Too tired to read? We have gathered a list of helpful podcasts for you to listen to on the topic of meditation difficulties and trauma sensitive mindfulness.
2024
The London Financial Times Podcast: Untold The Retreat
A 4 part series about meditation-related adverse effects
2023
The Contemplative Science Podcast had Nathan Fisher come on the show to talk about his research into the “dark night of the soul’ experiences in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic meditative paths - analyzing how these traditions meet with modern day clinical practice.
2021
October 22, 2021
Mind and Life:
When Meditation Causes Harm
Wendy speaks with Dr. Willoughby Britton about:
how she came to study the negative side of meditation;
scientific research on meditation-related adverse experiences;
how the same experience can be positive or negative depending on context;
how the causes of adverse effects may be the same as the causes of benefits;
the science of measuring harms in meditation research;
what we know (and don’t know) about these effects—who’s at risk, how frequent they are, and how they show up for people;
whether or not these difficulties are “part of the path” of transformation;
grounding care in compassion and inclusion;
and aligning practices with the outcomes you want.
October 12, 2021
David Treleaven Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness
EPISODE 23: The Risks of Meditation
In this episode David speaks with Willoughby Britton and Jared Lindahl, co-authors of the Varieties of Contemplative Experience (VCE) study—a landmark investigation into the nature of meditation-related difficulties, including trauma. They are two of the world’s experts in studying the difficulties people can encounter in meditation, as well as the factors that contribute to these experiences.
Meditatie Amsterdam - De Meditatie Podcast, Episode 48: Can meditation do harm? - with Willoughby Britton, PhD
Meditation trainer Roel Wilbers talks to Dr. Britton about the adverse effects of meditation and mindfulness including:
definitions of side effects vs adverse effects vs harm
frequency rates
March 2021
SciPod summary of the paper ‘The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists
Especially useful if your symptoms are interfering with your ability to read dense research articles.
2020
October 2020
Sum of Life with host Liam Scully
In this episode, Clinical Psychologist and Neuroscientist, Dr. Willoughby Britton joined me to discuss the adverse effects of meditation. I hope this conversation opens some eyes on the negative side of meditation. The way in which meditation is advertised and glorified in our current American Culture is truly concering. I, myself, am a sufferer from an app-based mindfulness-related meditation practice, after having only practiced for 10-20 mintues a day for only one year.
I hope you learn as much today as I did when I first spoke to Willoughby back in March; and maybe you'll find some help and support following this conversation. And as always, I hope you enjoy:) - Liam
Sam Harris
Waking Up course: The Dark Side of Meditation
Sam Harris talks with Drs. Willoughby Britton and Jared Lindahl about meditation-induced changes in sense of self.
To get free access to this podcast, follow these steps:
1. Visit https://www.wakingup.com
2. Click 'Login' in the upper right hand corner
3. Enter and then verify your email address
4. Once you are logged into Waking Up you can choose Settings --> Redeem promo code
5. Enter the code BRITTON
You can now continue to use the app from inside your web browser or you can download the 'Waking Up ' app from your phone's app store. After downloading the app for your phone make sure to register the app with the same email address you used in Step 3 above.
Episode 79: Does Meditation Have a Dark Side?
Willoughby Britton and Jared Lindahl discuss their research on meditation-related challenges with Dan Harris
Mindspace Podcast: Inspiring Wellbeing
This podcast touched upon:
Willoughby’s widely appreciated optimistic 2011 TED Talk and her transition to a more critical stance on mindfulness research
Jared’s take on the explosion of interest in mindfulness in the west and the importance of sensitivity to individual differences and cultural diversity
The state of the science of meditation, including adverse experiences
The training they developed to help mindfulness/meditation teachers deal with adverse experiences
Episode 107: Trauma sensitive mindfulness
David Treleaven returns to the podcast to speak about his new book Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing.
As mindfulness goes mainstream, more and more people are giving it a try. At an introduction to mindfulness program I gave just last week, when I asked the question how many of you have tried meditation of some kind, everyone’s hand went up. Five years ago, that wasn’t the case. Along with the proliferation of mindfulness programs comes an appropriate awareness that mindful meditation practices are not a cure all, and are not necessary well timed for all participants. While there can be benefits, it’s important for teachers to learn about the nuances of trauma-sensitive mindfulness, and ways they might engage with those suffering from trauma, and perhaps when such interventions may not be as helpful.
David A. Treleaven, PhD, is an educator and trauma professional whose work focuses on the intersection of trauma, mindfulness, and social justice. Trained in counseling psychology at the University of British Columbia, he received his doctorate in psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. He has been studying mindfulness for twenty years and has a private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Episode 4: Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness with David Treleaven
This podcast with Dr. Treleaven covered the basics about trauma and how mindfulness can help with trauma recovery. He also talked about some of the risks involved in using mindfulness unskillfully with trauma survivors. There was a fairly long discussion of clinical issues in the trauma mindfulness intersection, including an analysis of a recent clinical experience of my own. And he spent some time unpacking claims on how trauma is inherently political and that mindfulness teachers ought to develop greater sensitivity to the social and political context of trauma.
Has Meditation Ever Freaked You Out?
With Jo Lauder (meditation segment starts at 13:54), we hear stories from the dark side of meditation: when silent retreats go bad.
When Meditation Goes Wrong
As Shayla Love reported for Tonic, a fraction of meditation practitioners find themselves dealing with complications after meditating, which can range from hypersensitivity and depression to traumatic flashbacks. Researchers have just started trying to understand why it's happening, and how they can support this suffering population.
Britton Lab: Soundcloud Podcasts
Check out the SoundCloud tracks from the Britton Lab team!