Understanding Intergenerational Trauma Legacies

This course addresses intergenerational trauma transmission.

The recent years have seen a tremendous number of traumatic events on a national and global scale. Wars and ethnic conflicts led to mass killings and have created the largest refugee
migration since WWII, most recently exacerbated by the was in the Ukraine. The
Covid-19 pandemic which swept over the globe, and unprecedented internal socio-political conflict within the United States, all call for a better understanding of the role of intergenerational transmission of trauma in the lives of individuals, families and the larger groups in society.

Many therapists do not recognize that individual distress, presented as psychological symptoms and relational problems, might be related to historical or cultural trauma. However, individuals are impacted by trauma suffered by parents or grandparents, and their struggles must be seen as embedded in the wider social context. The client’s multigenerational family dynamics and historical trauma need to be more directly addressed.

This intermediate level course will teach clinicians how to appropriately inquire about and recognize intergenerational transmission of trauma, understand the mechanisms of transmission, and comprehend treatment principles.

Target audience: This course is appropriate for all mental health professionals

Content level: Intermediate

Educational Objectives

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to

Describe empirical research and theoretical conceptualizations of the concept of “historical trauma”.
Explain how both vulnerabilities and resiliencies associated with parental trauma are transmitted from the survivor generation to children born after the trauma ended.
Identify biopsychological mechanisms that contribute to intergenerational transmission in families.
Describe how phenomena of intergenerational transmission manifest and interact with challenges and transitions in the lives of descendants.
Identify similarities and differences between collective traumas and the persistent effects of cultural trauma and structural and systemic racism involving the indigenous peoples of the Americas and communities of color in the USA.
Implement and utilize trauma-informed principles of care to tailor the treatment of patients who are survivors or descendants of survivors of trauma.

Syllabus

Historical trauma and the intergenerational transmission of trauma in families and groups exposed to collective historical events.
Differences and unique aspects of the transmission of effects of trauma suffered by indigenous peoples of the Americas and descendants of African slaves.
Review of research leading to the recognition of the transmission of historical trauma
- Empirical findings attesting to the variability in individual outcomes,
- Common mechanisms of transmission.
The role of parental (ancestral) post-traumatic residues and adaptive strategies born out of the successful endurance of trauma.
Trauma-informed care of survivors and their descendants
- Trauma-informed principles and their application in treatment of descendants of trauma- exposed populations.

WEB061822

May 5, 2022

Educational Objectives

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to

Describe empirical research and theoretical conceptualizations of the concept of “historical trauma”.
Explain how both vulnerabilities and resiliencies associated with parental trauma are transmitted from the survivor generation to children born after the trauma ended.
Identify biopsychological mechanisms that contribute to intergenerational transmission in families.
Describe how phenomena of intergenerational transmission manifest and interact with challenges and transitions in the lives of descendants.
Identify similarities and differences between collective traumas and the persistent effects of cultural trauma and structural and systemic racism involving the indigenous peoples of the Americas and communities of color in the USA.
Implement and utilize trauma-informed principles of care to tailor the treatment of patients who are survivors or descendants of survivors of trauma.

Syllabus

Historical trauma and the intergenerational transmission of trauma in families and groups exposed to collective historical events.
Differences and unique aspects of the transmission of effects of trauma suffered by indigenous peoples of the Americas and descendants of African slaves.
Review of research leading to the recognition of the transmission of historical trauma
- Empirical findings attesting to the variability in individual outcomes,
- Common mechanisms of transmission.
The role of parental (ancestral) post-traumatic residues and adaptive strategies born out of the successful endurance of trauma.
Trauma-informed care of survivors and their descendants
- Trauma-informed principles and their application in treatment of descendants of trauma- exposed populations.