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Healing Generational Wounds: Exploring Legacy Burdens of Generational Trauma

 Introduction

 The human experience is intricately connected to our ancestral past. Inherited from previous generations, generational trauma – also known as legacy burdens – refers to the emotional and psychological wounds passed down through family lines. These unresolved traumas can shape our beliefs, behaviors, and relationships, perpetuating patterns that we might not fully understand. In this blog, we'll delve into the concept of legacy burdens as generational trauma and how acknowledging and healing these wounds can lead to transformative growth and healing.

Understanding Generational Trauma as Legacy Burdens

Generational trauma refers to the cumulative emotional pain and adverse experiences passed from one generation to another. These experiences can include historical traumas such as wars, oppression, forced migration, discrimination, and systemic injustices. The effects of...

Title: Navigating Polarization: A Guide to Working with Internal Family Systems

Introduction:
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a powerful therapeutic model that offers a compassionate and effective approach to understanding and healing the various parts within us. One common challenge clients face is polarization within their internal system, where different parts strongly oppose or conflict with each other. In this blog post, we will explore how therapists can utilize the principles and techniques of IFS to work with polarization and promote integration and harmony within the internal family.

Understanding Polarization:
Polarization occurs when parts of ourselves become strongly divided and create internal conflicts. For example, a person may have a part that desires success and achievement, while another part fears failure and holds back. This internal battle can lead to feelings of being stuck, overwhelmed, or torn between conflicting desires.

1. Cultivating Curiosity and...

Internal Family Systems is a therapeutic model that focuses on understanding and healing the various parts within a person's internal world. According to IFS, we all have different parts within us that carry different thoughts, emotions, and beliefs. These parts can sometimes conflict with each other and create internal struggles and difficulties in our lives.

To explain IFS to clients, you can use the analogy of a family. Just like a family is made up of different individuals with their own unique personalities and roles, our internal world is composed of different parts. Each part has its own specific qualities, desires, and intentions.

Here are the key components of the Internal Family Systems model:

1. Self: The Self is the core or essence of a person. It represents qualities like compassion, wisdom, and curiosity. The Self is not affected by the challenges or conflicts of the different parts but remains steady and centered.

2. Parts: Parts are the different aspects or...

Firefighters:

Firefighters are often seen as secondary emotions, quickly stepping in to extinguish the fire of vulnerability using reactive tactics like anger or other harmful behaviors. However, certain approaches prove ineffective when working with firefighters. Here are a few things to avoid:

1. Reasoning with FF: It's challenging to convince a firefighter that the war ended years ago. Even if we logically demonstrate that things have changed, they still perceive the war as ongoing and believe they must do anything to protect the client from vulnerability. Additionally, pushing others away when triggered is unproductive.

2. Power struggles with FF: Attempting to outsmart a firefighter is a losing game. Therapists can become burned out and frustrated. Firefighters possess an endless bag of tricks, such as running traumatic images or movies, self-harming behaviors like burning or cutting, or engaging in self-destructive binges.

3. Eliminating FF: When faced with a rocky ship in...

This is an excerpt from my online course: Using IFS with EMDR Phases I-II! It is from module I on parts mapping 

see full course by clicking link below:

Using IFS with EMDR Phases I-II

A Deeper Look at Protectors- Part I (Managers)

Having a protective system is crucial for survival. It is important to understand that this is part of being human. However, parts can take on extreme roles if they are forced into action by experiencing some adversity before the client is ready or skilled enough to handle this adversity. Some parts will fill in gaps in the family, help the person escape, or fight the unavoidable pain. These protective strategies may have been appropriate and necessary at the time but as the person grows up (and hopefully no longer in these situations) these coping mechanisms can become a problem in the person's life and relationships. 

Given the protector's dedication to safety and their aversion to feeling vulnerable, the thought of doing internal work with these parts can be frightening to the client. This is especially so when we start to talk about processing trauma memories. In my opinion, trauma therapists (including me) gravitate towards...