How trauma passes between generations — through biology, behaviour, and family systems — and how healing can break the cycle.
You may be carrying wounds that were never yours to carry. Understanding where they came from is the first step toward setting them down.
Content notice: This page discusses family trauma, historical trauma, and its intergenerational effects. If you need support, contact Samaritans on 116 123 (free, 24/7).
Intergenerational trauma — also called transgenerational or inherited trauma — refers to the transmission of trauma and its effects from one generation to the next. It describes how the psychological, emotional, and even biological impacts of traumatic experiences can be passed down through families, communities, and cultures.
This does not mean trauma is destiny. But it does mean that the effects of what our parents, grandparents, and ancestors experienced can show up in our own lives — in our nervous systems, our relationship patterns, our beliefs about ourselves and the world, and sometimes even in our biology.
Research into intergenerational trauma has grown significantly since studies of Holocaust survivors and their children in the 1960s and 70s. We now have evidence from epigenetics, developmental psychology, and clinical practice that trauma can be transmitted across generations in multiple ways — and that healing is possible.
Research identifies several mechanisms through which trauma is transmitted across generations:
Intergenerational trauma can show up in many ways within families. Recognising these patterns is not about blaming parents or grandparents — it is about understanding the context of what has been passed down.
Intergenerational trauma has been documented across many different contexts:
Among the most studied examples. Research has found altered stress hormone levels, epigenetic changes, and higher rates of anxiety and PTSD in children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors.
The multigenerational trauma of slavery, segregation, and ongoing racism continues to affect Black communities — through persistent systemic disadvantage, collective memory, and the ongoing experience of racial trauma.
Colonisation, forced removal of children, cultural genocide, and land dispossession have created profound intergenerational trauma in Indigenous communities worldwide — including in First Nations, Aboriginal, and Native American communities.
Refugee families and communities affected by war carry the effects of collective trauma across generations — including through altered parenting, family narratives of loss and fear, and the ongoing instability of displacement.
Intergenerational trauma does not require historical atrocity. Patterns of abuse, neglect, addiction, mental illness, or profound loss within a single family can transmit their effects across two, three, or more generations.
Understanding intergenerational trauma carries an important message: you are not simply fated to repeat what was done to you or passed down to you. Healing is possible — and the healing you do in your own life has the potential to change what gets passed to the next generation.
Understanding the patterns — where they came from, what purpose they served, why they make sense in context — is itself transformative. Many people describe this understanding as deeply relieving: 'It was never just me.'
Working with a trauma-specialist therapist — particularly one familiar with intergenerational and relational trauma — can help you process inherited pain, change deep-rooted patterns, and build new ways of relating to yourself and others.
For parents, understanding intergenerational trauma supports more conscious, attuned parenting. This does not mean being a perfect parent — it means being aware, reflective, and willing to repair ruptures when they happen.
For communities affected by collective trauma, healing happens through shared acknowledgement, cultural reclamation, community support, and systemic change — not just individual therapy.
Many people carrying intergenerational trauma have spent years blaming themselves for patterns they did not choose and did not create. Self-compassion — understanding that these patterns are responses to inherited pain, not character flaws — is a central part of healing.
You did not choose what was passed down to you — but you can choose what to pass on. The healing work you do in your own life ripples forward. This is one of the most powerful motivations for therapy.
Look for therapists with experience in relational and developmental trauma, attachment-based approaches, IFS, or EMDR. Our directory lists verified trauma specialists across the UK.
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Our directory connects you with verified trauma-specialist therapists experienced in intergenerational and relational trauma.