Intergenerational Trauma
“Unconsciously, we relive our mother’s anxiety. We repeat our father’s disappointments. We replicate the failed relationships of our parents or grandparents. Just as we inherit our eye color and blood type, we also inherit the residue from traumatic events that have taken place in our family. While our physical traits are easily discernible, this emotional legacy is often hidden from us. Anxiety, fear, financial worries, depression, illness and unhappy relationships can all be forms of our unconscious inheritance. Unresolved traumas, some going back two or three generations, can ensnare us in feelings and situations that don’t even belong to us. They can forge a blueprint for our life, and can even pass onto our children. It doesn’t have to continue. Inherited family trauma can end here.”
— Mark Wolynn, Director of The Family Constellation Institute
Intergenerational trauma, transgenerational trauma, historical trauma, or inherited family trauma describes intergenerational transmission of traumatic experiences of the generation before to the generation that comes after (parent to child, uncle to nephew/niece, grandparent to grandchild, etc.) and is a well-documented phenomenon with findings related to changes in epigenetics in children of survivors of genocide, the Holocaust, residential schools, and other groups. The devastating impacts of traumatic experiences, including war, genocide and ongoing systemic oppression, can alter a person’s capacity for being attentive and present, ability to love, form attachments, or parent well.
Some individuals grow to adulthood in households where the effects of these traumatic experiences loom large over them, where traumatic histories impact each member of the family, yet are rarely or never directly acknowledged. In some households where intergenerational trauma is present, a palpable sense of danger may be felt and a disaster may be anticipated at every turn. Children who grow up in such an environment may feel that something is always wrong but they may not understand what is wrong or why.
Long-term effects of such experiences include the development of symptoms such as:
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Depression
Anxiety
Phobias and irrational beliefs and fears about self, others and the environment
Obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours
Self-harm and suicidality
Feelings of being “wrong”, not belonging, something not being quite right
I provide intergenerational trauma therapy to adults. I will work with you to explore your experience of family trauma, by uncovering the mysteries of your personal history and context, spoken and unspoken, with compassion and at a pace that is comfortable for you. The aim of this exploration is to bring unconscious effects of the past into conscious awareness to better understand and contain your distress.
In working together to understand the impact of intergenerational trauma in your life, we will engage in some or all of the following:
Exploring the quality, psychological dimensions and origins of the intergenerational trauma that is affecting you
Understanding your emotional triggers
Developing tools to better manage overwhelming memories and emotions
Cultivating self-compassion and self-care and fostering healthy self-esteem
Experiencing a renewed sense of harmony, wholeness and personal well-being