Treating Trauma Survivors through Meditation

While PTSD is now being fully recognized as a mental health condition, helping professionals are still struggling to find viable and evidence-based treatments for PTSD (Foa, Keane, & Friedman, 2000). Conventional treatment efforts involve mostly cognitive-behavioral therapy, which has received the greatest research attention and support for its efficacy (Please refer to Foa & Meadows, 1997, and Rothbaum, Meadows, Resick, & Foy, 2000 for detailed reviews). Findings, however, revealed that PTSD subjects with prolonged histories of interpersonal abuse responded adversely to prolonged exposure and cognitive restructuring treatment.

Dr. Mo Yee Lee in partnership with Dr. Amy Zaharlick (Anthropology) and Dr. Deborah Akers (Miami University) has been investigating the effectiveness of a six-week meditation curriculum on mental health outcomes among female trauma survivors who also have substance use problems.  Dr. Lee’s research team works in collaboration with Amethyst Inc., a local organization that serves to break the cycle of addiction, poverty, and violence for women and their children.  The team’s work explores the utility, cultural adaptability and appropriateness of using meditation, a primarily Eastern-based practice, as an intervention with clinical populations in the U.S. A preliminary study examined two specific questions: (1) Is a 6-week meditation curriculum effective in reducing PTSD symptoms and improving functioning of female trauma survivors who have histories of prolonged interpersonal abuse? (2) How did participants understand and perceive their meditation experience and its potential benefits?

This study used a randomized controlled trial with a longitudinal design. Clients at a local substance abuse treatment and housing program for homeless women and their children who agreed to participate were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The treatment condition consisted of a six-week meditation program with a curriculum where the first two weeks were devoted to Breathing Meditation, the second two weeks to Nying-je Meditation (Compassion), and the final two weeks to Tonglen Meditation (Loving kindness). Geshe Kalsang Damdul, the Assistant Director of the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala, India (which is under the direct administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama), is an expert on using meditation practice for treating trauma survivors. He assists the research project in conducting the meditation classes.

Outcome indicators included participants’ and/or therapists’ evaluation of participants’ levels of functioning, PTSD symptoms, state of mindfulness, positive emotions, and emotion regulation abilities at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 6-month follow-up. The study also collected information on salivary cortisol levels at 5 assessment points to measure the level of stress evident in participants. Qualitative data were collected through individual interviews and focused group interviews to explore participants’ understanding and experience of their meditation experience and its potential benefits.

To read more about Dr. Lee’s research, review the book she recently co-authored:

Lee, M. Y., Ng, S. M., & Leung, P., & Chan, C. (2009). Integrative Body-Mind-Spirit Social Work: An empirically based approach to assessment and treatment. New York: Oxford University Press.  Read more about the book.  Review a chapter about meditation and trauma.