Integrating Mindfulness in Speech Therapy: Using the 2-Minute Five Senses Practice for TBI Recovery

Grounding. Sensing. Reconnecting - with self, memory, and even a curious cat.

Today in one of my speech therapy sessions, I found myself returning to a grounding practice a psychotherapist friend once shared with me - a practice that ended up becoming a powerful tool for both mindfulness and memory. My client, who is recovering from a traumatic brain injury (TBI), and I were discussing ways to manage moments of overwhelm. We practiced a simple but powerful mindfulness exercise called the 2-Minute Five Senses Grounding Practice. But what really stood out was what came after: we used memory strategies to help him remember the steps. He came up with a mnemonic - “Sam Failed His Science Test” - that I'll now never forget. It was a moment of real connection and growth, a reminder of why mindfulness and cognitive communication therapy can work beautifully hand in hand.

In this blog post, I’ll share why incorporating mindfulness practices like this one into speech therapy can be so effective for people with TBI, how emotional regulation supports communication on a biological level, and how teaching memory strategies in tandem with mindfulness can lead to greater independence and resilience. I'll also provide an easy-to-use English and Spanish handout of the Five Senses Practice that you can use with your own clients or for yourself.

Why Mindfulness in Speech Therapy for TBI?

After a TBI, individuals often experience emotional dysregulation, difficulties with memory, attention, and executive functioning, and challenges with communication. Mindfulness - defined simply as paying attention to the present moment without judgment - has been shown to improve emotional regulation, attention, and cognitive flexibility. These benefits can ripple out into improved communication and daily functioning. 

Recent research backs this up: a 2024 meta-analysis of 111 randomized controlled trials found that mindfulness significantly improves cognitive functioning, including attention and working memory, across diverse populations (Zainal & Newman, 2024). These are the very cognitive domains often impacted after TBI, making mindfulness-based strategies even more essential in therapy.

👉 Read the study here

By incorporating grounding practices like the Five Senses Exercise into therapy, we help clients develop internal tools they can use during moments of dysregulation. It’s not just about "feeling better” - it’s about fostering the kind of present-moment awareness that supports cognitive processing, memory retrieval, and social engagement.

Emotional Regulation and Communication: A Biological Connection

Emotional dysregulation is when someone has difficulty managing their emotional responses. This might look like feeling overwhelmed by emotions, having strong reactions to small triggers, or struggling to calm down once upset. For people with TBIs, this can happen more often because the parts of the brain that help us process, filter, and respond to emotions may be affected.

When we’re dysregulated—anxious, agitated, or emotionally flooded—the body shifts into a stress response. The sympathetic nervous system kicks in, and brain activity is rerouted away from the prefrontal cortex (responsible for executive functions and speech/language processing) and toward more primitive areas focused on survival.

This is one reason why communication can break down during emotional dysregulation. The brain is simply not in a state that supports connection, listening, or expressive language. By helping clients regulate their nervous systems through grounding practices, we are inviting the brain into a state of safety and readiness for connection.

Memory Strategy Meets Mindfulness: A Therapy Highlight

During today’s session, I asked my client to come up with ways to remember the sequence of the Five Senses Practice. He visualized each step while I drew a small diagram of images for him on my iPad. I asked him if he could think of a mnemonic to breakdown the grounding practice and he brilliantly landed on: "Sam Failed His Science Test."

Here’s how it breaks down:

• S = See (5 things)

• F = Feel (4 things)

• H = Hear (3 things)

• S = Smell (2 things)

• T = Taste (1 thing)

It was such a strong example of therapeutic integration - not only because it was effective, but because the process of creating the mnemonic helped reinforce his memory, practice executive functioning, and engage his creativity. We weren’t just grounding - we were working on categorization, sequencing, and encoding strategies that can be generalized to many aspects of daily life.

"5 Senses Mindfulness Grounding Practice"

The Practice: A Bilingual Grounding Tool

Below is a handout of the Five Senses Grounding Practice in both English and Spanish. You can guide clients through this during a session or print it out and send it home as part of a self-regulation toolkit.

2-Minute Mindfulness: Five Senses Grounding Practice

Therapist Script (English): "Let’s take a moment to pause and come into the present. You don’t need to do anything special—just sit comfortably and take a slow breath in… and a slow breath out."

"Now, let’s move through your five senses. This will help you get grounded and feel more present in your body."

• 5 Things You Can See "Look around you and silently name five things you can see. They can be anything—your hands, the floor, a light, or even something outside the window. Just notice the colors, shapes, and details." (pause for 10-15 seconds)

• 4 Things You Can Feel "Now notice four things you can feel. Maybe the temperature of the air, the weight of your body in the chair, your feet on the floor, or your hands resting in your lap. You don’t have to change anything—just notice." (pause for 10-15 seconds)

• 3 Things You Can Hear "Now bring your attention to three things you can hear. They could be far away or close by—traffic, the hum of a fan, people talking, or even your own breathing." (pause for 10-15 seconds)

• 2 Things You Can Smell "Now notice two things you can smell. If you don’t smell anything right now, that’s okay. You can even imagine a smell you like—maybe coffee, fresh air, or something calming." (pause for 10 seconds)

• 1 Thing You Can Taste "And now, notice one thing you can taste. Maybe you have a lingering taste in your mouth, or you can take a sip of water and notice that." (pause for 10 seconds)

  
  

Closing: "Take one more slow breath in… and out. Let yourself come back gently, whenever you’re ready."

Optional Follow-up Questions:

• "What did you notice during that practice?"

• "Do you think this could help when you’re starting to feel overwhelmed or agitated?"

*Acá una versión que podés usar con tus clientes que hablan español!

Práctica de Atención Plena de 2 Minutos: Conexión a Través de los 5 Sentidos

Guía del terapeuta: "Vamos a tomarnos un momento para hacer una pausa y regresar al presente. No necesitas hacer nada especial—solo siéntate cómodamente y toma una respiración lenta... y exhala lentamente."

"Ahora vamos a pasar por tus cinco sentidos. Esto te ayudará a sentirte más presente y conectado con tu cuerpo."

• 5 cosas que puedes ver "Mira a tu alrededor e identifica en silencio cinco cosas que puedes ver. Pueden ser cualquier cosa—tus manos, el suelo, una lámpara o incluso algo fuera de la ventana. Observa los colores, las formas y los detalles." (pausa de 10–15 segundos)

• 4 cosas que puedes sentir "Ahora nota cuatro cosas que puedes sentir. Tal vez la temperatura del aire, el peso de tu cuerpo en la silla, tus pies tocando el suelo, o tus manos descansando en el regazo. No necesitas cambiar nada—solo observar." (pausa de 10–15 segundos)

• 3 cosas que puedes oír "Ahora lleva tu atención a tres cosas que puedas oír. Pueden ser sonidos cercanos o lejanos—tráfico, el zumbido de un ventilador, personas hablando o incluso tu propia respiración." (pausa de 10–15 segundos)

• 2 cosas que puedes oler "Ahora nota dos cosas que puedas oler. Si no percibes ningún olor ahora, está bien. También puedes imaginar un olor que te guste—tal vez café, aire fresco, o algo relajante." (pausa de 10 segundos)

• 1 cosa que puedes saborear "Y ahora, identifica una cosa que puedas saborear. Tal vez hay un sabor residual en tu boca, o puedes tomar un sorbo de agua y notar ese sabor." (pausa de 10 segundos)

  
  

Cierre: "Toma una respiración lenta más… y exhala. Permítete regresar suavemente, cuando estés listo."

Final Thoughts

Blending mindfulness with cognitive communication therapy opens the door to integrative healing. It helps clients regulate, reflect, and connect, and as today reminded me, it also creates space for creative problem-solving and collaboration in the therapeutic process. Integrating mindfulness in speech therapy is becoming an essential practice for improving emotional regulation, memory retention, and communication, especially for clients recovering from TBI. If you’re working with individuals facing cognitive or emotional challenges, consider adding mindfulness-based techniques to your therapeutic toolkit.

Let’s keep grounding, connecting, and growing together.