DAVID LYNCH
FOUNDATION
AUSTRALIA
Accreditation
Supporting organisations
Cynthia, a survivor of domestic violence, explains how after learning the gentle practice of Transcendental Meditation she regained her sense of self-worth.
Pilot Study
Inner city shelter,
Sydney
A transformative program has been quietly making a difference over the last 24 months at ‘Lou’s Place’, a leading domestic violence shelter for women in Sydney, with the voluntary implementation of daily Transcendental Meditation (TM) practise.
Funded by the David Lynch Foundation, TM was offered to both management and clients, and in late 2019, Melbourne University’s Phoenix Centre for Post Traumatic Mental Health undertook a small pilot study on how the TM practice was received by the women at Lou’s place.
The final report from Phoenix highlighted the ‘remarkable’ effect that TM had on the lives of women who had participated in the program – with many reporting a significant reduction in trauma symptoms, higher self-esteem and improved relationships.
Domestic violence is growing exponentially in Australia with very few long-term treatment options for women suffering from abuse-related chronic trauma.
The David Lynch Foundation’s 1000 Women Domestic Violence Recovery Project will expand the scope of our previous domestic violence trauma reduction projects to provide the self-sufficient Transcendental Meditation Program to 1000 indigenous and non-indigenous women from across Australia.
This significant research project will build on successful studies by two leading Australian Universities on the effect of TM in alleviating the chronic mental health consequences of DV-related trauma and violence.
The ground-breaking '1000 Women' project will provide a significant body of evidence relating to the long-term psychological recovery of victims of domestic violence living with chronic trauma – and provide a business case to expand the program in regional and metropolitan communities across Australia.
SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EXPLAIN HOW TM HAS HELPED TO HEAL TRAUMA
"
It's really made me more aware of my space and my space in the world. Making better decisions for myself and being more conscious of what I need, in the moment. Learning to listen to myself, and say no.
It's changing my life, every week I am noticing.”
Domestic violence survivor
Melbourne University Research Study, 2019
"
It’s helping in a world of chaos. I have noticed my traumatic thoughts are lessening.
It’s miraculous.
I now know what is going on and work through it instead of feeling totally disconnected.”
Female, 28
Domestic violence survivor
"
TM is definitely the vehicle.
It opens doors in our consciousness and removes blockages. I am more patient with myself which is a huge deal for me. Being more grateful about what I am doing at the time. Less anxious and making better decisions for myself.”
Domestic violence survivor
Melbourne University Research Study, 2019.
miraculous!
It's
For more information about our
Domestic Violence Recovery programs, please contact
Helping transform the lives of women living with domestic violence-based anxiety and trauma
Our Programs
WORKING TO ELIMINATE STRESS
In response to the the rising prevalence of stress in our nation, the David Lynch Foundation partners with universities, government, NGOs and private organisations in Australia to establish programs that deliver the practical, scientifically-proven Transcendental Meditation technique to at-risk and disadvantaged populations, providing empowerment and healing.
Defence and Veterans
PTSD Resilience and Recovery
Helping current and former defence personnel living with trauma, PTSD, and suicidal ideation
For over a decade, the David Lynch Foundation has offered TM as a simple, easy-to-learn approach for reducing symptoms of PTSD and depression among serving defence personnel and military veterans in many countries around the world.
Studies on the highly positive effects of TM on defence service-related PTSD and other chronic mental health conditions have been documented in the Lancet Journal of Psychiatry, Military Medicine, and many other publications.
Left untreated, anxiety, chronic trauma and PTSD cripples functioning and places active service personnel and veterans at great risk for violent and self-destructive behaviour including:
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Alcoholism or drug abuse
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Severe depression, anxiety, or emotional numbness
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Family and employment problems
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Higher risk of suicide
IMPROVEMENT IN STRESS-MANAGEMENT FOR DEFENCE PERSONNEL LIVING WITH CHRONIC PTSD WHO PRACTICE TM FOR 20 MINUTES A DAY
61%
Defence personnel describe how learning TM has been effective in addresing PTSD.
DEFENCE PERSONNEL AND VETERANS EXPLAIN HOW TM GUIDED THEM BACK FROM THE EDGE
"
I began practicing TM after my ADF career had ended.
It was a highly valuable tool for me during the turbulent transition from military life and continues to offer me a source of calm and reassurance in my life.
I continue to reflect on how valuable TM would have been for me during my ADF career.
TP
Air Force, Air Crew (15 years ADF service)
"
Traumas that I brought into the Marine Corps caught up and that led to a pretty detailed plan for suicide.
TM worked for me, and it has worked for thousands of my brothers and sisters. It’s given me the opportunity not just to survive on earth but to thrive here and to live a life that is truly full of purpose, meaning, connection, and service.”
Paul Downs
US Marine Veteran
"
I strongly believe that it is a positive way to either add energy or relax unwind, which I often found difficult to do during my ADF career.
It is my opinion that this technique should be made available to all members of the ADF”
TP
Air Force, Air Crew
For more information on our
Defence and Veteran PTSD Resilience and Recovery
programs please contact
61%
improvement in stress-management for Defence Personnel living with chronic PTSD who practise TM for 20 minutes a day
School Teacher's Mental Health Initiative
Helping teachers manage workplace stress and burnout
to create healthy teaching environments
It is estimated that 70% of our teachers are under constant stress, with over 20% experiencing burnout.
Burnout includes emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and reduced sense of personal accomplishment.
It has been recently proven that there is now a direct link between teacher stress and levels of stress in their students.
Research published in Frontiers in Education found that,
"Transcendental Meditation may provide an effective antidote to the psychological distress experienced by teachers and is a significant facilitator of resilience, the ability to cope with obstacles and challenges in one’s life.”
The David Lynch Foundation’s Teachers Mental Health Initiative provides schools, teachers and administrative personnel the tools to manage anxiety and burnout that can help reduce attrition of highly valued teachers from schools throughout Australia.
A school teacher explains how TM helped to deal with stress in the classroom and beyond.
TEACHERS EXPLAIN HOW TM HELPS TO MANAGE STRESS AND AVOID ANXIETY AND BURNOUT
"
Traumas that I brought into the Marine Corps caught up and that led to a pretty detailed plan for suicide. TM worked for me, and it has worked for thousands of my brothers and sisters. It’s given me the opportunity not just to survive on earth but to thrive here and to live a life that is truly full of purpose, meaning, connection, and service.”
Paul Downs
US Marine Veteran
"
I put a loaded 45 my pistol to my head in front of my wife and young daughter and I was gonna kill myself.
I had consistently thought about suicide before I learned Transcendental Meditation.
It changed everything.”
Luke Jensen
Afghanistan War Veteran
"
It’s part of an overall healthy lifestyle. You become physically fit, you work out, you take care of your body. You do Transcendental Meditation and it helps take care of your mind.
The powerful part of that is that it physiologically improves your brain functioning.”
Stephen T. Rippe
Major General, US Army (Ret.)
For more information on our
Natural Disaster Mental Health Project
Supporting mental health recovery for regional communities impacted by catastrophic flood events
Following one of the worst floods in the recorded history of NSW which impacted tens of thousands of people and caused widespread property loss across the NSW Northern Rivers region, the David Lynch Foundation of Australia has been teaching TM free of charge to people suffering from chronic flood-related grief, anxiety, trauma and PTSD.
DLF is working with referring doctors, psychiatrists, the Australian Government Public Health Network, and the Aboriginal Medical Corporation to deliver this critical trauma reducing project.
FLOOD SURVIVORS EXPLAIN HOW TM HAS HAS SEEN THEM THROUGH THE RECOVERY PROCESS
"
Traumas that I brought into the Marine Corps caught up and that led to a pretty detailed plan for suicide. TM worked for me, and it has worked for thousands of my brothers and sisters. It’s given me the opportunity not just to survive on earth but to thrive here and to live a life that is truly full of purpose, meaning, connection, and service.”
Paul Downs
US Marine Veteran
"
I put a loaded 45 my pistol to my head in front of my wife and young daughter and I was gonna kill myself.
I had consistently thought about suicide before I learned Transcendental Meditation.
It changed everything.”
Luke Jensen
Afghanistan War Veteran
"
It’s part of an overall healthy lifestyle. You become physically fit, you work out, you take care of your body. You do Transcendental Meditation and it helps take care of your mind.
The powerful part of that is that it physiologically improves your brain functioning.”
Stephen T. Rippe
Major General, US Army (Ret.)
For more information on our
Natural Disaster Mental Health project please contact
First Responder Toolkit
Promoting stress resilience and trauma recovery for frontline police and paramedics
Based on the success of our programs working with first responders living with severe post-traumatic stress (PTSD), DLF is currently seeking to partner with police, fire and ambulance services across Australia.
Major scientific research projects working with veterans and first responders from around the world have proven that the TM technique can significantly reduce stress and trauma and promote recovery from PTSD. The David Lynch Foundation will commence a new research study involving frontline police officers in Northern NSW in April 2023.
In time it is hoped that the TM program will become an essential part of police and ambulance service training programs in Australia to reduce the number of highly trained personnel leaving critical frontline services due to chronic trauma and PTSD.
FIRST RESPONDERS EXPLAIN HOW TM HELPS TO MANAGE TRAUMA-BASED WORK
"
I have been practicing TM for four years now, I cannot begin to tell you the impact it has had on me and my emotional wellbeing. I work in an area where I hear about trauma and suicide attempts and loss to suicide. That is both in person, and on our 24/7 crisis line. I cannot describe to you how that trauma impacts us all over time.
Since beginning my TM practice, it has equipped me mentally, physically, and emotionally to be able to continue this work.
The reason I have given you this very brief glimpse into my world is the hope that my colleagues would be able to benefit from TM as well. Our in-shift supervisors not only have to support callers who are in a suicidal crisis, but they also support the crisis supporters and students. But at the end of the day. there is no one there to support them.
The burnout rate in our industry is extremely high and the impact of COVID on top of that has been huge. To be able to support our supervisors with the practice of TM would be life-changing.”
Jenny
Suicide Support Counsellor
Lifeline Western Sydney Region
"
I have been a frontline Emergency Paramedic for 25 years. I have PTSD. I was first introduced to TM by a Police Officer friend of mine who also has PTSD.
He explained to me how it had helped his moods, sleeping, anxiety, and other PTSD symptoms.
I was reluctant at first, believing that meditation was for hippies and yoga gurus.
Then I thought, what have I got to lose?
For those of you not familiar with PTSD, it presents itself in many forms. Without going into detail, your brain just never shuts up. And, you can’t run away from yourself.
Learning TM was very different from what I expected. It was so easy.
The first difference I noticed, I was sleeping much calmer and longer, less anxious, less sad, and generally calmer. My wife noticed all the differences and said I was much easier to be around. My teenage daughters said it was great to have their dad back.
The more I practice TM, the calmer I become and the more my mind slows its chatter. TM can be practiced anywhere, anytime without any tools or accessories. I have found it to be very beneficial for my PTSD and my life in general.
Give it a go, it’ll change your life.”
Richard,
Paramedic
Former NSW Ambulance Service
"
From 2000 to 2019 I was a high functioning police detective. Towards the end of my service I was struck with bouts of PTSD and after 19 years, I medically retired and disengaged from the police.
As part of my rehabilitation I researched TM and, in conjunction with my insurance company and rehabilitation team, I agreed to undertake TM.
Immediately I felt the benefits of TM.
I developed a sense of calm, awareness and was able to relax. I learnt a coping skill to assist me handling life with PTSD.
I practice TM on a daily basis – I am inherently better in my life due to TM. I am more patient and became a better family man for learning this skill. I have found silence in the noise. I can seek peace in confusion. I have regained happiness when I thought it was lost. I attribute this to TM.
I believe that TM is a practice for all people and namely those who have experienced trauma or work in high pressure environments.
TM will transform you for the best.”
Alan
Former NSW Police Officer
For more information on our
First Responder Toolkit please contact
I can seek peace in confusion.
I have regained happiness
when I thought it was lost.
I attribute this to TM.
Alan
Former NSW Police Officer
Heal the Healers
Providing frontline health workers with strategies
to manage trauma-based stress and anxiety
We partner with hospitals, medical training organisations and universities to deliver programs using the Transcendental Meditation technique, providing healthcare professionals with the tools they need to manage anxiety, fatigue, grief, and burnout.
Over 600 scientific studies have found that Transcendental Meditation (TM), an easy-to-learn technique which provides deep stress-dissolving relaxation, can significantly reduce anxiety, trauma, PTSD, depression and burnout in frontline health workers, doctors and administrators.
Hear from ER clinical nurse Tanya Malcolm as she explains how learning TM helped boost her resilience during the COVID-19 crisis.
RESEARCH
STUDIES SHOW FRONTLINE HEALTH WORKERS ARE BENEFITTING FROM PRACTICING THE TM TECHNIQUE
35%
lower anxiety in nurses
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 20 (2013).
55%
less burnout in doctors
Loyola Stritch Medical School, Chicago.
45%
reduction of insomnia and emotional exhaustion in nurses
Study of 65 health care providers from Miami hospitals; Mercy Hospital, Baptist Hospital and Encompass Hospital, 2023.
70%
reduction in PTSD symptoms in doctors
3-Month Trial with Emergency Medicine Physicians,
Weill Cornell Medical Centre, New York Presbyterian Hospital, NY.
HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS EXPLAIN HOW TM HELPS MANAGE THE STRESS OF THEIR WORK
"
I am a very grateful nurse for taking the TM course. Before TM, I had really bad insomnia, especially after working a 12-hour shift in the ED. I barely slept four hours a night.
Now after practicing TM for eight months, I have no problems with insomnia, and I am now getting seven to eight hours of sleep a night. I have become more centered, energetic and calm at the same time. I am forever thankful for this opportunity.”
Dina Kenyon,
RN, BSN Emergency Department
Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center,
Plainsboro, NJ
"
Nothing can erase the stress and anxiety in our lives, but meditation has taught me how to handle them better.
It is important for my patients to know how much it has helped me.
I recommend it to everyone to help lower blood pressure and heart rate, help with sleep, and think more clearly.”
Erica Cargill Jones, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine;
Weill Cornell Medical College,
New York, NY
"
I love nursing, but there are so many layers of stress in taking care of the COVID-19 patients, as well as with worrying about whether I will personally catch the virus or bring it home to my family.
TM has always been an anchor and a great support to me—even more so during this challenge. I am convinced that TM has made me into 'the best me,' and it has given me great strength and resilience in these times of despair.”
Tanya Malcolm,
RN, ER Clinical Nurse
Adventist White Oak Medical Center,
Silver Spring, MD
“Longevity in a career that will last 40 to 50 years requires a physician to embrace the longview. While knowledge, skills and attitude are fundamental, Transcendental Meditation provides the clarity of mind and calmness that makes this journey as enjoyable and fulfilling as the destination.”
Gregory Gruener MD,
Vice Dean for Education,
Stritch School of Medicine,
Loyola University Chicago.
Find out how the David Lynch Foundation’s
Heal the Healers Initiative can assist
your organisation by contacting