ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses an important piece of the puzzle. It focuses on a contrast between acceptance and avoidance. The chapter discusses two strategies that make acceptance easier: first, being mindful of the difference between the internal world of the mind and the external world of reality and, second, being willing to engage in valued actions while experiencing distressing emotions. Mindful attentiveness to mental states is the foundation for mentalizing, that is, more complex understanding of the reasons for these states—their context and history. The connection with trauma is straightforward: mindfulness promotes stress reduction and emotion regulation; accordingly, mindfulness practice has been shown to diminish stress, anxiety and depression—pervasive trauma-related problems. Mindfulness entails being open-minded in maintaining an attitude of curiosity as well as a stance of non-judgmental acceptance toward all experience. The chapter concludes with a sketch of research on the therapeutic effects of mindfulness.
