Mindfulness Practice Can Be Healing — or Harmful — for Trauma Survivors
Learn how to offer mindfulness-based practices with skill and care
The truth about Mindfulness and Trauma:
A Free webinar with david treleaven, phd:
When it comes to trauma, mindfulness requires special care
Are you equipped to keep trauma survivors safe and actively support their path to healing?
If you’re reading this, you likely know how powerful mindfulness can be.
You may have experienced its many benefits firsthand — increased mental clarity, enhanced emotional regulation, and a greater sense of self-awareness.
You’ve likely seen these same benefits in others, too — in classrooms, therapy sessions, yoga studios, or community settings. You might be someone offering mindfulness-based practices with care, intention, and skill.
But are you aware of the challenges people struggling with trauma can face when practicing mindfulness?
For those navigating trauma, mindfulness-based practices can sometimes do more harm than good.
Paying close, sustained attention to the inner world — especially through practices like meditation or body scans — can trigger flashbacks, dissociation, or overwhelm.
Without the right support, we can unintentionally lead people into territory they’re not yet ready to navigate.
Learn the Skills to Support Trauma Survivors in Mindfulness Practice
Gain insight into the risks of practice — and the specific skills that make a difference for trauma survivors.
While mindfulness practice can carry risks for trauma survivors, it can also be a powerful tool for healing.
When offered with skill, it can increase body awareness, strengthen attention, and enhance emotional regulation — all essential for trauma recovery.
So how can you minimize the potential pitfalls of practice while supporting its full potential?
It starts with a deeper understanding of both the liabilities of mindfulness practice and the specific skills that support trauma survivors.
These skills are designed to help people self-regulate, work with their trauma more effectively, and engage with mindfulness practices safely. They include:
- Mindful embodiment practices to build safety and self-trust
- Resourcing and resilience techniques that support nervous system regulation
- Self-compassion practices to heal trauma-related shame
- Advanced adaptations to body scan practices to avoid overwhelm
These aren’t substitutes for mindfulness — they’re essential supplements. When paired with traditional instruction, they enhance a person’s ability to stay present, grounded, and open to the benefits of practice.
So how can you ensure that your students and clients are practicing safely?
It begins with awareness. The more you understand why mindfulness can be a double-edged sword for trauma survivors, the more skillfully you’ll be able to support their healing.
To help you build that awareness, author and educator David Treleaven, PhD, created The Truth About Mindfulness and Trauma — a free, on-demand training designed specifically for anyone practicing or teaching mindfulness.
Get Free Access and Deepen Your Skills to Support Trauma Survivors
What Leading Experts are Saying
"An essential 'upgrade' for anyone who thinks of themselves as a mindfulness teacher, or is in training to become one."
— JON KABAT-ZINN, PhD
Founder, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
"Indispensable training for yoga and meditation teachers, as well as mental health professionals who are passionate about integrating mindfulness into their clinical practice."
— ZABIE YAMASAKI
Program Director of Trauma-Informed Yoga, UCLA
"Essential reading for meditation teachers, mental health practitioners and all those who have suffered from trauma and want to engage on a meditative path in a wise and healing way."
— TARA BRACH, PhD
Author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge
What You'll Learn in this Free Training
This 60-minute training is designed to support mindfulness teachers and professionals in developing a deeper awareness of the unique risks mindfulness practice can pose for trauma survivors — and, just as importantly, the skills needed to make practice safer and more effective.
During this event, David shares:
- Common mistakes mindfulness practitioners make when offering certain practices
- How to recognize “at-risk” students and clients who may be struggling with traumatic stress
- Why trauma survivors often require supplemental tools to fully benefit from mindfulness
- A foundational practice you can use to assess safety and regulation in real time
Join David Treleaven as he illuminates the risks and rewards that trauma survivors may encounter in mindfulness practice — and offers practical tools to help you respond skillfully, enhance your teaching, and guide others toward healing with greater care and confidence.
Get Immediate Access to The Truth About Mindfulness and Trauma At No-Charge Now
The Truth About
Mindfulness and Trauma
How to Mitigate Risks and Promote Healing for Trauma Survivors
What People Are Saying About Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness with David Treleaven
"Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (TSM) bolstered my understanding of the relationship between trauma and mindfulness and increased my confidence in providing healing work to incarcerated populations."
— KOREN ELOUL
Mindfulness Teacher, Prison Educator
"Returning to my personal practice using TSM principles was a deeply healing experience for me. It gave me the courage and the freedom to begin offering it to my clients and in workshops."
— KATHY HAYES-BLOCH
Psychotherapist and Mindfulness Teacher
"One of the best online teachers I've ever found. Knowing how to approach our mindfulness practice and teaching others in a trauma-sensitive way is such a powerful, and arguably, necessary skill."
— RACHEL GRACE
Corporate Mindfulness Trainer, Speaker, and Coach
