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Generational Trauma in African Americans

Jessica Young Brown, PhD, LCP, CCTP Owner, Choices to Change, LLC VDBHBS Annual Behavioral Health Symposium 2019. Generational Trauma in African Americans. 1.

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Generational Trauma in African Americans

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  1. Jessica Young Brown, PhD, LCP, CCTP Owner, Choices to Change, LLC VDBHBS Annual Behavioral Health Symposium 2019 Generational Trauma in African Americans 1

  2. Trauma is a boundary violation which disturbs one’s sense of safety. It produces a distressing, overwhelming, psychophysiological response What is Trauma? 2

  3. What is generational trauma? Generational trauma is the transmission of traumatic experiences and reactions through active and passive processes. As it is passed down, it becomes engrained in the psyche and in familial patterns.

  4. Why and How Generational Trauma? Chattel slavery and systemic oppression Persistent economic, political, and social disenfranchisement Stigma and insular communities

  5. Vamik Volkan on Transgenerational transmission of Trauma • “ When a whole society has undergone massive trauma, victimized adults may endure guilt and shame for not having protected their children. The by-product of such trauma is a perennial, collective mourning over the loss of group dignity, self-esteem, and identity. The mourning is characterized by conscious and unconscious communications passed down to generations in an attempt to mourn the group’s losses and remove the collective sense of victimization.

  6. (Adapted from DeGruy Leary, 2005) Component Parts Persistent Lack of Safety Emotional Devaluation Systemic Oppression and Disenfranchisement Opportunity Deficit 6

  7. Systemic Oppression • Racism and Race-related Stress • Poverty and joblessness • Deficits in educational attainment

  8. Persistent Lack of Safety • Cultural paranoia • The world is unsafe • Financial and Social Resources

  9. Opportunity Deficits • Work twice as hard to get half as far • Awareness and impact of tokenism • In- group competition

  10. Emotional Devaluation • Emphasis on physical over emotional/relational needs • Secret keeping • Few opportunities for public emotional expression

  11. Impacts • Less likely to name “trauma” as trauma • Difficulty with self assessment- emotional ignorance or excess • Resilience and grit • Powerful, persistent value systems

  12. Clinical Strategies • Attend to the body • Protection of family and its norms • Explore and reflect on patterns • Name without blaming • Capitalize on strengths

  13. Attend to the Body • Assess for presenting somatization • Use body to explore emotion • Attend to intuition and gut responses • Explore familial patterns of chronic illness

  14. Protection of the Family • Treat secrets as sacred • Be patient • Be careful with pathologizing language

  15. Explore and Reflect on Patterns • Genograms • Detailed family history including extended family • Explore common characteristics and experiences

  16. Name without Blaming • Families have good intentions • Families do their best • Families do what they know to do

  17. Capitalize on Strengths • Lean on value or faith systems • Articulate strengths and resilience • Emphasize adaptation and thriving

  18. Managing Stigma • Explore helpfulness of cultural norms • Explore consequences of not seeking help • Affirm help-seeking behaviors • Share stories

  19. References • Leary, Joy DeGruy. Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: Americas Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing. Portland, OR: Joy DeGruy Publications, 2005. • Parker, Paula Owens. Roots Matter: Healing History, Honoring Heritage, Renewing Hope. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2016. • Rothschild, Babette. The Body Remembers. New York: Norton, 2017. • Van Der Kolk Bessel A. The Body Keeps the Score Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2015. • Williams, Terrie, Mary J. Blige, and Susan L. Taylor. Black Pain: It Just Looks like We’re Not Hurting: Real Talk for When Theres Nowhere to Go but up. New York, NY: Scribner, 2009.

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