Trauma informed care tends to emphasize individuals’ experiences after isolated traumatic events in their own lives. But what about trauma extends beyond the individual, and even the present day? Collective trauma, also known as intergenerational trauma, is how trauma experienced in one generation affects the health and wellbeing of descendants of future generations (Sangalang & Vang, 2017), which can lead to a range of psychiatric symptomology and a greater vulnerability to stress in general. This has been examined in the offspring of survivors of abuse, armed conflict, and genocide. Forms of transmission of trauma can appear as attachment, disengagement, child maltreatment, poor communication, transmission of the trauma burden, inability to provide a sense of stability and security, and/or loneliness.

This training will include an overview of how collective trauma begins, manifests, and impacts future generations. Furthermore, we will provide examples of trauma treatment methods in an attempt to enhance the practitioner’s scope of clinical considerations in identifying the effects of historical trauma on an individual by incorporating an intersectional understanding of trauma as both an individual experience and one that is connected to multiple identities and life experiences. Anytime session recorded on May 9 & 23, 2024.