A Holistic Approach to Intergenerational Trauma

End The Stigma

A Holistic Approach to Intergenerational Trauma

What is Intergenerational Trauma?

Intergenerational trauma (sometimes referred to as trans- or multigenerational trauma) is defined as trauma passed down from those who directly experience an incident to subsequent generations. Intergenerational trauma may begin with a traumatic event affecting you, multiple events affecting your family members, or a collective trauma affecting the larger community, cultural, racial, ethnic, or other groups/populations (historical trauma).

What Are The Effects of Trauma?

Some people can experience trauma without developing trauma responses; others don't. However, untreated trauma can show up in different areas of your life.

Symptoms Can Appear As:

Depression
Anxiety
Low self esteem
Shame
Intrusive memories, such as nightmares or flashbacks
Difficulty regulating emotions
Hyper-vigilance
Memory problems
Avoiding reminders of the trauma
Unexplainable physical symptoms and pains

What Can Therapy Help with?

If you identify as a member of a minority group or different cultural background, you'll likely benefit from therapy in a multicultural framework. You could be seeking therapy for many reasons where cultural factors are involved, including challenging life situations and mental health problems. What happens in a multicultural therapy session depends on your cultural background and the type of therapeutic approach you're working with.

Multicultural counselors realize that your problems may often stem from overlapping circumstances, such as your personal experiences and our society at large when you begin therapy. Making you feel safe and accepted is the main priority.

Benefits of Therapy For Intergenerational Trauma

Cope with racism or discrimination

The negative ways society reacts to people because of cultural factors, like a difference in appearance or how people talk or behave.

Understand and cope with religious differences:

With dozens of organized religions in the U.S., many people were raised to believe one specific religion is "correct," though it's often more nuanced than that. Your counselor respects different religious beliefs and values and will consider how yours plays a role in your life.

Explore your cultural identity

Many people may experience struggles in balancing their sense of cultural identity with what's expected of you in your current culture.

Adapt to new environments

Those who have immigrated to another country may experience difficulties adjusting to cultural differences in a new environment.

What are the treatment options?

Treatment to address traumatic events that impact individuals and generations to come is critical and pertinent to the healing process for those impacted and for future generations. However, mental health professionals need to describe the context and help you understand the definitions of terms related to intergenerational trauma when seeking treatment.

There are several ways to treat intergenerational trauma, all of which are considered from a culturally responsive perspective when providing services, including developing a safe and trusting relationship with our mental health providers.

An Integrative Approach To Intergenerational Trauma

At A Beautiful Soul Holistic Counseling, our clinicians are expertly trained in Advanced Mental Health Integrative Medicine approaches that help to address the whole person, which is essential in identifying the underlying issues that may be preventing optimal health and wellness while promoting inclusivity. This means that taking a well-rounded approach to address aspects of current situation and touch on mind, body, and soul. Being able to provide a holistic and integrated approach with a culturally sensitive approach to therapy.

End The Stigma