Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing. Este artículo no está disponible.Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing

From elementary schools to psychotherapy offices, mindfulness meditation is an increasingly mainstream practice. At the same time, trauma remains a fact of life: the majority of us will experience a traumatic event in our lifetime and up to 20% of us will develop posttraumatic stress. This means that anywhere mindfulness is being practised, someone in the room is likely to be struggling with trauma. At first glance, this appears to be a good thing: trauma creates stress and mindfulness is a proven tool for reducing it. But the reality is not so simple. Drawing on a decade of research and clinical experience, psychotherapist and educator David Treleaven shows that mindfulness meditation―practised without an awareness of trauma―can exacerbate symptoms of traumatic stress. Instructed to pay close, sustained attention to their inner world, survivors can experience flashbacks, dissociation and even retraumatisation. This raises a crucial question for mindfulness teachers, trauma professionals and survivors everywhere: How can we minimise the potential dangers of mindfulness for survivors while leveraging its powerful benefits? Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness offers answers to this question. Part I provides an insightful and concise review of the histories of mindfulness and trauma, including the way modern neuroscience is shaping our understanding of both. Through grounded scholarship and wide-ranging case examples, Treleaven illustrates the ways mindfulness can help―or hinder―trauma recovery. Part II distills these insights into five key principles for trauma-sensitive mindfulness. Covering the role of attention, arousal, relationship, dissociation and social context within trauma-informed practice, Treleaven offers 36 specific modifications designed to support survivors’ safety and stability. The result is a groundbreaking and practical approach that empowers those looking to practise mindfulness in a safe, transformative way.

David Treleaven, PhD, is a writer, educator, and trauma professional specializing in the intersection of mindfulness and trauma. His first book, Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness, has been translated into 10 languages and continues to shape mindfulness practices and teaching worldwide. He’s been invited to teach at institutions such as the Oxford Mindfulness Center, Brown University, UCLA, and various mindfulness organizations across Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. His teaching has also extended to esteemed centers such as Spirit Rock Meditation Center, the Shambhala Mountain Center, the Esalen Institute, and the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York.