Mindfulness based therapy, without the forced serenity
Mindfulness based therapy uses present moment awareness as a clinical tool: noticing thoughts, sensations, and feelings without being consumed by them. I teach it trauma sensitively, which means your safety and capacity comes before any technique.
Trauma sensitive mindfulness is different
If meditation apps have ever made you feel worse, more anxious, more flooded, more aware of everything you were managing not to feel, meditation did not fail because of you. For trauma survivors, closing your eyes and turning inward without preparation can open doors before you have the resources to stand in them.
Trauma sensitive mindfulness moves differently. Eyes open if you want. Anchors outside the body when inside feels like too much. Short practices, always by invitation, always with an exit. I have taught mindfulness and meditation for about a decade alongside my counseling training, and the art is in learning your own body and finding what helps you reduce stress, not reaching perfection.
Inside therapy, mindfulness becomes the skill that makes every other change possible: the half second of noticing before the old reaction, the ability to stay with a feeling long enough for it to move, the discovery that you can observe a thought without letting it spiral.
What mindfulness looks like in our sessions
It sounds like: learning to regulate your breathing so your body knows it's safe to feel calm. It looks like learning to catch the spiral three thoughts in instead of thirty. Over time it becomes a way of being with yourself that is steadier and kinder than the internal weather you inherited.
Related: Somatic therapy | Trauma informed yoga | How I work
Mindfulness questions
Do I have to meditate between sessions?
Ideally, you are practicing what we do in therapy outside of session. We find the version that fits your life, even if it is ninety seconds of noticing your feet while the coffee brews.
Is mindfulness based therapy evidence informed?
Mindfulness based approaches are among the most researched in mental health, and I combine them with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and somatic work, tailored to you.
What if being present feels unsafe?
Then we honor that signal and build safety first. That instinct usually tells us a lot about how you're feeling in your day-to-day, and working with it will help reduce distressing emotions long-term.
Interested in getting started?
Book a free 15 minute consultation and ask me anything.