Trauma-Informed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction to promote intra- and interpersonal flourishing among survivors of traumatic violence

This pilot randomized control trial (RCT) addressed the design and evaluation of a trauma-informed adaptation of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (TI-MBSR) as a trauma-informed intervention for women who identified themselves as survivors of interpersonal violence and felt that these past experience still negatively affected them currently. A mixed methods approach included using quantitative measures to assess the effects of the intervention on symptoms of depression, PTSD, anxiety, thought suppression, mindfulness, relational communication, and attachment for this community based sample. Follow-up qualitative interviews were conducted with six of the women who participated in the intervention in an attempt to understand the how some of the women experienced the “class” and what they believed the biggest impacts to be on their lives. Findings included statistically significant decreases for measures of depression, PTSD, anxiety, thought suppression, and anxious attachment. The qualitative interviews revealed rich experiences in several specific areas, including: expectations had entering into the intervention, defenses, symptoms, and adaptive coping, direct experience of the TIMBSR intervention, and the intrapersonal and interpersonal impacts on the lives of participants. TIMBSR appears to be a promising trauma-informed intervention for survivors of interpersonal trauma.