David Treleaven on Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness

In this episode of the podcast, Joe interviews David Treleaven. David is a writer, educator, and trauma professional living in the Bay area, whose work focuses on the intersection of mindfulness, trauma, and social justice. He is quickly becoming an important figure in the mindfulness community, especially since the release of his book Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness.

He received his master’s in counselling psychology at the University of British Columbia and a doctorate in East-West psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. He is currently a senior teacher with Strozzi Institute, which helps leaders embody skillful action and integrate personal and social transformation.

In this episode, David tells Joe about the basics of how mindfulness can help with trauma recovery. They also spoke about some of the risks involved in using mindfulness unskillfully with trauma survivors. And they spent some time unpacking David’s claims that trauma is inherently political, and that mindfulness teachers ought to develop greater sensitivity to the social and political context of trauma.