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D T IMPACT DANCE THERAPY CURRICULUM In 2022 we established 18 D T groups with 269 members Decline in Severe Moderate levels of Depression reduced from 95 to 11 Decline in signs symptoms of Trauma reduced from 90 to 1 Decline in Severe Moderate levels of Anxiety reduced from 98 to 9 And by training community members themselves to be the Peer D T Leaders each community is set up for maintaining these outcomes I had thoughts of committing suicide because of what I was going through but when I joined the Dance Therapy group I got counselling and I was supported by the other group members Everyone has challenges but how you react is what makes you a victor in life Flavia not real name a D T group member In Acholiland the sound of the drum is a very powerful mobilization tool Dance itself brings healing of the soul Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Welcome Creating a Connecting Awakening and Group safe space mind and coping Orientation body skills Building a tool box Telling our stories Working through a painful memory part 1 Working through a painful memory part 2 Loss and resilience part 1 Loss and resilience part 2 Building Closing goals and and identify a celebration motivating way STAGE ONE Safety and Stabilisation STAGE TWO Healing the Invisible wounds STAGE THREE Building a meaningful future The Dance Therapy program brought us together as a team it taught us how to control and manage anger it empowered members to cope with hard situations and choose positive coping mechanisms We learned coping skills such as breathing techniques Power Pose and dance President of Oryem Can Dance Therapy Group The Dance Therapy program has offered me the opportunity to nurture my leadership and mentorship skills I used to fear speaking before a group but now I am very confident and can address a crowd of people without fear I am proud that I can give back to my community Ojara not real name a peer D T Leader 93 of our D T members feel well pleased with the program Any participants with ongoing distress continued to receive care

DANCE THERAPY Since the beginning of THRIVEGulu in 2010 the organization s mission has been to assist communities in post conflict northern Uganda to heal from the traumatic effects of war sexual exploitation extreme poverty and the resulting loss of opportunities This healing can only take place when addressing the mental distress and mental illnesses of individuals After more than six years of building our counseling program including individual and group counseling awareness education stigma reduction mobile mental health outreach clinics call in radio programs teletherapy school counseling and community based lay counselor training support we had the experience and knowledge to create a better program With funding from Comic Relief s Sport for Change program and technical support from Dance4Life THRIVEGulu created the Dance Therapy Curriculum an innovate approach to mental health service delivery that integrates dance movement into our empowerment groups as a healing mechanism After a two year pilot program we completed a research to change grant with IREX Youth Excel USAID to study and improve our curriculum We then received two additional years of extension funding from Comic Relief to improve the curriculum and expand into the Palabek Refugee settlement The results have been exceptional Decline in Severe Moderate levels of Depression reduced from 95 to 11 Decline in signs symptoms of Trauma reduced from 90 to 1 Decline in Severe Moderate levels of Anxiety reduced from 98 to 9 And by setting training community members themselves to be the Peer D T Leaders each community is set up for maintaining these outcomes We believe that meaningful existence is more than mere survival We believe the invisible wounds of psychological trauma deserve healing And we believe that functionality and productivity can only flourish when an individual and her community are more than surviving TogetherWeThrive CONNECT www thrivegulu org info thrivegulu org ABOUT THRIVEGulu is a trauma recovery organization Established in 2010 as a 501 c 3 nonprofit organization we support survivors of the atrocities of the 1986 2006 Lord s Resistance Army LRA insurgency refugees from South Sudan and survivors of gender based violence We support individuals of all ages and genders with priorities on the welfare of girls and women in our holistic interventions THRIVE s vision is for a Northern Uganda in which all people are treated with dignity live in safety and have the chance to contribute to the good of the community Mental Health at THRIVEGulu Dance Therapy OUR PEOPLE THRIVE is proud to have women led operations in Gulu topped with our Director of 10 years Alal Single Dora A trauma counseling specialist she leads a team of thirty including professional counselors gender based violence literacy finance and empowerment specialists and administrative support staff all native Ugandans Half of our senior management is female Our international affiliate is headed by women also with our Executive Director Mah S r Keita in Mali and our Operations Development Director based in the US As a locally led organization our people come from the communities that we serve forging relationships that empower our beneficiaries to guide the programs we provide fulfilling our promise Nothing about Us without Us