COPE

88 picture cards for Trauma and Healing

sharing communication and creating community

Instructions
and guidelines

© Dr. Ofra Ayalon, Moritz Egetmeyer,

Marina Lukyanova, 2006
Coping is a skill. Situations arise every day that require us to ex-
ercise it. Some such challenges are easily resolved by making use
of already acquired responses. Other challenges are new, more
serious or even traumatic: threats for which we find ourselves
unprepared. Within such crises lies as well a potential for healing
and growth.

The COPE Cards came into being as a result of a meeting between

a Russian painter, an Israeli psychologist and a German publisher -
representatives of three nations that share the fact of recent histories
filled with traumatizing events. They decided to co-create a tool for
working toward a world with less suffering.

COPE ́s extensive collection of images was painted by Marina Lukyanova

under the guidance of the internationally renowned trauma therapist,
Dr. Ofra Ayalon, and of publisher, Moritz Egetmeyer. The COPE Card ima-
ges reflect Marina’s background as a wandering water-colourist, Ofra’s
long and effective history as a helper in healing trauma and Moritz’
expertise with cards for association. A tabloid representation of terror,
violence or disaster for these cards was rejected by COPE ́s creators, the
assumption being that persons who come to use them as a tool already
have such images stored in their minds. They chose rather to represent
traumatic events and the emotional responses that they trigger in a
symbolic and metaphoric manner.

Why use cards for trauma-healing work? OH-Publishing has an

established history of producing, in card-form, tools that facilitate
authentic expression in a competition and judgment-free context.
These card decks have been widely accepted by teaching and social
professionals as well as by lay people in many countries and of many
cultures. In a world in which conflict - whether private, domestic or
international - is erupting constantly the experience of trauma seems
pervasive. Destruction is all too easily achieved while rebuilding
remains a difficult process.We need every tool we can dream of to help
build a better future. To achieve such a goal the past has to be looked
in the eye and dealt with. These cards are an ingenious tool for doing

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just that: they facilitate the accessing both of inner feelings and creative
imagination and thereby support the building - and rebuilding - of
community through communication.

All trauma therapies aim to disentangle people from the constricting

influence of an event. The COPE Cards are not meant to replace other
therapeutic approaches but to complement them. Their explicit goal is
to protect, to connect and to validate, whether used alone or in conjunc-
tion with other methods or with other cards in this series. The COPE
Cards can enhance the process of uncovering and giving expression to
each person ́s outlook on life and to each one ́s unique strategies for
dealing with its pains and grief.

In this booklet you will find numerous ideas and suggestions for use, as
well as background information about working with crisis and trauma.
All users of the COPE Cards are encouraged as well to discover their own
applications. In therapeutic and non-therapeutic settings alike, please
keep in mind the importance of protecting participants ́ vulnerability.

Bearing witness to pain, whether it be your own or that of another, can

bring insight and lighten the load. The creators and publishers of the
COPE Cards invite all who use this tool to join them in confirming the
time-tested proverb: “Shared pain is half-pain and shared joy is double joy.“

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SOME GUIDELINES
The COPE Cards are a multi-use tool. They belong to a series of
card decks already in use by a wide range of professionals dealing
especially with people: teachers, counselors, psychotherapists,
personnel trainers etc. They can be used alone, in combination
with other methods, or in combination with other decks of this se-
ries. They can be specially selected from the deck, or drawn blind.
Common to all these approaches is this: when we take a card and
begin to respond to it, it is ourselves we find in the card and our
own inner story that emerges.

A possible next step in the process might be to communicate this perso-

nal, subjective interpretation to others, or to listen actively to someone
else doing the same. Actively listening means being attentive plus re-
fraining from interpreting another person ́s cards while they speak.

It is always a participant ́s personal and subjective truth which interests

us when using the COPE Cards. The concepts of ”correct“ and ”incorrect“
do not apply to a card-response.

Personal associations are the most interesting, revealing and moving.

Generalizing, philosophizing and stating of ideologies are best left for
other forums.

Competition is counter-productive in COPE Card exchanges.

These guidelines apply whether we use the cards on our own or together
with others. When we use them with others, it serves the best interests
of all concerned to follow some simple rules. As with any tool, proper
use is important to ensure safety and avoid injury. We therefore recom-
mend the following 5-point etiquette to facilitate and protect trust and
openness:

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1. In COPE we honor each other’s privacy.
I may choose to pass, to NOT play the cards drawn. I can do this with or
without explanation, revealing my cards or not. You may not challenge
or question my right to pass.

2. In COPE, we honor each other’s time.

I will not interrupt you.

3. In COPE, we honor each other’s intelligence and imagination.

I do not re-interpret (or interpret) your cards, even in the secrecy
of my mind. We keep in mind that THERE ARE NO ”CORRECT”
INTERPRETATIONS OF THE CARDS.

4. In COPE, we honor each other’s integrity.

I do not contradict you or argue about your interpretations. But I will
express my curiosity about something you said, or ask you to clarify
something so that I can know you better. And I will support your
imaginative leaps as best I can.

5. In COPE, we honor each other’s individuality.

When I play my COPE Cards I do not assume that you see what I see,
read what I read.

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UNDERLYING
PRINCIPLES OF
THE COPE CARDS
1 . N O RM ALIZAT IO N
COPE Card work begins with the assumption that trauma, a response
to a devastating event, can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. ALL
trauma responses are considered normal ways of dealing with adversi-
ty. Each person’s pattern of response is as singular as a fingerprint and
deserving of appreciation and respect. Focusing on the skills of coping
rather than on pathology allows COPE Card work to proceed without
undue emphasis on negative after-effects of trauma. To ameliorate
painful consequences of trauma, COPE Card work helps to mobilize
”exiting skills“ and enhance new coping opportunities. It allows every
individual to find a unique pathway to recovery after traumatic stress.

2 . G AINING M AS T ERY
Exposure to natural disaster, human cruelty, feelings of dehumanization
and the experience of powerlessness create a diminished sense of self. The
healing relationship between trainer and trainee must be collaborative:
the work is a shared journey whose course will be set and re-set as pitfalls
are met and unanticipated paths are discovered. The healing relationship
must foster a sense of security, trust, support and empowerment.

3 . E XPRESS ING AND SHA R IN G

Working through grief, expressing fear, dealing with traumatic image-
ry through metaphoric story- telling, social interaction, spirituality and
humor: All of these contribute to the healing of the whole person. The
COPE Cards trainer, in promoting these aspects of healing, serves as a
guide and a coach, offering concepts that might be new to the client and
shaping abilities that may be latent.

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4 . DEVELO PING A PERS O N A L H E A LIN G TH E O R Y
A personal story told through using the COPE Cards creates a metap-
horical forum for coming to terms with what happened in the past and,
consequently, for cultivating optimism and confidence for the future.

BACKGROUND
THEORY OF THE
COPE CARDS
An elderly sage reputed to be a mind-reader came to town to preach.The
townspeople anticipated his visit with respect, even awe. All, that is, but
one: the local mischief maker, a boy of thirteen. He had a brilliant idea for
challenging the sage ́s reputation. He would run out to the fields and catch
a butterfly. Then, concealing it in his hands, he would face the old man and
ask, ”Sage, what is it I hold in my hands?“ The sage would no doubt answer,
“It is a butterfly.“ Then the boy would ask, ”And is it alive or dead?“ If the sage
said ”Alive“ the boy would squeeze it between his hands and reveal before
everyone the butterfly, dead. But if the sage said that the butterfly was dead
he would open his hands and let it fly.

And so it came to be that when the crowd assembled to hear the sermon, the
boy approached the sage and posed his question: ”Sage, what is it I hold in
my hands?“ The old man looked at him a moment and answered slowly, ”A
butterfly, my son. It is a butterfly.“ With a glint in his eyes the boy continued:
”And is it dead or alive?” The old man closed his eyes as he pondered, opened
them again, and said in a soft voice, ”It is in your hands, my son, it is all in
your hands.”

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We humans tend to regard difficulty, disaster or trauma (i.e. events
beyond our control) as dealings from the hand of fate. But it is important
to remember that, no matter where or how such events originate, the
way we deal with them is in fact in our hands. This is what coping is all
about. To cope means to face and to contend with difficulty, disaster or
trauma - and with a measure of success. Each of us is naturally endowed
with certain coping resources, others we develop with experience.
ALL coping methods can be enhanced through training or specifically
oriented therapies. In this card deck six cards with images of HANDS
represent the following categories of coping resources, or coping styles:

• (B) Belief may be faith in god or a supernatural power, trust in

other human beings or trust in oneself. When we seek reinforce-
ment through our belief system to cope with difficulty, our hands
may rise in prayer and in this way seek nurturing for confidence
and hope.
• (A) Affect is the inward disposition, or the feeling aspect of consci-
ousness. The heart is the treasure chest of the emotions: love and
hate, fear and courage, grief and joy, jealousy and compassion,
and so on. This mode of coping involves first and foremost the
ability to recognize feelings and to name them. Then comes the
expressing of feelings we have identified, by verbalizing (telling,
writing, dramatizing) or through non-verbal modes, such as free
play or dance, painting, sculpting or making music.
• (S) Social coping skills seek interaction with others. Such interac-
tions include supporting and being supported, both with those
close to us (family members and friends) and with professional
helpers, taking on a role of responsibility and the developing of
leadership. Social interactions which begin within an intimate
circle also have the potential for spreading into broader circles
that include strangers or the larger community.
• (I) Imagination is the core of creativity. It allows us to dream, to
intuit, to be flexible, to change, to seek solutions in fantasy, to find
new ways for dealing with distressing situations, to alter undesi-
red circumstances.
• (C) Cognitive coping relies on the ability to think logically and

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 rationally, to assess risks, to learn, to plan ahead, to seek new
strategies, to analyze and problem-solve.
• (Ph) Physical coping involves the senses: what we hear, see, smell,
taste, etc. It may be characterized by body sensations, such as
constriction in our throat or belly, heart beats, changes of body
temperature or tension, and also in movements, such as making
an effort, using power, being active, doing, performing physical
chores, overcoming physical difficulties, dealing with reality,
interacting with nature.

These six coping channels are acronymed for easy reference as ”the
BASIC Ph“. In actual traumatic situations people usually employ a com-
bination of coping styles to survive. The following story illustrates this
well:

”Rorik, a boy who survived shipwreck, spent many hours fighting the waves of
a rough sea until he was washed up onshore. In reviewing his ordeal he said,
”I used all I ever learned about swimming and breathing (C). My body obeyed
my orders not to panic (C, Ph), just to swim with the current. I prayed to Posei-
don, the god of the sea, to take care of me (B). And when I was exhausted I just
floated on my back, letting the waves carry me (Ph). During the long hours
when I felt hungry and cold, I had vivid fantasies and memories (I) of our
warm dining room at home (Ph) and could actually smell the food (Ph) that
my loving mother (A,S) placed on the table. All of these helped me to survive.“

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ELEMENTS OF
TRAUMATIC STRESS
L I VING IN DANGERO US E N V IRO N ME N TS
Crisis, extreme stress and disaster are part and parcel of life today for
vast numbers of people of all ages and persuasions both in the Western
civilizations and in the so-called ”third world”. Exposure to dangerous
environments occurs through war and terrorism, ecological, natural or
technological disasters and urban violence. Also poverty, child slavery,
racial persecution and physical or sexual abuse cause suffering and
trauma, as do domestic and individual crises such as loss and death of
dear ones, destruction and loss of home, abandonment and betrayal.
Survivors of such disasters can be left with feelings of helplessness or
depression, may feel chronically plagued with guilt or anger, or suffer
from the debilitating effects of post -traumatic symptoms.

STRES SFUL CHANGES

AND DISRUPT IO N O F CON TIN U ITY

Some changes we love to embrace, like those that give us a break form
everyday routine - a surprise party or taking a holiday. Other changes,
however, come unwanted, taking us out of control and throwing us off
balance. Loss of work or social position, immigration to a new country,
getting divorced or being widowed, being involved in a traffic accident
or caught in a house on fire: these are just a few examples. Such unple-
asant and imposed changes upset our familiar environment, interrupt
old habits and render invalid our ordinary ways of solving problems.
When the perceived continuity of our existence is disrupted, we are
faced on every step of our way with more demands than our existing
coping skills can deal with. Our past no longer predicts the future. We
may then experience extreme stress and a sense of confusion, vulne-
rability and personal failure, which in turn may trigger old fears and
failures from the past and render us helpless, anxious or paralyzed.

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TRAUM AT IC ST RESS
Any event that contains a threat to our vital concerns can trigger a
traumatic response, whether it be abrupt and powerful, prolonged or
recurring. The five major traumatic threats are:

• threat of death, exposure to gruesome death, bodily injury, or dead

or maimed bodies
• threat of loss of or harm done to family and friends, loss of com-
munication with or support from close relations
• threat of pain, injury or impairment, extreme environmental de-
struction or human violence, extreme fatigue, weather exposure,
hunger, sleep deprivation
• threat of losing home, possessions, neighborhood or community
• threat to self-worth, religious faith, trust in other human beings,
value system and integrity

R ESPO NSES TO T RAUM A

Traumatic stress activates involuntary defense reactions, triggered by
the organic arousal of the autonomic system - hormones, nerves and
muscles. These reactions are known as the three Fs: Fight, Flight or
Freeze.

• Fight: a surge of anger or frustration triggering aggression and/or

destruction
• Flight: an overwhelming fear leading to regression and dependency,
may bring on haunting nightmares, frightening fantasies, passivity and
illness.
• Freeze: a shock response typified by mental and/or physical paralysis,
accompanied by feelings of helplessness.

WHAT ARE NO RM AL S T RE SS R E AC TIO N S IN TH E

WA KE O F T RAUM AT IC EX P E R IE N C E S?

Most disaster survivors (children and adults as well as disaster rescue

or relief workers) experience normal stress reactions after a traumatic
event. These reactions may last for several days or even a few weeks and
may include:

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 • emotional reactions: shock; fear; grief; anger; guilt; shame; feeling
helpless or hopeless; feeling numb; feeling empty; diminished ability to
feel interest, pleasure, or love
• cognitive reactions: confusion, disorientation, indecisiveness, worry,
shortened attention span, difficulty concentrating, memory loss,
unwanted memories, self-blame
• physical reactions: tension, fatigue, edginess, insomnia, bodily aches
or pain, startling easily, racing heartbeat, nausea, change in appetite,
change in sex drive
• interpersonal reactions: distrust, conflict, withdrawal, work problems,
school problems, irritability, loss of intimacy, being over-controlling,
feeling rejected or abandoned.

SEV ERE REACT IO NS TO TR AU MA

Studies show that as many as one in three disaster survivors have severe
stress symptoms that put them at risk for lasting Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD). Symptoms may include:

• Dissociation
(depersonalization, derealization, fugue, amnesia)
• Intrusivere-experiencing
(terrifying memories, nightmares or flashbacks)
• Extreme emotional numbing
(total inability to feel emotion, as if empty)
• Extreme attempts to avoid disturbing memories
(such as through substance use)
• Hyper-arousal
(panic attacks, rage, extreme irritability, intense agitation)
• Severe anxiety
(debilitating worry, extreme helplessness, compulsions or obsessions)
• Severe depression
(loss of the ability to feel hope, pleasure, or interest; feeling worthless)

When the trauma is not treated, a full blown PTSD can develop, either
within a short time, or with its onset delayed for even years after the
event and then triggered by a new loss or crisis. PTSD may include any

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of the following symptoms: prolonged anxiety, intrusive memories and
flashbacks, sleep and eating disturbances, loss of memory, difficulties
in concentration and learning. Relationship with other people can be
impaired as a result of inability to trust others. Survivors may suffer
from emotional block - as if they cannot feel anything at all (it is often
called ”emotional numbing”). They may lose interest in intimate and
sexual relations. In other cases they may burst out with unexpected
violence, elicited by behaviors that trigger traumatic memories. Many
suffer from ”survivor guilt”, blaming themselves for being alive when
others perished in the disaster.

CI RCLES O F VULNERABIL ITY:

WHO NEEDS HELP?

To explain who needs help we may use the metaphor of a pond full of
frogs. When a stone is thrown into the pond, it kills the frogs that are
directly hit. But then, what happens to all the other frogs? They are
caught in the ripples and suffer from shock. This is the ripple effect of
fear and anxiety. When a trauma hits and kills victims, the eyewitnesses
are also traumatized. Families who lost their dear ones, friends, peers,
are all victimized. And so are the rescue workers and media workers
who come in close contact with the horrors of death and injury. These
”circles of vulnerability” include also the medical staff, social workers,
teachers and psychologists who are exposed vicariously to the trauma
of their students and clients. A lot of them are hidden victims who carry
hidden scars. Often they themselves don’t realize how wounded they
are. They are often neglected by post trauma health services as well.

THE NEED TO BEAR WIT N E SS

The cost of trauma in human suffering and distress is very high both to
victims and to those around them. Shock, anxiety, pain, rage, guilt and
despair continue to hurt like thorns in the spirit. The traumatic expe-
riences need to be acknowledged, expressed, listened to, witnessed by
caring others, tolerated, contained, treated and healed. Major obstacles
may block the need of victims and survivors to voice their emotional
turmoil and be heard by others, such as:

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 • The traumatic experiences are often so horrendous, that words are
insufficient to describe them, to express the severity of the mental
pain, the sights, the sounds, the haunting memories.
• Family and friends may be unwilling or unable to listen and
witness, to help absorb and contain the shock.
• There may be no support available.Trauma also occurs in the
lives of people who lack a supporting human environment. It also
pushes people towards seclusion and isolation if others around
regard victims and survivors as pariahs.

A H ELPING HAND
Since people are generally expected to recover from a bad experience
within a few weeks, sufferers may find that support and sympathy begin
to disappear when they need them most. Fear of reawakening painful
memories, fear of appearing weak and out of control, and disbelief that
there is an available treatment for unseen mental scars are some of the
reasons for reluctance to seek help. These are the times when we need
some special help from the outside. We need a helping hand to guide us
to discover our hidden coping resources and develop new coping skills
to regain control over our life.

WHAT PEO PLE NEED IN T H E WA K E O F TR AU MA

• People need to process the experience of trauma at their own indi-
vidual pace.It is important that helpers support and honour this.
• People need encouragement to use natural supportsystems
(family, circle of friends), meaning: to talk with intimates and
co-workers when they are ready. They should follow their natural
inclinations with regard to how much and with whom they talk.
• Most people in distress do not seek professional therapy to deal
with the emotional impact of traumatic events. If someone
consults a professional in the immediate aftermath period, that
professional should listen actively and supportively but not probe
for details and emotional responses. Let the person say what they
feel comfortable saying without pushing for more. Validate a
normal, natural recovery.
• People need to enhance their ”BASICPh” coping resources.

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ABO UT CHILDREN AND T R AU MA
The fact of being a child offers no protection against loss, grief and other
emotional traumas. Even the most loving of parents cannot necessarily
save their children from illness, accident or death. Disturbing events in
their own families, in the lives of their friends or in the world beyond
may leave children feeling confused, uncertain, and frightened. Self-es-
teem may suffer damage as a result of traumatic experience, and relief
and re-assurance may be sought in drugs. Under severe circumstances
children may try to escape the turmoil of their lives by running away or,
even more tragically, in suicide. Children with immature coping styles
and those dependant on adults for an understanding of the events
around them are especially vulnerable. The loss of family, friends and
care givers may shatter their world and put them in grave risk. Children
tend to regress, suffer from sleeping and eating disorders, lose trust in
others, have impaired concentration, fall behind in their schoolwork.
Some become aggressive and violent. Small children may repeatedly
re-enact the trauma in their play and/or experience recurring nightma-
res. And, it is possible for children to be victims of trauma many times
over before they reach adulthood. Early traumatic life-experiences set
the stage for re-victimization on the one hand and for the danger of
becoming perpetrators on the other. Recent studies have indicated that
at least 80% of those in prison have been traumatized in early life. Pa-
rents, teachers and mental-health helpers can potentially prevent years
of suffering and help stop the cycle of violence itself by being sensitively
aware of signs of distress in children and by using gentle and innovative
tools in trauma therapy with them.

U SING T HE CO PE CARDS WITH C H ILD R E N

When small children experience trauma special methods are called for
to help them defuse that experience. The main considerations of wor-
king with children are these:

• A child has a limited ability to verbalize and process information

cognitively.
• A child’s attention span is short.
• A child is endowed with spontaneous imagination.

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 • Play is the natural language of children and functions as a sponta-
neous ”autotherapy”.

COPE Cards debriefing with children can be conducted in three steps:

1. The child is offered a choice of one card and introduces himself or

herself to the helper or the group via this card.
(The group must not include more than 5 children).

2. The card is given ”a voice” to tell the story.

The child tells how the figure in the card felt during the event, and then
tells how it feels in the present.

3. There is an exchange of suggestions of how to ”cope” with the

figure’s story
(For example how to sleep better, how to push away fears & bad dreams,
express anger etc.). The discussion stays within the metaphor.

This method was used by a teacher after a traumatic event. She encoura-
ged the group of children to pick one card each. Next, she described
the rules of the new game: each child tells the story of his or her card,
talking only when their turn comes. The teacher’s card was a bird. The
teacher’s bird modeled the process for the children.

Bird said: “Good morning. I am a bird and my name is Bulbul. I live in this
village on a high tree from which I can see the whole place. Last night I was
on my tree and I heard loud noises. I went straight into my nest and peeped
outside to see what was going on. I could felt my heart beating and my wings
pressed tightly against my body. Did any of you hear that noise?“

Then the children told the story of what had happened through their
cards. Bulbul expressed her feelings and fear, and the others also used
their cards to tell their reactions and feelings. Then Boolbul chose a new
card to show what helped. Each card-holder added a new card - the card
that helped - and then shared ”what helped” with the rest of the group.
At the end each child put the “fear” card on the floor, and covered it with

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the ”help” card. The fear was not denied nor made ”all better” but was
balanced by the images of coping.

USING
THE COPE CARDS
CR ISIS = DANGER + O PPORTU N ITY
Traumatic stress may cause a crisis for an individual or group. Yet, pa-
radoxically, it may also stimulate growth and development and trigger
previously untapped coping resources. The most effective way of dea-
ling with the crisis is to work through the experience itself. Regaining a
sense of mastery and developing new insight are potential gains of this
work.

R ESILIENCE AND CO PING

Resilience is the ability to recover, either on one ́s own or with the help
of others, despite setbacks, problems and inabilities. Searching for re-
silience implies a change in perspective from trying to understand how
people ”fail” to trying to understand how people survive and thrive.
It ́s a fact that human beings are survivors by nature and that most of
us have at our disposal a range of ”emergency equipment” to help us
survive crisis and stress. However, in order to not only survive trauma-
tic stress, but also to thrive in its wake, both physically and mentally,
we also need to update our behavior patterns, learn new social roles
and re-order expectations. To enhance our range of coping resources
means to employ the Belief (spiritual), Affective, Social, Imaginative,
Cognitive and Physical Channels. Some pre-designed tools can help
in this intricate process, whether it occurs as self-help or at the hand
of a professional helper, therapist, counselor, guide, trainer or coach.
Among the most effective of such tools are those that help gain access to
the traumatic experience frozen in the brain and un-freeze it, enabling
both identification of the trauma and expressing it, as well as discovery

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and application of appropriate coping skills. This is one of the major
functions of the COPE Cards. We can call them ”facilitating triggers for
enhancing resilience and coping“.

TELLING T HE T RAUM A STO R Y A N D

FI N DING CO PING RES O U RC E S

Any COPE card (or combination of several cards) can function as a trig-
ger for the narration of the event and responses to it. Using the COPE
Cards provides opportunity for telling personal recollections of trau-
matization within a safe environment. Persons who suffer traumatic
after-effects may feel ”trapped in the trauma” and unable to recall the
past without fear of overpowering emotions. Or they may be flooded by
memories, and at a time when they are least prepared to remember. The
purpose of baring the details of the trauma story is to revisit the scene
and, in so doing, release its grip of terror and horror.

Metaphoric stories triggered by the visual images on the cards are one
step removed from anguished reality. This ”creative distance” facilitates
recall and the working though of trauma experience. The use of image
and imagination serves as a protective screen against being overwhel-
med by intense emotions. When the memories become too much to
bear, one can always return to the imagined story, or look for other cards
that may serve as anchors for a sense of thriving, surviving and healing.

THE CO PE CARDS AS AN AG E N T O F SP IR ITUA L H E A LIN G

Spiritual growth is a type of healing from which most any of us can bene-
fit, most of the time. A victim’s sense of spirit, however, may be acutely
dimmed for some period of time following the victimization. The act of
working with the COPE Cards can re-stimulate the experience of spiritu-
ality, in the sense of feeling fully alive again and open to the moment, of
belonging and having a place in the universe, of deep appreciation for
the natural world, of openness to surprise, serenity and joy. Over time, as
a victim heals on all levels, his or her potential for spiritual growth may
increase becoming not only greater than it was before the trauma, but
maybe also greater than it is for those who have not been forced through
outside circumstances to face experientially the inevitability of mortality.

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GOALS IN COPE
CARDS WORK
The goals of using the COPE Cards as a tool in the wake of traumatic
experience are:

• to PROTECT: to help preserve participants’ safety, privacy, and self-

esteem
• to CONNECT: to help participants communicate supportively, either
one-to-one or in small groups with family or peers
• to VALIDATE: to present through informal card work opportunities for
affirming the worth and normalcy and of each individual’s reactions,
concerns, ways of coping, goals for the future.

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GETTING STARTED
The COPE Cards belong to an extensive family of associative cards
(the OH Card series) that present an attractive and feasible forum
for examining our lives in a creative and original manner. These
cards enable their users, whether playfully or therapeutically
(or both!), to access flexibility and imagination, to move up to a
higher level of thought, to touch deeper feelings. Using the COPE
Cards people can learn to identify their own particular ways of
coping with crisis, stress and trauma.

The COPE Cards can help us reach our inner pain and discover our
inner strength. Many applications are possible. In trying out various
methods, exercises or games a sort of virtual training takes place in de-
aling with challenging situations, in surfing beyond time and space, in
experimenting with possible solutions to problematic issues - all within
the safe, exuberant world of image and metaphor. The experience of
randomly selecting cards and dealing with the associations they evoke
can lead us into the richness of new ideas and possibilities instead of
into familiar anxieties about failure or success. We can actually learn
through using these cards to be less hesitant about the future and more
confident in our ability to face the unknown and to incorporate chance
elements into our lives.

The greatest contribution of these unique cards lies in their function as

springboards into communication without competition and criticism.
The stories that emerge from the cards are unique, personal and origi-
nal, reflecting as they do the innermost ideas and feelings of the people
who tell them.

These cards are amenable for use both in small groups and individually. All
examples and suggestions provided in this manual can be used together
with a facilitator, with a friend or alone, bearing in mind that these images
speak to our emotions and that their purpose is to heal. Respecting perso-
nal integrity is always of foremost importance throughout this process.

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Please keep in mind: these examples and suggestions are not to be seen
as official or exclusive. The number of cards you decide to use, the way
you develop an exploration : such aspects are simply the procedure of
use. We encourage you to feel free in choosing your mechanics. Use all
88 cards, or a limited selection. Get a process going with the help of the
cards and then move on without them. Use them alone or in combina-
tion with other therapeutic tools. Like a box of paints, the cards exist to
be used for your own creative purpose. Experiment and invent methods
of use that work best for your unique circumstances, but always keep in
mind the “etiquette“ outlined at the beginning of this booklet.

In implementing the following suggestions for use, you may want to di-
vide the cards into the four categories which were considered in the com-
position of the COPE deck. Since sorting requires interpretation, it may
well be that various people ́s sorting produces varyious stacks: this is okay!
The categories are:

1. the event
2. the traumatic response
3. the coping skill
4. the healing

Cards can then be drawn intentionally from a stack denoting a particu-

lar category of experience.

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EXAMPLES OF USE
# 1 T HE HERO’S J O URNEY
Background:
This activity is inspired by the Jungian analysis of myth, fairy-tale and
folk-tale, as outlined by M.L. von Franz. All such tales, whatever culture
they emerge from, share a structure composed of these six steps:

1. hero is introduced
2. hero leaves home on a mission, a challenge, a task
3. hero meets helpers
4. hero encounters obstacles
5. hero copes with obstacles
6. the story ends!

By making up a story based on these universal elements, we may be able

to see the way that the ”self” meets the world and copes with hardships.

Process:
A story will be told without words. Divide a page of paper into 6 spaces
and place it in front of you. 6 cards will be selected to fill them.

1. Select a card to represent the heroine or hero of the story.

2. What is your hero/ine’s mission? The second card will represent the task.

3. The third picture shows who or what will help the hero on this journey.,

4. The fourth image represents the obstacles or hardships that confront the
hero.

5. The fifth picture: how will s/he cope with this obstacle?

6. The sixth picture : ”and so the story ends.”

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Tell your story to another participant or write it down.

Together try to figure out the context of the story, its themes or its mes-
sage. Try to discover what are the dominant coping modes revealed in
the story (refer back to ”BASIC Ph”).

Comment:
Each picture gives us information on the emerging coping modes. If,
for example, the hero is a fairy, that hints at the use of imagination. The
goal of the journey might be connected with values and beliefs. The
help might be practical or imaginary, or may well be an inner belief. The
obstacle could be social, imaginary, or realistic and solution-focused.

As we learn from the ”BASIC Ph”, coping can occur in different modes.
The conclusion of the story can be emotional, intellectual, social or
imaginary. Therefore it is important to pay attention to modes that may
appear frequently in a story, as well as to those which don ́t appear at all.
Those coping modes frequently mentioned are the ones most used in
reality.

# 2 IDENT IF Y ING YO UR C O P IN G C H A N N E LS
WI T H T HE ” BAS IC PH“ M O D E L

Background:
This activity aims to discover what our own coping channels are, the
ones we use to deal with daily hassles and stress, and in situations of
crisis. In this game participants will also identify those coping channels
that are blocked in times of crisis. What resources would be required to
open them up and make them, too, available in times of need?

Process:
1. Spread the 6 coping hand cards face up on the table and describe each of
them according to the BASIC Ph model (belief, affect, social, imaginative,
cognitive, physical).

2. Select blind 6 cards from the COPE Cards deck and place them randomly
and face down on top of to the hand cards.

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3. Turn each card up in turn, making connections between it and the hand
card you placed it on. Describe with the help of this card how you tend
to use the relevant coping channel in your life, in a positive or a nega-
tive way. For example: My ”imaginative” coping mode helps me detach
myself from my worries (positive), and my ”social” coping channel makes
me over-dependant on others (negative).

4. Now think of a time in your life when you experienced severe stress or
crisis, or remember an event that was traumatic for you. Scan the rest
of the open COPE Cards deck, and choose 3 cards that describe this
experience.

5. Looking at the hand cards try to identify which of the coping channels
you used to deal with that crisis. Use the cards to tell the story of your
coping.

6. Try also to identify those channels that you did not use - and turn their
representative cards face down. These cards represent those coping
channels that were blocked in the traumatic event.

7. Find cards that will help you re-activate those blocked channels.

8. Reflect on the whole process of identifying your existing resources for

coping with crisis and activating additional resources. Share your re-
flections. Tell a new story of coping with crisis, using all 6 channels.

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# 3 REVO LVING DO O RS - H E LP S A N D
HI NDRANCES IN PRO BLE M-SO LV IN G

Background:
This activity focuses on the mental and social elements that either en-
hance or hinder our efforts to solve our problems.

Process:
Imagine yourself groping for some solution to a distressing problem in
your life. Now spread the COPE Cards on the table, face up. Choose (at
least) 6 cards accordingly:

• A card (or cards) representing what hindered or disturbed you in

finding solutions to your problem
• A card (or cards) representing what helped you to find solutions to
your problem
• A card (or cards) representing who interfered with your attempts
to find solutions to your problem
• A card (or cards) representing who helped you on the way of
finding solutions to your problem
• A card (or cards) representing the solution
Tell the whole story and reflect on what you would like to change.

# 4 GRO WING F RO M A BLO W

Background:
Stress, crisis & trauma cause a great deal of physical and mental pain.
They disrupt both the physical order of the world and psychological
balance within. But, at the same time, they also open up opportunities
for change & growth. This activity aims to bring to light the process of
”growing from a blow”.

Process:
1. Shuffle the cards and divide the whole deck into 4 piles, all cards face
down.

2. Think of a time in your life which was distressful to you. It may have
been a crisis or a traumatic experience. From each of the 4 piles of cards

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 take one card and place it in front of you. Turn each card up and relate to
it according to the following suggestions:

• First Card - What did you lose in this crisis?

• Second Card - What did you learn to give up?
• Third Card - What did you gain from this event?
• Fourth Card - What do you wish to gain in the wake of this event?

Important: If one card is not sufficient or does not contribute to the

story, you may take more cards from the same pile.

Variation:
Use the 4 cards to make up a story about growing from a blow.

# 5 S TO RY M AKING - F RO M TH E P E R SO N A L
STO RY TO T HE GRO UP S TO R Y

Background:
A person dealing with a traumatic crisis may feel isolated from the sur-
rounding social group. The feeling is that ”nobody knows the trouble
I’ve seen, nobody knows my sorrow.” This activity aims to enable parti-
cipants to break the invisible wall of isolation and loneliness and to look
at painful issues from a new perspective, within the support system of
a participating group. This activity is recommended for working with a
complete family group.

Process:
1. Each participant selects blind 2 COPE Cards. The first person then turns
the 2 cards face up for all to see. S/he then tells a short story based on
the images.

2. Other participants tell their stories in turn.

3. All participants put their cards face up in the center of the table.Together
they now create a new story, based on the entire group of cards. This sto-
ry may incorporate parts of the stories previously told by the individual
members, or may be a totally new one.

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 4. Each participant looks at his or her 2 original cards in the group array
and reflects upon the question: Have these 2 cards taken on a new mea-
ning for me as a result of this process?

# 6 T HE INNER S HADO W
Background:
Traumatic stress may throw people into an existential struggle between
conflicting inner forces: those that destroy and those that free us and
lead us towards a meaningful life. This activity aims to help us identify
such conflicting forces and may assist in transforming inner struggle
into a flow of growth.

Process:
1. Choose 2 COPE Cards from the deck, which for this activity is spread out
face UP.

2. Choose 1 card to represent your ”inner shadow”: unresolved, troubling

or painful issues from the past that cast a shadow on your present life.

3. Choose a card that best describes your ”wishful thinking”: a dream you
wish to fulfill, an issue you want to solve, hope for some special thing in
your life.

4. Put the shadow card on your left side and the wish card on your right,
face up. Select blind 3 more cards. Turn them face up in the space
between your first 2 cards. They now create a bridge between your first
2 cards (the shadow and the wish). Tell a story about how to cross this
bridge from the shadow card over to the wish card.

Reflect:
What could facilitate this transition? Share your thoughts with the group.

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# 7 AT T HE CRO SS ROADS
Background:
When crisis situations erupt in our lives they make us stop and look.
We must examine the past, discover resources, recognize wishes and
aspirations and find new energy for problem-solving. This COPE activi-
ty exercises the re-ordering of priorities in times of crisis and finding a
way through.

Process:
1. Spread the COPE Cards out, face down.

2. Holding in mind a stressful situation relevant to your present life select

5 cards, blind. Turn them face up and use them to tell a story following
this format:

• first card represents the crisis

• second card reveals the root of the crisis in the past
• third card depicts a wish you have in this situation
• fourth card represents the coping resources you can employ in this
situation fifth card shows a solution to the crisis

3. All your choices are laid out in front of you. Now you have to decide
what step to take to proceed in your journey. Pick up one card from the
deck, and decide: where do you want to place it in order to know in which
direction to follow and what you need to do in order to achieve your goal.

4. Put the card face up at the chosen spot on your ”crossroad”. Tell the story.

# 8 GIVING AND RECEIV IN G

Background:
This COPE activity is about learning to receive without humiliation and
learning to give without overprotecting.

Process:
1. Place in front of you two random piles of COPE Cards, face down. The
one on your right contains all that you could possibly wish to RECEIVE

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 from the universe. The one on your left contains all that you might wish
to GIVE the universe.

2. Take the top card from each pile and turn it face up in front of you.

3. Let the associations evoked by these 2 cards guide you in answering the
following questions:

• Looking back on stressful or traumatic situations in your life that you

dealt with successfully, what did you learn to receive?
• Looking back on stressful or traumatic situations in your life that you
dealt with successfully, what did you learn to give?
Variations:
This process may be continued by taking successive pairs of cards and
following the same procedure. You may wish to write down your ”get-
ting” and ”giving” stories in two parallel columns.

# 9 T HE FEELING WHEEL (U SE S C O P E IMAG E

CARDS AND O H WO RD C A R D S)

Background:
In working through a traumatic experience we may be flooded by a
great number of different and even contradictory feelings. Sometimes
we need to take time out to observe these feelings and identify those
which hold us back and those which contribute to our growth.This
COPE activity enables us to monitor these differing feelings. It can be
used in individual work, with a group or in the family.

Process:
1. Each participant picks blind one OH word card.

2. These cards are then placed on the table, forming a circle or ”wheel” and
face up.

3. Participants then select COPE cards to represent the main theme of

issues with which they are currently struggling.

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 4. The COPE cards are to be placed on the OH word card that best descri-
bes this theme. If 2 or more participants use the same word the images
should be placed beside one another so that all cards remain visible.

5. Participants in turn share their stories with the group.

Let the group take time to look at the ”wheel”. Observe the atmosphere and
reflect together on how each individual story has been affected by the other
stories in the wheel.

Note:
It is often the case that the COPE Cards are greatly enhanced when used
in combination with the OH Cards. We recommend that you refer to the
instructions accompanying the OH Cards for more ideas for use.

# 10 RO LE-PLAY
Background:
In using COPE for role-play in groups the cards may be used face up and
visible to all members.

Process:
1. Participants select cards to represent current state of feelings.

2. New cards may be taken to represent former feeling or feelings aspired to

and the differences may be compared.

3. Express a feeling nonverbally to other members of the group if words

are too difficult. Other participants can take on different roles in this
expression, and they may be directed as in a theatre play. 4. Keep the
process focused in case the verbal exchange should run away and beco-
me unclear.

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ABOUT THE GENRE
COPE is a member of a family of cards which form their own genre.
Although they consist of cards like games, there are no strategies
or points, no winning or losing. Nor are they oracular like Tarot
- the cards have no official meanings and each user alone determi-
nes the significance of his or her cards.

These sets of cards are like unbound books which invite us to complete
them by applying our skills of association and fantasy. Although each
card-deck is both artistically and thematically unique, it can also be
used in combination with any or all of the others, opening new possi-
bilities for play.

This family of cards has found its way into various professions in which
play can also be playful work. Each colourful card serves as a springbo-
ard into the depths of fantasy. The ideas and associations of the player
become part of the equipment, the play part of the work.

The genre makes its home between game and book and, like a paintbox,
enables its users to become artists. All rules are variable and serve chie-
fly as guidelines for developing a desirable context for accessing the
wealth of human creativity.

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The following card decks and books are now available:

• The OH-Cards, by Ely Raman

• COPE, Marina Lukyanova (with Ofra Ayalon)
• SAGA, by Ely Raman
• MYTHOS, by Ely Raman
• 1001, artwork Andrée Pouliot
• SHEN HUA, artwork Han Wei
• ECCO, artwork John David Ellis
• HABITAT, artwork Christian Gronau
• PERSONA, by Ely Raman
• PERSONITA, artwork Ely Raman & Marina Lukyanova
• MORENÁ, artwork WaldeMar de Andrade e Silva
• QUISINE, artwork Anke Siebert.
• ORCA, by Alexandra Morton.
• RACCOON, by A. Douglas / Ch. Gronau.
• CLARO

Limited Edition Cards

• BOSCH, by Hieronymus Bosch
• BEAUREGARD, artwork Joan Beauregard
• LYDIA JACOB STORY, artwork Raymond Waydelich
• TAHITI, Excerpts from the South Sea paintings of
• Paul Gauguin

32

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© Ely Raman, 1989

FÖR MER INFORMATION

OH Verlag
Pf. 1251
D-79196 Kirchzarten
Germany

www.OH-Cards.com
Fax: +49 (0) 7661-6312
Epost: OH-Publishing@t-online.de

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Svensk återförsäljare: Veronica Grönte / Divendo AB,
Granviksgatan 2 b, 571 40 Nässjö,
Tel: 073 - 90 12 12 5, E-post: veronica@bildkort.nu