Do Contemplative Practices Promote Trauma Recovery? An Umbrella Review from 2018 to 2023
Francesca Scafuto, Rossella Mattea Quinto, Graziella Orrù, Alessandro Lazzarelli, Rebecca Ciacchini, Ciro Conversano
Preprints.org July 15, 2025 preprint DOI: 10.20944/preprints202507.1299.v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Narrative literature review |
|---|---|
| Population | Adults and youth exposed to trauma |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-based Interventions Yoga Tai Chi Qigong meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Contemplation Psychological intervention Feeling Psychotherapist Inclusion mineral Clinical psychology |
| Key findings | Contemplative practices, especially mindfulness, effectively reduce multiple trauma-related symptoms including reactivity, intrusion, hyperarousal, and negative cognitions and mood, though findings on avoidance and physiological parameters were mixed. |
Abstract
Background: Contemplative practices encompass a variety of static and dynamic practices. A theoretical introduction traces differences among contemplative and meditative states; bottom-up and top-down embodied contemplative practices; implications of polyvagal theory in trauma recovery. Contemplative practices, by fostering insights, heightened awareness, and a deeper connection to a broader framework of meaning, may play a crucial role in significantly reducing trauma-related symptoms in both young and adult populations.
Methods: The current narrative literature review used Scopus and PubMed to search studies published in the last five years that examined the effects of contemplative practices, as umbrella term that includes Mindfulness-based Interventions, Yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong, meditation, on trauma recovery and PTSD symptoms among adults and youth.
Results: The literature search identified 281 articles. Forty-two studies met the inclusion criteria and were critically evaluated. Among the various approaches, mindfulness emerged as the most employed and investigated practice for supporting trauma recovery. Contemplative practices have been shown to effectively reduce various dimensions of traumatic experience, such as reactivity, intrusion, hyperarousal, and negative cognitions and mood. Controversial results were found on avoidance symptoms and physiological parameters.
Conclusions: Results give support to the idea of combining contemplative practices with trauma-focused psychotherapeutic interventions to foster a sense of safety, enhance emotional expression and awareness of feelings of fear, shame, guilt, or inferiority while improving metacognitive processes. This, in turn, supports healing the sense of self, restoring a sense of basic trust in self and others, which is often deeply affected in individuals who have experienced trauma.