Mindfulness in Trauma Healing: How Mindfulness Practices Support Mental Health Recovery

Mindfulness in Trauma Healing: How Mindfulness Practices Support Mental Health Recovery

By:  Jennifer Youdom, LCSW-C

EMDRIA Consultant In Training

Mindfulness comes from the Hindu and Buddhist traditions of sati and meditation techniques, and in recent decades has emerged as a transformative tool in the world of mental health, especially when it comes to healing trauma wounds. 

The effects of trauma include disconnection from one’s body, emotional dysregulation, and a pervasive sense of shame. Trauma disrupts a person’s ability to feel safe within their own body and mind. Survivors often experience intrusive thoughts, hyperarousal, dissociation, and avoidance of painful memories. These responses are rooted in the brain’s survival mechanisms, particularly the overactivation of the amygdala and dysregulation of the nervous system. 

Mindfulness offers an accessible and evidence-based pathway to healing. Mindfulness cultivates awareness of the present moment and gentle curiosity, which can help clients reestablish a sense of safety, regulate their emotions, and reconnect with their bodies. Many therapy models today incorporate mindfulness as part of their core curriculum including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC).

Mindfulness supports trauma healing by regulating the nervous system, reconnecting with the body, enhancing emotional awareness, creating a sense of safety in the present moment, and interrupting trauma cycles by disrupting negative thought patterns and automatic reactions.

As therapists, we can integrate mindfulness into our practice in ways that honor each client’s unique needs and trauma history. Here are some ways you can begin to incorporate mindfulness into your practice today:

1. Introduce brief mindfulness exercises, such as focusing on the breath or noticing three things in the environment. 
2. Offer guided meditations that emphasize grounding and safety. Apps and resources, like Insight Timer or Headspace, can supplement in-session work. Container and Safe Place are great exercises to enhance this practice, as well. (You can find Training for the Container as well as Tips for Container and Safe  Place in The Circle)
3. Encourage clients to journal as journaling causes clients to reflect on their thoughts and feelings mindfully. (For more advanced mindfulness journaling, use color coded journaling where clients are instructed to highlight with one color for emotions, another color for thoughts, another color for sensations, etc.)
4. Partner with or recommend trauma-informed yoga instructors to support body awareness and healing.
5. Explain the neuroscience of mindfulness and how it can rewire the brain empowering clients to engage with the practice. 

To better understand the concepts of mindfulness and/or how to apply it in practice, here are some great resources:

1. “Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence” by Dan Siegel
2. “Mindfulness and Psychotherapy” by Christopher Germer, et al.
3. “Practicing Mindfulness: 75 Essential Meditations to Reduce Stress, Improve Mental Health, and Find Peace in the Everyday” by Matthew Sockolov
4. Amazon has a multitude of Mindfulness flashcard sets for adults and children                                

While mindfulness is a powerful tool, proceed with caution. Some trauma survivors may find mindfulness overwhelming, especially when it involves turning inward. (check out the podcast episode titled “The Hidden Risks of Meditation” from The Tim Ferriss Show) For these clients, start very slowly and focus on external grounding techniques (e.g. observing sounds or objects in the room), avoid practices that encourage prolonged focus on internal sensations, and collaborate with clients to co-create a mindfulness plan that feels safe and manageable.

Mindfulness does not erase trauma, but it equips clients with the tools  to face it, process it, and ultimately heal. By integrating mindfulness into trauma therapy and walking alongside clients through their healing journey, we can help clients move beyond survival and toward thriving, one mindful moment at a time. To learn more about mindfulness and other skills to help stabilize clients with trauma check out this training with Trauma Specialists Training Institute: Foundation of Trauma Therapy.