing people and realities as they are.

Just as breathing toxic smoke for a long time can lead us to serious health problems and even cause death, breathing in environments polluted with jealousy, distrust, betrayal, uncontrolled anger and despair, can lead us to lose the ability to distinguish between right and wrong or between good and evil. Explosive emotions can intoxicate our conscience and environment.
An uncontrolled forest fire can remind us of our uncontrolled emotions and “Affective Fires” and alert us of the need to take care of our emotions and learn to control them through dialogue and peaceful conversations like round table conversation.

By learning to manage the intensity and nature of our feelings, we can avoid emotional devastation and foster healthier connections. And in combating the destructive fire of the aggressive impulse of hate, we can heal a wounded heart, console a desperate mother, and encourage children surviving family traumas.
It is important to seek emotional support during these difficult times around the world. Whether through friends, relatives and family or through individual or group therapies.
We need to open the window of our hearts to welcome people. In the same way that the heart can explode, with anger, hurt, jealousy and despair and destroy us and the others around us, the heart is also capable of offering warmth, tenderness, acceptance, and thus building friendships and bonds.
It has been a learning experience, and we have begun the ‘Roundtable Conversation Therapy’ in the women’s group in the parish and other parishes that have invited us. It is indeed true that when the mouth speaks, the body heals! It seems to be making a difference in the lives of the people.”