Historical/ Intergenerational Trauma

I completed my clinical internship at the Rape Crisis Center, where many of the clients I saw came from backgrounds of intergenerational abuse and trauma. Though the grips of intergenerational abuse and trauma can be strong, I have seen that it is a cycle that can be broken, and it is one of the great privileges of a therapist to be able to be part of a client's journey to break this.

At InnerWoven Therapy, we prioritize your story. You are a product of all that has come before you. We honor that, while supporting you to figure out what is going to be healthiest and most durable for your own life. We are passionate about helping people break unhealthy patterns while preserving the traditions and values that matter most.

Addressing historical and intergenerational trauma is crucial for enabling clients to heal and thrive. These traumas often manifest in various ways, affecting mental health, relationships, and overall well-being. By fostering awareness and understanding, providing therapeutic support, and encouraging resilience, I help clients break free from the cycles of pain and develop healthier narratives that promote a higher quality of life.

I help people break cycles. The impact of unhealed trauma echos through our family lines and communities, shaping how we relate to ourselves and others. I will support you as you work to understand the broader context of how family dynamics and societal systems influence your identity and overall quality of life. My aim is to empower you to become a “good ancestor,” fostering a mindset of "this stops with me."

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.

Expertise working with clients with a history of developmental trauma. DBT, DBTP, and psychotherapy are used to treat trauma reactions.

I believe trauma is the root of most things that are wrong in this world. I use evidence based practices to address trauma, intergenerational trauma, and attachment trauma. I blend attachment based therapies, Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, along with skills based in neuroscience.

I understand that the trauma experienced by previous generations can have a profound impact on your mental health today. My approach to therapy acknowledges the interconnectedness of historical events and personal well-being, especially when dealing with issues stemming from significant cultural or historical oppression such as colonization, slavery, or forced displacement. I work with you to explore your family history, understand how generational trauma affects you & develop coping strategies.

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.

There is significant research and findings about how the impact of historical and intergenerational trauma has, not only impacted our relationship with family members, but also how it can impact an individual on the cellular level. As a third generation Filipina American, I am keenly aware of how colonization has impacted Filipinx Americans. As a scholar-practitioner-activist, I work with individuals to heal from these trauma wounds, and develop healthier relationships with oneself and others.

Intergenerational trauma can be a difficult subject to talk about, because it involves naming how our family and community members have reenacted their traumas. There doesn’t need to be blame associated with naming the presence of intergenerational trauma. It will continue to be present in every generation until someone is ready to interrupt the cycle. This can involve healing together and/or naming boundaries. In some cases it means going no contact with our family or community members.

Trauma can derive from obvious, horrific events, as well as from universal ones such as having been raised by a critical parent. In other words, what determines trauma is its impact, not the event(s) itself. Upsetting experiences - even forgotten ones - can get lodged in our nervous systems and stimulated in subsequent, parallel circumstances. Trauma treatment, including EMDR, can help clients adaptively process past experiences to prevent them from getting re-triggered in the present.

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.

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.

Sometimes, as much as we know what we want to shed from our upbringing, from our relationships with our caregivers, we just can't seem to let it go. We learn new ways to do things, to grow, do better, and maybe to forgive or set boundaries, but the "stuff" is still there. I'd love to help you explore what's holding you back, heal what's been hurt, and help you find an authentic way to move forward in a way that works for you.

I have experience working with Indigenous folks processing their experiences of historical and intergenerational trauma that continue to impact their every day lives and well-being.

For many of us, particularly those of us who are members of oppressed groups, the trauma we have experienced in this lifetime is only a piece of the puzzle. Our ancestors and the pain and unhealed wounds of their suffering can also be in our nervous systems, minds, bodies, and spirits affecting our psychological and physical health. I will always hold this truth in our work together and if you are interested we can explore those historical elements together.