What is Intergenerational Trauma?
Intergenerational trauma, sometimes referred to as transgenerational trauma, historical trauma, or inherited family trauma, describes how the traumatic experiences of one generation are passed down to the next. This transmission of trauma can occur between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, or across entire communities.
Research has shown that intergenerational trauma is a well-documented phenomenon, including findings related to epigenetic changes in children of survivors of genocide, the Holocaust, residential schools, and other groups. The devastating impacts of traumatic experiences such as war, genocide, colonization, and systemic oppression can profoundly affect a person’s ability to feel safe, be present, form attachments, or parent with consistency and care.
How Intergenerational Trauma is Experienced
Some individuals grow up in households where the effects of trauma loom large but are rarely acknowledged. Family members may live under the shadow of unspoken pain, and children often sense that something is wrong without fully understanding what it is. In these environments, a sense of danger or anticipation of disaster can become part of daily life.
Over time, this legacy can manifest in a variety of ways, including:
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Depression or chronic sadness
- Anxiety and ongoing fear
- Phobias or irrational beliefs about self, others, and the world
- Obsessive thoughts or compulsive behaviours
- Self-harm or suicidality
- A persistent feeling of being wrong, different, or not belonging
Healing Intergenerational Trauma
At Evolve Psychotherapy, our therapists provide intergenerational trauma therapy for adults in Ottawa and across Ontario. Together, we work to uncover how family trauma has shaped your life, both spoken and unspoken, and bring these unconscious patterns into awareness so that healing can begin.
Therapy may involve:
- Exploring the origins and psychological impact of intergenerational trauma in your family
- Understanding and navigating emotional triggers
- Developing tools to manage overwhelming memories and emotions
- Cultivating self-compassion, self-care, and healthy self-esteem
- Reconnecting with a sense of wholeness, harmony, and possibility
This process happens at a pace that feels safe for you. The goal is not to erase the past, but to transform its impact so that you can live with more freedom, clarity, and choice.
Unconsciously, we relive our mother’s anxiety. We repeat our father’s disappointments. We replicate the failed relationships of our parents or grandparents. Just as we inherit our eye color and blood type, we also inherit the residue from traumatic events that have taken place in our family. While our physical traits are easily discernible, this emotional legacy is often hidden from us. Anxiety, fear, financial worries, depression, illness and unhappy relationships can all be forms of our unconscious inheritance. Unresolved traumas, some going back two or three generations, can ensnare us in feelings and situations that don’t even belong to us. They can forge a blueprint for our life, and can even pass onto our children. It doesn’t have to continue. Inherited family trauma can end here.”
– Mark Wolynn, Director of The Family Constellation Institute
Begin Your Healing Journey
The effects of intergenerational trauma can feel heavy, isolating, and deeply rooted, but you do not have to face them alone. With the right support, it is possible to break cycles of pain and move toward a more grounded and meaningful life.
At Evolve Psychotherapy, we offer in-person trauma therapy in Ottawa and secure online therapy across Ontario. Our team brings warmth, compassion, and cultural sensitivity to help you heal the wounds of the past and create a more hopeful future.
Book a free 15-minute consultation with one of our therapists and take the first step toward healing from intergenerational trauma.