About our Logo

The flower presented in the logo is the Protea from the sugar bush species. The King Protea (Protea cynaroides) flower (one of the largest and most striking of the protea flowers with a colourful crown) is the national flower of South Africa. The uniqueness of this flower is even more relevant in the symbolism as it signifies diversity, courage and strength.

The origin of Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR)

TIR was developed in the 1980s by two American professionals, namely Frank A. Gerbode, M.D., a psychiatrist and Gerald French, an educational psychologist. Their focus was to find a simple, highly effective tool to address Trauma and PTSD in USA war veterans. In the course of their work, they counselled many ex-combatants who were fighting in the various wars the United States had been involved in. Many years after their wartime experiences, many of these veterans still suffered from severe emotional problems and found it hard to function adequately in society. By using TIR, Gerbode and French could help these individuals, within a relatively short time, to come to terms with their experiences and to re-enter society successfully. The value of this approach was appreciated by other professionals with a result that a training programme was developed, and TIRA (Traumatic Incident Reduction Association) came into being. TIRA is the international governing body of TIR. TIR has been implemented in all 50 USA States, every province of Canada as well as in Argentina, Australia, Belgium. Bermuda, England, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Palestine, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Switzerland, Tobago, Trinidad and Ukraine. In South Africa, more than a thousand facilitators have already been trained in the use of this method.

Founder: Yvonne Retief

TIRA-SA is the brainchild of Yvonne Retief who was one of the groups attending the first TIR workshop presented by Gerald French in South Africa back in 2000. She was so impressed with the results of TIR and related techniques in her practice, that she did her internship with Gerald and became a registered trainer. She saw the enormous potential of healing through this approach in trauma-ridden South Africa. Her dream of TIRA-SA was born and shared by those practitioners and trainers who were taught by her. More people joining TIRA obviously expanded the network and thus even more people could be reached with this effective tool. Together they share Yvonne’s drive to provide TIR with a more solid foothold in South Africa. In a combined effort this enthusiastic group established TIRA-SA.

 

Current Board Members

Bets-van-Jaarsveld

Bets van Jaarsveld

With 40 years experience in admin in the SANDF as well 10 years experience in victim support, Bets has
been on the board of the Community Police Forum for the past year and is fully qualified in the Applied Metapsychology techniques. Bets now oversees TIRA-SA administration.

Rodette Kotzé

BSc (Biochemistry and Physiology) and Certified TIR Facilitator. Rodette will be qualifying as TIR Trainer in July 2023. She has 9 years experience working with clients and 3 years experience in Applied Metapsychology techniques. Rodette runs her own Holistic Wellness practice and is passionate about the future of TIRA and TIRA-SA.

 

Rodette-Kotzé
Andy-Newell

Andy Newell

SACAP Postgraduate Diploma in Coaching, TIR Facilitator, WITS Bachelor of Dentistry (20 years experience), Credentialed Member of COMENSA, ICF, and Member of TIRA. Serving for 10 years on the Board of Profmed Medical Scheme has provided Andy with experience in strategy, critical thinking, problem solving, objective analysis, and ethical practice.

Francois Retief

Francois is an Industrial Engineer with experience in the power generation industry doing Business Analysis, Business Improvement, Change Management and Data Analytics. Francois and his family live in Brisbane, Australia.

Francois-Retief
Yvonne-Retief

Yvonne Retief

Yvonne has been using TIR successfully for the past 20 years. She is very involved in trauma work and is one of three Senior Trainers in South Africa. Yvonne is one of the pioneers of Applied Metapsychology in the country and was the first chairperson of TIRA-SA. She has presented papers and courses on the topic both nationally and internationally. She has published two books, Joy Comes in the Morning – Letters to a Survivor of Abuse and Healing for Trauma in the South African Context, which recently saw the release of a second edition

Scroll to Top