Historical/ Intergenerational Trauma

More new information is emerging about the effects of trauma on health & wellbeing. PTSD and CPTSD (complex - PTSD due to years of abuse/neglect) is when we feel hi-jacked by our senses/body connecting us back to past events that were (or seemed) life threatening. These experiences can be from Domestic abuse, events/accidents related to the lifestyle of substance abuse, and from chronic traumatic/neglectful childhood experiences. There is hope for recovery. It is time for you to heal.

There are things that are yours, and things passed down, but sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference. Epigenetics show that trauma can be passed down as many as 7 generations. From generation to generation, traditions, beliefs, fears, values, traumas, are often so interwoven in the fabric of one's family, it is as if they are transmitted through osmosis. Somatic therapy can help you decide what you want to keep, and what you want to pass back.

We swore we would never treat OUR children the same way, yet many of us will repeat what was modeled for us in our childhood, often without realizing it. Harmful generational patterns include abuse & neglect, and also more subtle ones. If your parents told you to "stop crying", you learned to ignore your emotions. If they screamed and threw things during conflict, maybe you do the same. We repeat what we don't repair. If you inherited generational trauma, I can help you stop the patterns.

Through my work at an LGBTQ-focused community center, I offered therapy to community members, many of whom were dealing with complex trauma and a history of dysfunctional family relationships.

We know that trauma travels through linages and communities. I'd welcome working together to notice how that might be showing up for you and in your life. While I would love for an event to change the whole world, it seems like smaller, more individual change is how it is going to happen. Let's work on healing the trauma of your past while knowing that it will impact the future.

Life experiences impact all aspects of our being, including our psychology, physiology and how we interact with others and ourselves. Because life experiences can affect us in such layered ways, the impacts of such life experiences can also be passed down in an intergenerational manner through interpersonal learning and biology. At times this may be obvious - like seeing a particular challenge, like violence, running through a family. Other times it’s more subtle, like realizing the different attachment styles that shape the way we react to the world. Sometimes we may even find ourselves afraid of something yet we don’t know why. Or we keep resulting to a coping strategy that does not serve us, yet we feel unable to do otherwise. Through a multi-modal approach that infuses relational, experiential and body-oriented approaches I help clients overcome intergenerational trauma, create healthy boundaries, increase resilience, reclaim their sense of self and create the lives they wish to lead.

I work somatically and believe that our bodies can hold our feelings, memories, and even our ancestors' experiences. I also believe there is deep wisdom in our bodies to heal us and return us to ourselves. I enjoy working with folks who are wanting to address and heal historical and intergenerational trauma and do so at the pace of your safety.

All staff are people of color that participate and have completed training in this area as well.

Intergenerational trauma can be from your own childhood when you didn't get the attention and love you needed from your parents. You are not blamed for a dysfunctional family that you had to live in and when you become a parent you don't want to pass down those traits to your own children. You want to love, be present and enjoy the time together with them instead of avoidance, yelling, and punishment to them.

For over 20 years I worked as a contractor to LE to help the survivors and families of MMIW. Intergenerational trauma was always evident as a result of historical, religious and political abuses by those in power over Indigenous persons. I have also helped other persons with historical and intergenerational trauma who have been first generation US citizens and illegals. Internal family systems is the approach I have found most effective to help heal intergenerational and historical trauma.

Trauma, whether from deliberate acts of violence, or a lifetime of living "on the defensive" due to an unsafe or invalidating environment, can have lifelong negative effects on mental, emotional, physical, and sexual functioning. Being “on guard” and never feeling safe can result in health and sleep issues and negative behaviors like substance abuse and self-injury. Even in the midst of injustice and turmoil, trauma can be addressed and peace can be found. Let's work together to find safety and

I have extensive training and experience in working with historic, intergenerational, and complex trauma through my time providing mental health services for NARA, NW and Wolf Pack Consulting and Therapeutic Services. As a relationship therapist, I understand how impactful historical/intergenterational trauma can be on a relationship system and focus much of the work on helping the couple/family identify this trauma and create strategies to minimize it's impact.

Intergenerational trauma has a significant influence on the way we process and interact with the world. Identifying generational patterns and processing historical trauma gives you more autonomy in shaping your story.

In a safe and supportive environment, you'll discover how living in survival mode became normal for you while also developing tools that you can use in the real world to live a life that's calmer, more peaceful and more fulfilling.

Since 2013, most of my clients would have reported this was an issue in their lives. I provide the space needed for you to share and we can work together to begin healing these wounds!

Unfortunately, trauma is much more common than we want to acknowledge. When I work with clients to address the impact of trauma, we first have to build safety, self-compassion, social support, and skills in managing intense emotions. We work to make sense of your story and to unlearn unhelpful patterns. This can feel like a scary journey, and it’s important that you feel supported and safe along the way.

As a psychotherapist, I specialize in addressing Historical/Intergenerational Trauma. My approach involves understanding deep-rooted emotional patterns and their impact across generations. I help clients unpack complex family histories, heal past wounds, and break cycles of trauma. Through empathy and evidence-based practices, I guide individuals towards awareness, healing, and resilience, fostering a path to a more empowered and liberated future.

Systems theory demonstrates that none of us are separate from the family, social or global environments we grow up in. If we want to feel better now, we do well to explore all of the systems that have impacted us. As a psychodynamic social worker, I do not see people as separate from any of their intersecting identities or relationships. It's crucial that you have a place where all of the things and people that have influenced you, for good and ill, can be brought into the light of day.