Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness Tools for Self-Regulation with David Treleaven
Join David Treleaven, author of “Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness”for an interactive online workshop sharing trauma-sensitive skills to help people self-regulate and access the benefits of mindfulness practice.
Mindfulness meditation is an increasingly mainstream practice with many well-documented mental health benefits. At the same time, trauma remains a fact of life: the majority of us will experience a traumatic event in our lifetime, and some will develop post-traumatic stress.
Mindfulness can be invaluable for trauma survivors. It can increase body awareness, one’s capacity for attention, and emotional regulation—all essential assets for trauma recovery. But mindfulness practice can also exacerbate trauma symptoms. By asking someone to pay close, sustained attention to their inner world, people struggling with trauma can experience flashbacks, dissociation, and even retraumatization.
How can we minimize the potential pitfalls of mindfulness practice for trauma survivors while leveraging its powerful benefits?
The answer lies in developing an understanding of the liabilities of practice and specific skills in working with trauma.
This interactive workshop will introduce and explore skills that are intended to help people self-regulate, work effectively with their own trauma, and access the benefits of mindfulness practice. They include:
– Mindful embodiment practices to create safety and self-trust
– Resourcing and resilience practices that support self-regulation
– Self-compassion practices to heal trauma-related shame
– Advanced modifications to body scan practices
These skills are not substitutes for mindfulness, but supplements. Paired with mindfulness instruction, they can increase people’s ability to self-regulate and ultimately support their trauma recovery.
About the teacher:
David Treleaven, PhD, is a writer, educator, and trauma professional working at the intersection of mindfulness and trauma. He is the author of the acclaimed book Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness and founder of the Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness (TSM) Community—a group of practitioners committed to setting a standard of care through mindfulness-based practices, interventions, and programs.
David focuses on offering mindfulness providers with the knowledge and tools they require to meet the needs of those struggling with trauma. Through workshops, keynotes, podcasts, and online education, he is closely engaged with current empirical research to inform best practices.
His work has been adopted into multiple mindfulness teacher training programs around the world, including UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center, the Engaged Mindfulness Institute, and Bangor University’s MA in Mindfulness program in the UK.
About the event:
This retreat is being offered on a “pay what you’re able to” model, with a wide sliding scale to accomodate all income ranges. A portion of event proceeds will be donated to the Toronto Foundation for Student Success, providing food, medical care, emergency funds and after school programs for children in need. The Consciousness Explorers Club is a registered not-for-profit with the mission of making meditation and personal growth practices fun and accessible to all.
Zoom link for the workshop will be provided upon registration. An audio recording of the session will be shared with registered participants after the event, for those unable to attend some/all of the live session.
Sliding scale tickets: $50 general, $25 subsidized, $75 contributor, $100 super supporter, PWYC by donation
Register via Eventbrite