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I write this letter in
my capacity as President of SAAP - South African Association of
Psychotherapy, headquartered at Rhodes University in Grahamstown,
Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. I am also a Professor of
Psychology at the Department of Psychology, Rhodes University.
Mr Tagar is an
exceptional individual, teacher, counsellor, psychotherapist and
trainer in mastery of arrange of unique and extraordinary skills
which he has evolved over many years of work in a number of
countries. Building on an extensive education and training in social
sciences, humanities and the arts, Mr Tagar developed the field of
Psychophonetics, a field which continues to expand both locally and
internationally. Psychophonetics is a form of personal coaching,
counselling and therapy that involves the use of verbal as well as
non-verbal modes of communication: sense, gesture, sounds and
visualisation to promote self awareness and a range of modes of
self-intervention for physical, emotional and spiritual healing. The
holistic principles of Psychophonetics (as practised and taught by Mr
Tagar) resonate deeply with the traditional as well as the
multi-cultural human landscape of South.
I first met Mr Tagar in
2001 at the foundation conference of the South African Association of
Psychotherapy of which I am a co-founder and the current president.
Mr Tagar was originally invited by us to present his work on recovery
from sexual abuse with Psychophonetics. We were deeply impressed by
the richness, artistry, humanity and effectiveness of his approach to
this deeply concerning condition here and worldwide, and by the
development of Psychophonetics in general. On the basis of his
presented work Mr Tagar was accepted by us as a professional member
of SAAP. His subsequent contribution to SAAP's follow up conference
in 2003 on "Metaphors as Reality for the Life-Body" and the
experiential workshop he gave to the whole conference equally highly
appreciated.
The wealth of
publications and presentations under Mr Tagar's name and the body
of work and training he has created in South Africa since his arrival
here are a testimony to his internationally professionally recognised
expertise, and I have no hesitation in expressing my opinion that Mr
Tagar possesses exceptional and extraordinary skills in the field of
personal development, counselling, executive and organizational
coaching using Psychophonetics.
Professor Zelda Knight
President of SAAP -
South African Association of Psychotherapy
Professor of Psychology at
the Department of Psychology, Rhodes University
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As Chair of COCHASA
(Confederation of Complementary Health Associations of South Africa)
and a member of its national executive since its foundation, I have
had full opportunity to observe the arrival in South Africa of a
number of new modalities of healing and therapy and of their
development into fully acknowledged professions. In the light of my
experience, my view of Psychophonics, which has been developed by Mr
Tagar, is that it offers a valuable contribution to the range of
healing modalities available to the South African public. Mr Tagar is
an exceptional individual in every sense of the word and building on
his extensive education and training in social sciences and the arts,
Psychophonetics has become a field which continues to expand
internationally. It comprises a form of counselling and therapy
involving the use of sense, gesture, sounds and visualisation to
promote emotional healing. While these techniques are frequently used
by psychotherapists, the spiritual principles of Psychophonetics (as
practised and taught by Mr Tagar) resonate deeply with traditional
African practices in a particularly effective manner that is
substantially different to normative Western practices.
Ian Gillespie
Chair COCHASA
(Confederation of Complementary Health Associations of South Africa);
Member of the National
Executive of the Joint Forum for Policy on Ageing; Life Member
Economic Society of South Africa; Life Member Psychological Society
of South Africa
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I am a Professor in the
Department of Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science in the Faculty
of Community and Health Sciences at the University of the Western
Cape, South Africa. I obtained my PhD in Women's Studies at Utrecht
University in the Netherlands. I am currently a member of the South
African Qualifications Standards Generating Board for the field of
Sport, Recreation and Fitness Management. I also serve on the Board
of Consultants for the International Association for Women and Girls
in Sport and Physical Education (IAPESGW).
Mr Tagar is an
exceptional individual in every sense of the word. Not only has he
developed a unique field of study and counselling, he is also a
master teacher with a rare gift of always being able to create
opportunities for the self-efficacy and self-empowerment of his
students and clients.
Mr Tagar has developed
the field of Psychophonetics, a form of counselling and therapy that
involves the use of sense, gesture, sounds and visualisation. While
visualisation and sense-therapy are techniques frequently used by
psychotherapists, the spiritual principles of Psychophonetics (as
practised and taught by Mr Tagar) resonate deeply with traditional
African practices and the unique needs facing South Africans.
Psychophonetics is an
extremely effective self-empowerment tool which can be used in the
development of sustainable management of emotional health, especially
in dealing with emotional trauma around HIV/AIDS, violence and abuse,
as well as in conflict and anger management. It has huge potential
for application amongst medical practitioners, allied health
professionals, educators, trauma counsellors and social workers,
especially those working with groups such as youth-at-risk and
survivors of violence and abuse. South African practitioners
qualified in Psychophonetics are already working with street
children, survivors of sexual abuse and sufferers of eating
disorders, to mention a few.
In addition, sports
coaches with Psychophonetics training, especially those working with
young people, will better understand the needs and interests of the
youth. They will consequently be more effective in using sports and
other forms of physical activity to counteract risk-taking behaviours
and promote youth wellness. Psychophonetics is particularly helpful
for coaches, educators and counsellors working with sporting females
of all ages, especially female learners who are considered to be the
group most vulnerable to health risks, such as unsafe sex practices
(and therefore vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and other sexually
transmitted diseases, as well as unwanted teenage pregnancies);
substance abuse; violent or criminal activities. Further,
Psychophonetics can be used effectively in Leisure Education,
Therapeutic Recreation and sports rehabilitation.
South Africa needs
people like Mr Tagar who have dedicated their lives to the upliftment
and empowerment of others.
Professor Denise E M
Jones
Lecturer and Post-Graduate
Co-Ordinator, Department of Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science,
University of the Western
Cape
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Yehuda has given his
professional practice a much-needed African framework and context....
In the past few years, he has become known throughout South Africa as
a wonderful teacher of the practice of Psychophonetics, and he has
trained over 100 people of diverse languages and backgrounds,
including in poor areas.
Not only does
Psychophonetics combine therapy with sounds, gestures and
visualization - a unique approach which he has himself developed
internationally and brought to Africa - but also the aim is to
complete the psychological healing in only a few sessions (unlike
long forms of therapy in traditional Western psychology).
The last point is
important, as he is beginning training of practitioners in the
African townships, where people are not able usually to afford long
periods of extended therapy. Hence his approach has potentially,
enormous benefits for ordinary people in our country, who welcome
short but intensive treatment to help them deal with the problems and
traumas of everyday life in situations of poverty and stress.
Moreover, his mode of therapy with sounds and gestures fits well with
traditional African healing and therapy modes.
In the light of (a) and
(b) above, I feel Mr Tagar has very scarce and much needed skills
which our country needs, for both his teaching college and his
psychological therapy practices and training.
Professor David Cooper
Head of Department of
Sociology, University of Cape Town
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Psychophonetics
Counselling has become an essential part of my Anthroposophically
integrated holistic general practice. For many years it was the
missing link in my medical work, since I lacked a formal training in
holistic counselling which was compatible with my Anthroposophically
based medical work. The three year Psychophonetics training which
combined intensive personal development with a stringent professional
counselling training has provided me with the means of exploring
together with my patients, the psycho-spiritual background to their
physical illness. This profound therapeutic creation by Yehuda seems
to me the natural and rational development of Rudolph Steiner's
Psychosophy and extends Anthroposophical Medicine into new domains.
It has added enormous value to my personal and professional life.
The Psychophonetics
counselling process allows the client to enter more deeply into the
hidden depths of body, soul and spirit. ......Psychophonetics has
opened up for me, the body-soul-spirit continuum on the laboratory
altar of my Anthroposophical medical practice and inspires me to
develop this modality for its diagnostic and therapeutic potential in
the sphere of clinical medicine.
Dr RaoulÂ
Goldberg, Anthroposophical Medical Practitioner
Medical Director of
Syringa Health Centre, Plumstead, Cape Town
Chairperson of
Anthroposophical Medical Association of South Africa
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