David Treleaven, PhD

David Treleaven, PhD, is a writer, educator, and trauma professional whose work focuses on the intersection of trauma, mindfulness, and social justice. He is author of the book Trauma- Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing published by W. W. Norton. Trained in counseling psychology at the University of British Columbia, he received his doctorate in psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies and has been a longtime mindfulness practitioner.

His academic research has focused on the relationship between mindfulness, stress, and attachment theory, and has been published in The Journal of Child and Family Studies and the journal Somatics. He is currently a visiting research scholar at the Britton Lab studying contemplative, affective, and clinical neuroscience. The lab researches the effects of contemplative practices on cognitive, emotional, and neurophysiological processes in both clinical and non-clinical settings.

He was a founding member of the Vancouver chapter of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society in British Columbia, Canada, a secular organization that aims to integrate contemplative awareness into daily life to create a more just and sustainable society. He currently teaches with Strozzi Institute, which helps leaders embody skillful action, and with generative somatics, an organization that engages in trauma healing with social justice organizers to support their work and leadership.