Mindful Happiness

Anthony Quintiliani, Ph.D, LADC

  • Home
  • Dr. Anthony Quintiliani
    • About
  • Mindful Happiness
  • Mindful Expressions Meditation CD
  • Contact

April 30, 2018 By Admin

Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Trauma

Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Trauma

In line with the thousands of studies now available supporting the use of mindfulness-based interventions in depression, anxiety, chronic pain and addictions (via emotion regulation and interoception), this post will review recommended mindfulness interventions for trauma and PTSD. The post will note information from two recent books on this topic. Also recognize that meta-analytic research in 2004, 2010, and 2014 have found that mindfulness-based interventions improve depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and emotion regulation. These are common conditions co-occurring with addictions and trauma. Such interventions may be carried out as part of various Western therapies: cognitive, behavioral, cognitive-behavioral, dialectical-behavioral, and even psychodynamic.

Follette, Briere and others (2015, 2018) note the many benefits of using mindfulness-based skills as part of trauma therapy. Here is their summary. Mindfulness interventions when implemented by a mindfulness practitioner:

  1. Improves compassion, self-compassion, and radical acceptance;
  2. Improves the negative effects of deprivation, oppression, loss, and harm;
  3. Enhance contemplative responses;
  4. Integrates trauma-informed care with yoga and meditation;
  5. Clarifies emotion mind from reasonable mind;
  6. Empowers personal embodiment and being with one’s conditions;
  7. Expands loving kindness;
  8. Enables effective use of RAIN skills;
  9. Softens harsh, self-critical views of self;
  10. Reduces over-identification with traumatic experiences;
  11. Softens anger and blame;
  12. Brings people to the present – leaving “stuckness” in the past;
  13. Reduces apprehensions about the future;
  14. Strengthens meta-cognitive awareness of thoughts and images as triggers;
  15. Improved emotion regulation – less reactivity and impulsivity;
  16. Teaches breathing retraining for vagal and para-sympathetic activation;
  17. Teaches thoughts and emotions are only thoughts and emotions – not the self;
  18. Improves one’s sense of well-being and happiness; and,
  19. Often enhances self-esteem and empowerment.

Davis (2016) adds the following mindfulness-based effects:

  1. Improves balance in mind-body-heart (soul;);
  2. Empowers better stress reduction practices;
  3. Reduces the personal struggle to control cognitions, emotions, and behaviors;
  4. Enhances one’s observational capacities to just be present and “see” via mindful abiding;
  5. Allows people to recognize experience and life as pleasant, neutral/boring, and unpleasant as norms; and,
  6. Enhances the ability to be grounded when triggered.

For more information refer to Follette, V. M. , Briere, J. et.al. (2015, 2018). Mindfulness-Oriented Interventions for Trauma: Integrating Contemplative Practices. New York: Guilford Publications. See also Davis, L. (2016). Meditations for Healing Trauma. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

Anthony R. Quintiliani, PhD., LADC

From the Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation in Monkton, Vermont and the Home of The Monkton SanghaChiYinYang_EleanorRLiebmanCenter

Author of Mindful Happiness  

Mindful Happiness cover designs.indd

New Edition of Mindful Happiness in Production…Coming soon!

Filed Under: ANTHONY QUINTILIANI, Benefits of Meditation, Featured, Healing, Mindful Awareness, MIndfulness, PTSD, Trauma Tagged With: ANTHONY QUINTILIANI, MEDITATION, MEDITATION FOR TRAUMA HEALING, MINDFUL HAPPINESS, TRAUMA

Twitter

Mindful Happiness -Currently in Production

Mindful Happiness Posts

Secular Meditation and Addictions Treatment Today we have ample research evidence (NIH, NIDA, SAMHSA, etc.) that mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and mind training all have some effectiveness in improving addiction disorders. In recent meta-analyses the primary effect was through improved emotion regulations, whereas there was a more direct positive impact on chronic pain, depression, and anxiety. […]

Review:  Deepak Chopra’s Idea’s on ” The Future of God” Part 2 of 3 In part 2 of this 3-part series, I will discuss the role played by consciousness in various levels of spirituality.  In the beginning, there was the word.  The word is sometimes associated with pure consciousness, since without consciousness there cannot be […]

Meditating in the Gap of Nothingness The Buddha taught about your four best friends, that is how the body changes physiology when you sit, stand, walk/move and every time you are lying down. Modern Western neuroscience now supports this statement of 2500+ years ago. Thich Nhat Hanh added the importance of your breath, walking meditation, […]

From The Eleanor R. Liebman Center for Secular Meditation, Monkton, Vermont – Five Breathing and Meditation Practices – Attention and concentration on the breath are common practices to attune meditation capacity. We use the breath as an object of attention in our mind training.   The better your quality of attention and concentration, the better […]

Vipassana Meditation:  Impermanence Although standard vipassana meditation practice leading to insight about the true nature of reality does not recommend what I am about to do, I plan to do it anyway. This meditation center is all about innovation in practice and generalization regarding the benefits of meditation for both regular meditators and novices.  Below […]

Loving Kindness Meditation from The Buddha Loving Kindness Meditation (hereafter LKM) is, perhaps, one of the most popular meditation practices in the world. What many practitioners do not know is that one form of it came directly from The Buddha. Along with LKM wisdom we also are guided by the enlightened words of The Dalai […]

Meditations and Mantra: Try Them Out in Your Practice There are many forms of meditation.  In most cases, the common meditation forms fall into one of two categories: Mindfulness and Insight.  There are also demanding concentration meditations, chakra meditations, and mantra meditations. Here we’ll deal only with the two forms noted above and the use […]

Mindful Happiness:   Joy is Within Reach – It is Up to You to Choose It! We all live in a very troubled world with lots of greed, hate, warfare, and danger. Many of us use distractions (addictions, cell phone habits, eating, gathering, games, etc.) to make it through the days. This is true!  However, […]

Personal Experiences When in Longer-Term Silence The luxury (or horror depending on your perspective and psychological structure) of being in long-term silence is a rare thing in today’s noisy, super-active and reactive world. The experience is difficult to describe verbally. The best we can do is count on our own experiences and the writings of […]

Tibetan Tantric Meditation on Selflessness Mahamudra meditations tend to unify emptiness and bliss, and represent many core principles of Tibetan Buddhism. Nagarjuna’s text on The Middle Way played an important and influential role in these practices. Selflessness of persons and selflessness of phenomena are highly represented in noted meditation practices. Therefore,, this can be considered […]

Using Meditation, Yoga and Breathing… You can Anchor your Choice Making A key outcome of serious practice is  that you now reduce auto-pilot reactivity to people, places, things, emotions, sensations, craving, and memories and at the same time notice your mind CAN BE in charge of your brain-body reactions.  Yes, regular daily mindfulness practice allows […]

Concentration, Contentment, and Loving Kindness I have written various entries on concentration meditations in prior posts.  Yes, concentration meditation is beyond pure mindfulness meditation.  Here I will present briefly two other forms of meditation that are quite intentional and also beyond mindfulness: contentment and loving kindness meditations. Let’s begin with intentional meditation of contentment. Contentment […]

Mindful Observation  Through Mindful Breathing The following guided meditation is a combination meditation from Asanga’s Grounds of Hearers, Jam-Yang-Shay-Pa’s concentration meditation on the breath, and the Anapanasati Sutta. These guided meditation instructions have been simplified and combined for contemporary use by lay meditators. Observation of Observation – Mindfulness in Breathing Contemplate breathing in and out with complete […]

Trauma Informed Care – Avoidance Process Although more and more clinicians are learning about and using principles/practices of Trauma Informed Care, too few understand the behavioral dynamics of negative reinforcement in the avoidance of trauma-related cues (people, places, things, internal sensations, emotions and images). This post will give a very brief description of negative reinforcement […]

Gurdjieff’s The Fourth Way to Consciousness: Background A core teachings is that there are three ways of being: the fakir (master of the physical body); the monk (master of faith and feeling); and, the yogi (master of mind development).  A key goal is to KNOW yourself at the deepest levels.  To KNOW is to be, […]

Mindful Happiness – Happiness – Guided Imagery of Your Life This experience will include guided imagery and multi-sensory memory of happy experiences in your life.  At time, shadow experience may pop up, in which a happy memory has an unhappy component.  Your mindful concentration will be needed to remain on track with only the happy […]

Enhancing Hope in Psychotherapy The enhancement of personal hope is a key part of successful psychotherapy practice. Some view this requirement as a foundational aspect of the therapeutic alliance; others do not hold the same view.  In the case of serious co-occurring disorders, especially trauma and substance misuse, initiating, developing, and sustaining a hopeful future-view […]

More Characteristics of Happiness – Happiness #4 Here I will continue my posts about the common characteristics of happiness.  Here is the list. Keep an Open Mind – Maintaining an open mind opens up doorways to interesting things in the world, some of which may help you to become happier. Also, open-mindedness reduces inner tension […]

“The Other Shore” to Happiness and Enlightenment Thich Nhat Hanh’s book, The Other Shore: A New Translation of The Heart Sutra…Berkeley, CA: Palm Leaves Press brings us on an inner journey toward a happier, more peaceful and enlightened life. Wisdom implies that we understand that life is made up of mental formations, no-self (more clarifications later), […]

More on Self-Compassion Practices Suffering and happiness represent opposites in human emotional experience.  In our culture we often equate happiness with what we HAVE and suffering with the GAP between what we have versus what we want.  Material possessions tend not to lead to intrinsic happiness; joy based on materials gains is often short-lived – […]

Mindful Happiness Tags

SELF ESTEEM VERMONT MEDITATION PRACTICE SELF MEDICATION ENLIGHTENMENT THERAPY. DR ANTHONY QUINTILIANI WALKING MEDITATION SELF CARE MINDFUL BRAIN COMPASSION THICH NHAT HANH ACTIVITY PRACTICES MINDFUL HAPPINESS BREATHING VIPASSANA MEDITATION ELEANOR R LIEBMAN CENTER ADDICTION ACTIVITIES SELF MINDFULNESS TRAINING EMPTINESS MINDFULNESS PRACTICE ANTHONY QUINTILIANI TRAUMA MBSR PSYCHOTHERAPY COVID-19 VIPASSANA MINDFUL MEDITATION MEDITATION TRAINING CLINICAL SUPERVISION JOURNALING HAPPINESS SUFFERING SELF COMPASSION WISE MIND BUDDHISM EXERCISES CONSCIOUSNESS MINDFUL TRAINING

Mindful Categories

Mindful Happiness Pages

  • About
  • Contact
  • Dr. Anthony Quintiliani
  • Mindful Expressions Meditation CD
  • Mindful Happiness
  • Site Map

Copyright © 2023 · Mindful Happiness