The first thing to keep in mind is the individual nature of trauma itself. While all of these contributions to this field of research are valuable bases of knowledge, it is also important to understand what type of limitations researchers are faced with when approaching such a complicated topic. It included interviews with scientist Rachel Yehuda, sociologist Melissa Walls, and Anton Treuer along with first hand testimonies of Dakota, Lakota, Ojibwe and Blackfeet tribal members. In 2018, Dodging Bullets-Stories from Survivors of Historical Trauma, the first documentary film to chronicle historical trauma in Indian Country, was released. Joy DeGruy's book, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, analyzes the manifestation of historical trauma in African-American populations, and its correlation to the lingering effects of slavery. Daniel Schechter's work has included the study of experimental interventions that may lead to changes in trauma-associated mental representation and may help in the stopping of intergenerational cycles of violence. Although each scholar focuses on a different population – such as Native Americans, African Americans, or Holocaust Survivors – all have concluded that the mechanism and transmission of intergenerational trauma is abundant within communities that experience traumatic events. Other significant original research on the mechanisms and transmission of intergenerational trauma has been done by scholars such as Daniel Schechter, whose work builds on the pioneers in this field such as: Judith Kestenberg, Dori Laub, Selma Fraiberg, Alicia Lieberman, Susan Coates, Charles Zeanah, Karlen Lyons-Ruth, Yael Danieli, Rachel Yehuda and others. Her scholarship concluded that the manifestations of trauma, although produced by different events and actions, are exhibited in similar ways within each afflicted community. Yellow Horse Brave Heart's article 'Wakiksuyapi: Carrying the Historical Trauma of the Lakota,' published in 2000, compares the effects and manifestations of historical trauma on Holocaust survivors and Native American peoples. Yellow Horse Brave Heart's scholarship focused on the ways in which the psychological and emotional traumas of colonisation, relocation, assimilation, and American Indian boarding schools have manifested within generations of the Lakota population. History of research įirst used by social worker and mental health expert Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart in the 1980s, scholarship surrounding historical trauma has expanded to fields outside of the Lakota communities Yellow Horse Brave Heart studied.

Since then, many other researchers have developed the concept and applied it to other populations, such as African Americans and Holocaust survivors. Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart first developed the concept of historical trauma while working with Lakota communities in the 1980s. For these populations that have witnessed these mass level traumas (e.g., war, genocide, colonialism), several generations later these populations tend to have higher rates of disease. These manifestations can also stem from the trauma of events, such as the witnessing of war, genocide, or death. For example, a pattern of maternal abandonment of a child might be seen across three generations, or the actions of an abusive parent might be seen in continued abuse across generations. Historical trauma, and its manifestations, are seen as an example of Transgenerational trauma (though the existence of transgenerational trauma itself is disputed). Many historians and scholars believe the manifestations of violence and abuse in certain communities are directly associated with the unresolved grief that accompanies continued trauma. This model seeks to use this to explain other self-destructive behavior, such as suicidal thoughts and gestures, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, anger, violence, and difficulty recognizing and expressing emotions. Historical Trauma Response (HTR) refers to the manifestation of emotions and actions that stem from this perceived trauma.Īccording to its advocates, HTR is exhibited in a variety of ways, most prominently through substance abuse, which is used as a vehicle for attempting to numb pain. Historical trauma ( HT), as used by psychotherapists, social workers, historians, and psychologists, refers to the cumulative emotional harm of an individual or generation caused by a traumatic experience or event.

Cumulative emotional harm to individuals or generations

Intergenerational trauma definition