Transgenerational Trauma

1. Transgenerational
Trauma
And the effects on our families and
communities
mm ities

2. Why is any of this
important?
• M n of the problems we f ce in f milies and
Many roblems face families nd
communities can be directly linked to the soul
wound/transgenerational trauma.
• Each generation that doesn’t deal with this
merely passes th t
l the trauma effects t th next
ff t to the t
generation.

3. What are some of the
effects?
ff
• Addiction to alcohol and other subst nces
lcohol nd substances.
Alcohol serves as a substitute for the removal
of culture and spiritual practice.
• Violence in the family and community because
the i l
th violence th t caused th t
that d the trauma i passed
is d
on and acted out presently.

4. Initial observations
• Ide s for this presentation t ken from
Ideas resent tion taken
experience with the Native American
community.
• The issues found in the Native community are
also f
l found in th Af i
d i the African A i
American, L ti
Latino,
and other communities in our society.
• Trauma and injury bring similar responses
among human beings, and the effects of trauma
also b
l bring similar responses in all people who
l ll l h
are subjected to it.

5. Definitions
• The Native community defined the collective
trauma that occurred historically as the ‘soul
wound.’ This is also known as
transgenerationall trauma.
• Transgenerational trauma is the trauma that is
T g
passed from one generation to the next if the
trauma is not resolved within the generation in
which it occurs.
hi h
• Effects of transgenerational trauma are also
passed on if not resolved.
d f l d

6. S
Serious concerns
• The soul wound not onl gets passed from one
only ssed
generation to the next if not resolved…it is also
cumulative. That is to say that a person who
has not experienced trauma personally may still
carry a serious amount of inherited trauma from
y
their ancestors.
• The trauma inflicted on Native people was
also directed at the removal and destruction of
culture.

7. Destruction of Culture
C
• L ngu ge spirituality, sense of f mil
Language, s iritu lit family
structure were systematically destroyed.
• Boarding schools were a place that
systematically attempted to destroy the family
system and the sense of f il
t d th f family.
• The destruction of culture left many p p
y people
empty and searching for their soul.

8. Is this for real? What
evidence is there?
id i h
• There is a substantial bod of liter ture th t
subst nti l body literature that
substantiates the soul wound.
• General trauma theory gives ample evidence to
the theoretical construct of soul
wound/transgenerational t
d/t ti l trauma.
• In addition, many y
y years of clinical experience
p
lend further evidence that this is a valid
construct.

9. When the soul is wounded
• Hum ns re ct with grief when wounded
Humans react wounded.
• Humans remember the wounding and it
continues to hurt.
• Humans react to healing when healing is
available.

10. A traditional Native model
of t
f trauma
• Tr um is a three-faceted wounding process.
Trauma three f ceted rocess
• It wounds the body. The body has self-healing
y y
mechanisms that go into effect when
traumatized.
• The mind requires special healing methods.
• Th soull is usually lleft without h l in most
The ll f h healing
therapeutic circles.

11. Soul wounding as sorcery…
is this going too far?
i hi i f ?
• When the intent of the perpetrator is focused
er etr tor
on the victim, the intent can be seen as evil
since it is intended to cause pain.
• Native psychology teaches that such actions
on th part of th perpetrator lit ll ‘ h t ’
the t f the t t literally ‘shoots’
part of the perpetrator into the victim. This
energy festers and causes the perpetrator s
perpetrator’s
energy to gain life in the victim.

12. Western psychology also
knows this
k hi
• C rl Jung the Swiss psychiatrist theorized
Carl s chi trist
that if an issue ‘complex’ does not get resolved
it then creates of a life of its own in the
unconscious.
• Th unconscious conflict will th result i
The i fli t ill then lt in
symptoms as the unconscious tries to get the
person to resolve the injury
injury.

13. S
Seriously?
y
• It is well known th t most perpetrators h e
that er etr tors have
been victims themselves.
• Having been a victim pre-disposes the person
to become a perpetrator…the vampire
syndrome.
d
• Vampire mythology offers a model of how this
p y gy
works.

14. Internalized oppression…
identification i h h
id ifi i with the aggressor
• E l psychoanalytic theory asserted the
Early h l i h d h
phenomenon of identification with the
aggressor.
aggressor
• Trauma predisposes victims to become
aggressors.

15. S
Stockholm syndrome
y
• Theor and observations h e shown th t
Theory nd obser tions have that
victims in an oppressive situation will began to
act like the aggressors especially if the
aggressor rewards the behavior.
• At times victims b
ti i ti become more b t l th th
brutal than the
aggressor.

16. Internalized oppression in
present day life
e e td
• M n of our communities h e become our
Many have
own enemies…via self-destructive behaviors.
• Much of the oppression becomes internalized
and acted out as violence towards the family
and community (i d
d it (i.e., domestic violence, violence
ti i l i l
towards our own community).

17. Violence gone inward
g
When violence gets internalized we then see some of the
following:
1. Add
Addictive behaviors
b h
2. Depression/suicidal ideation
3. Chronic h i l
3 Ch i physical problems such as di b t h
bl h diabetes, hypertension
t i
These life conditions can be interpreted as violence towards one’s
self.
4. Loss of identity making it easier to commit violence towards one’s
self or the ones closest to us.

18. Where do we go from here?
g
• Interventions must include socio historical factors as part of the
socio-historical
treatment, prevention and education.
• The person, family and/or community will feel that they are
p
defective if the h
d f f h historical issues are not made part of their
l d f h
awareness.
• Awareness begins the process of re-inventing a new identity via a
new narrative.
• We no longer need to become and be the stereotype that has
g yp
been placed on us, i.e., d k Indian, violent and scary person,
b l d drunken I d l d
etc.
• Re inventing individuals leads to re inventing families and
Re-inventing re-inventing
communities.

19. Hopeful future
p
• Community programs must insist on cultural competency
competency,
otherwise the false identity continues to be reinforced because
the intervention is not from the community’s belief system.
• People working in the community must know and demonstrate that
they have competency to work in the community.
• Transgenerational trauma must be addressed by providers and
they must take responsibility for their part in this history.
• N theory construction must b part of the work as well as
New h be f h k ll
getting funding sources to become more culturally competent.