trauma sensitive mindfulness by david treleaven

I learned I was experiencing vicarious, or secondary, trauma after years of therapeutic work. But after starting personal work with a trauma professional, the symptoms I’d been having began to make sense. When I talked about my experience with colleagues, I was surprised to hear them use the word trauma-a term I’d studied as a psychotherapist, but never associated with my own life. My practice had helped me become more aware of my body, less identified with turbulent thoughts, and happier and more content than I’d ever been. At the same time, I still loved mindfulness and meditation. I was disoriented and having difficulty returning to my everyday life. When I returned home that summer, my friends’ faces revealed what I already knew: the meditation retreat had left me worse for wear. And for the time remaining on the retreat, that’s exactly what I did. When I met with my teacher on retreat, I left with the following instructions: be mindful. In the coming days my senses became muted and muffled, my appetite vanished, and I found myself bombarded by intrusive thoughts and images. In that moment, I trusted that like every other experience I’d had in meditation, this too would pass. One evening I felt something akin to a circuit breaker going off in my body, leaving me numb and dissociated. In 2006, I ran into trouble on a silent meditation retreat.

This has been very meaningful for me-not just as a teacher, but because TSM has been a personal journey for me. From meditation and yoga teachers, to coaches and health-care workers, to religious and classroom teachers, I’ve heard how practical, powerful, and relevant TSM teachings are. Since 2016, I’ve trained thousands of people in TSM. TSM illuminates the pros and cons of mindfulness with respect to trauma, offering theory and techniques that can be applied in whatever setting you’re in. Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness ® (TSM) applies this to mindfulness and meditation.

Trauma sensitive mindfulness by david treleaven