A Trauma Therapist in Seattle Explains: How Mindfulness Helps Heal Trauma
Photo courtesy of DF Juarez
When most people hear the word mindfulness, they picture someone sitting cross-legged in silence, breathing deeply and looking serene. That image can feel intimidating, especially if you’re someone whose mind never seems to slow down. But here’s the truth: mindfulness isn’t about shutting off your thoughts or becoming perfectly calm. At its heart, mindfulness simply means paying attention to the present moment with curiosity and kindness. It’s about showing up for your life exactly as it is.
Hi, I’m Diane Dempcy, a trauma therapist in Seattle, and a certified EMDR therapist. Along with trauma, I also specialize in anxiety, EMDR, and support for parents of children experiencing a mental health crisis.
For people healing from trauma, mindfulness can be a gentle yet powerful tool. Trauma often pulls us out of the present—leaving us stuck in painful memories from the past or anxious about the future. Mindfulness helps create a bridge back into the here and now, offering small moments of safety and calm that are essential for healing. As someone who provides trauma therapy in Seattle, I see every day how mindfulness can help clients reconnect with their bodies, regain a sense of choice, and begin to feel more grounded in the present.
What Is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness isn’t about shutting off your thoughts. It’s about gently noticing what’s here, right now, without judgment.
Mindfulness is paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, without judgment. Instead of labeling your experiences as good or bad, mindfulness invites you to simply notice them. For example, instead of “I’m anxious again, this is awful,” mindfulness might sound more like “I notice that my chest feels tight and my heart is racing.” That simple act of noticing creates space. And space, for trauma survivors, is everything—it allows breathing room where healing can begin.
The Three Components of Mindfulness
Mindfulness has three key ingredients: awareness, presence, and acceptance.
Awareness is about noticing what’s happening within and around you, whether it’s the sound of traffic, the feeling of your shoulders tensing, or a thought running through your mind.
Presence as in being in the present moment, means bringing that awareness into the current moment, rather than getting lost in the past or the future.
Acceptance is the compassionate part: allowing what you notice to simply exist, without trying to judge or push it away.
Together, these three elements create a sense of steadiness. They remind you that even difficult emotions can be observed without overwhelming you.
How Mindfulness Supports Trauma Therapy In Seattle
Trauma can make people feel cut off from themselves. It can feel like living in survival mode—either constantly on edge, feeling numb, or bouncing between the two. Mindfulness gently helps reestablish a connection to yourself. When you pause to notice your breath or tune into the sensation of your feet on the floor, you’re reminding your nervous system that you’re here and safe in this moment. Over time, these small acts of mindful awareness can reduce anxiety, ease intrusive thoughts, and bring a sense of compassion to the parts of yourself that carry pain.
In trauma therapy in Seattle, mindfulness is often introduced slowly, in safe ways that honor the unique pace of healing. It’s not about sitting for long stretches of silent meditation. It’s about noticing little moments of presence that make the world feel less overwhelming.
How Mindfulness Supports Trauma Healing
For trauma survivors, mindfulness creates space—a pause between feeling triggered and choosing how to respond.
Trauma can make people feel cut off from themselves. It can feel like living in survival mode—either constantly on edge, feeling numb, or bouncing between the two. Mindfulness gently helps reestablish a connection to yourself. When you pause to notice your breath or tune into the sensation of your feet on the floor, you’re reminding your nervous system that you’re here and safe in this moment. Over time, these small acts of mindful awareness can reduce anxiety, ease intrusive thoughts, and bring a sense of compassion to the parts of yourself that carry pain.
In trauma therapy in Seattle, mindfulness is often introduced slowly, in safe ways that honor the unique pace of healing. It’s not about sitting for long stretches of silent meditation. It’s about noticing little moments of presence that make the world feel less overwhelming.
Photo courtesy of Nessian Stauffer
How To Use Mindfulness
Many trauma therapists weave mindfulness into sessions in subtle ways. Sometimes it’s a mindful pause before exploring a difficult memory. Other times it might be a gentle body scan, noticing where you carry tension. Grounding through the five senses—like looking around the room and naming what you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste—can bring clients out of a triggered state and back into the present. Even something as simple as three intentional breaths at the start of a session can set the tone for safety.
In my work with trauma therapy in Seattle, I often encourage clients to weave mindfulness into their everyday routines. One of the first tools I teach is the 5-4-3-2-1 practice. If a client feels triggered at work or home, I suggest stepping away for a short walk. As they walk, they can begin by noticing five green things around them. Next, they identify four different sounds. Then they gently pay attention to three textures they can feel—perhaps fabric, sand, or the softness of a sweater. After that, they notice two smells in the air, and finally, they check to see if there’s one taste present in their mouth.
These simple, mindful check-ins can create a grounding sense of safety in the moment, which over time supports deeper trauma healing.
Cassie’s Story
When “Cassie” came to therapy, she often described feeling like she was “living on edge.” The smallest things—a coworker raising their voice, a sudden car horn on the street—would make her body tighten and her heart race. She carried a constant sense of unease, as if something bad might happen at any moment.
Cassie had a history of childhood trauma, and although she had built a successful adult life, her nervous system still felt like it was stuck in survival mode. She told me, “I just want to feel calm in my own skin, but I don’t even know what calm looks like.”
In our work together, we began introducing small moments of mindfulness. Instead of asking her to sit in silence with her eyes closed (which felt overwhelming), we started with 5-4-3-2-1. For a few minutes at the beginning of each session, she would name what she saw in the room, what she felt under her hands, what she heard outside, and what she smelled or tasted. This simple exercise anchored her in the present moment, reminding her that she was safe.
Cassie had a history of childhood trauma, and although she had built a successful adult life, her nervous system still felt like it was stuck in survival mode.
Over time, Cassie also began noticing her breath—not trying to change it, just observing it. On stressful days, she practiced pausing for three mindful breaths before reacting. Gradually, she started to feel a sense of choice returning. Triggers that once sent her into panic no longer held the same power.
What stood out most to Cassie was the self-compassion that grew from mindfulness. She began to notice her inner critic less and meet herself with more kindness. “I don’t feel like I’m battling myself all the time anymore,” she said. “I feel like I can breathe.”
Mindfulness didn’t erase Cassie’s trauma history, but it gave her tools to live with more ease, safety, and presence. Through trauma therapy in Seattle, she found a way to come home to herself again.
Why Mindfulness Works Better Than Meditation for Trauma Survivors
People often assume mindfulness and meditation are the same thing, but they’re not. Meditation is a formal practice, often involving stillness, closed eyes, and turning inward. For trauma survivors, that can sometimes feel unsafe. Closing your eyes or sitting in silence may bring on flashbacks or a sense of being trapped.
Mindfulness, on the other hand, is flexible. You can practice it with your eyes open, while moving, or by focusing outward on the world around you. That flexibility gives trauma survivors choice and control—two things that trauma often takes away. This is one of the reasons trauma therapy in Seattle often emphasizes mindfulness as a safer, more adaptable path toward healing.
How to Begin a Mindfulness Practice
Starting a mindfulness practice doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need a cushion, an app, or hours of silence. You can begin by tuning into your senses. Notice the colors around you, the sounds you hear in the background, the sensation of your hands under warm water, or the taste of your food as you eat slowly. Your senses are anchors to the present moment.
Mindfulness doesn’t require silence or hours of meditation. It begins with small, present-moment awareness—like noticing your breath or the sound of rain.
Breathing can also be a powerful entry point. Instead of trying to control your breath, just notice it. Is it fast? Slow? Deep? Shallow? That simple awareness has a calming effect on the nervous system.
Mindfulness can also be woven into daily routines. Washing dishes, taking a shower, or walking outside can all become mindful moments when you pause to notice what you feel, see, hear, or smell. Over time, these practices become small rituals of safety and grounding.
Image courtesy of Vi Xu
Why Mindfulness Works Better Than Meditation for Trauma Survivors
People often assume mindfulness and meditation are the same thing, but they’re not. Meditation is a formal practice, often involving stillness, closed eyes, and turning inward. For trauma survivors, that can sometimes feel unsafe. Closing your eyes or sitting in silence may bring on flashbacks or a sense of being trapped.
Mindfulness, on the other hand, is flexible. You can practice it with your eyes open, while moving, or by focusing outward on the world around you. That flexibility gives trauma survivors choice and control—two things that trauma often takes away. This is one of the reasons trauma therapy in Seattle often emphasizes mindfulness as a safer, more adaptable path toward healing.
Wrapping It Up
With the support of trauma therapy in Seattle, mindfulness becomes more than a practice—it becomes a pathway to healing and self-compassion.
Mindfulness isn’t about silencing your thoughts or becoming perfectly calm. It’s about learning to meet yourself, moment by moment, with openness and compassion. For trauma survivors, mindfulness offers a way to slowly reconnect with the body, regulate emotions, and begin to feel safe again.
And you don’t have to do it alone. With the guidance of trauma therapy in Seattle, mindfulness can become more than a practice—it can become a pathway to healing, self-compassion, and a new sense of safety in your life.
Diane Dempcy, LMHC
If you’re ready to explore therapy, I’d love to support you. Whether you’re working through trauma, anxiety, or relationship struggles, you deserve a space to feel safe, seen, and supported. Please email me at therapy@dempcycounseling.com
Diane Dempcy provides therapy in Seattle to adults experiencing anxiety and trauma. She utilizes brain-based tools such as EMDR, DBT, and other types of therapy. Diane’s clients experience her as direct, empowering, warm, and accepting
She provides online and in-person therapy in Seattle and surrounding cities.
