By Elaine Miller-Karas, Photo: from article, Psychology Today, December 26, 2023
Trauma-informed care serves as a guiding light for countless individuals who have endured traumatic experiences. It embodies a benevolent and compassionate approach, with its paramount objective being to avoid inadvertently re-traumatizing trauma survivors. There are many healing practices categorized under an overarching set of practices called "mindfulness" that, although helpful and transformative for many, can retraumatize a survivor if not practiced through a trauma-informed lens.
The American Psychological Association (2023) defines mindfulness as an awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings. Mindfulness is used in therapeutic interventions including mindfulness-based cognitive behavior therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness practices have been integrated into many settings, including schools, businesses, hospitals, veterans' services, and prisons.
Trauma survivors may experience a multitude of sensory reminders.
When someone undergoes a traumatic event, the resulting memory may not be neatly encoded as a coherent narrative of what transpired. For many survivors, a multitude of sensory triggers can serve as reminders of the event, etched into the body's memory. When the body signals potential danger, it can transport a person back to the traumatic experience, making it feel as if it is unfolding in the present.
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