Below are blog posts I’ve written in the past, when the focus of my practice was intergenerational and relational trauma. While this still remains part of my overall focus, I wanted to hone in further on one specific aspect of intergenerational and relational trauma: estrangement. This more specific focus reflects the additional trainings and experiences I’ve had as a mental health therapist; they reflect my major passion/dedication as a mental health therapist.
Non-finite grief/Ambiguous grief: Intangible, living losses
Losses from things like: terminal illness, estrangement from our parents, infidelity, a break up from a romantic partner, a break-up from a friendship, losing a career path you were planning to take, a loss of the family/children you thought you’d have, etc…all of these losses can be incredibly difficult to navigate and recover from—and often, less readily recognized or validated.
Trauma and Cognitive Dissonance
One of the biggest tragedies of trauma is that we risk losing touch with our truest, fullest self and subsequently, lose our ability to be present in our life and to make conscious choices that match what we truly want and need.
Things Happen for A Reason?
“Things happen for a reason.”
Oftentimes, we might have been told this after something terrible happens to us or the people/world around us. And sometimes, it can offer some relief from the pain that we and others are experiencing because…if we can say that something happened for a reason, then we can justify why it happened and thereafter, regain control to prevent it from happening again.
What is “intergenerational trauma”?
In short, intergenerational trauma refers to trauma effects being passed on from one generation to another generation…and then passed onto another generation and so on and so forth.