Focusing trainers Melba Jimenez and Beatrice Blake of Nuevos Rumbos (New Directions) have been developing a model for community mental health by teaching Focusing and Compassionate Communication in El Salvador since 2007.
Melba was part of the guerrilla forces in the Salvadoran Civil War (1980-1992), so she and her family know from experience that war is not the way to create the social change they dream of. Melba's daughters, Yara and Susana, and her son, Nicolas, are also
involved in spreading Focusing and Compassionate Communication.
Focusing (www.focusing.org) is a way of tuning in to our own inner truth, by learning how to listen gently to the wisdom of our bodies. In Compassionate Communication (cnvc.org), we learn to pay attention to our feelings and needs and to the feelings and needs
of others.
Nuevos Rumbos Community Resilience Circles give people tools that can improve their health and well-being within their own community. Psychologists are in very short supply in El Salvador. People whose lives do not improve with the Resilience Circles can
be referred to professionals. Meanwhile, the community is empowered to listen to each other and themselves and to move forward
Melba leads Resilience Circles for adults, children and youth in rural communities and for students of the University of El Salvador. Her Focusing teacher, Beatrice Blake, will go to El Salvador in January 2014 to train more trainers to keep up with the
demand.
Please support Nuevos Rumbos so that these healing practices can bring hope and empowerment to many more communities.
