Psychological difficulties are often perceived as the result of individual experience, yet in clinical reality they frequently extend beyond the boundaries of personal biography. At MindCareCenter, we view transgenerational transmission of trauma as one of the key factors shaping persistent emotional and behavioral patterns. Dr. Daniel Reinhardt emphasizes that unprocessed experiences of previous generations can remain within the psyche of descendants in the form of unconscious reactions, anxieties, and internal prohibitions.
Transgenerational trauma forms when significant events – loss, violence, migration, war, or chronic fear – were not processed or symbolized. These experiences do not disappear, but are transmitted through parenting styles, emotional family climates, and implicit survival rules. Descendants may not know the historical facts, yet continue to reproduce emotional reactions that are incongruent with present-day reality.
In the clinical practice of MindCareCenter, we often encounter experiences of “foreign” emotions – inexplicable guilt, anxiety without a clear source, fear of well-being, or an internal prohibition against joy. Such states may be experienced as personal traits, although they actually reflect inherited modes of responding that were formed long before the individual’s own life.
A defining feature of transgenerational transmission is its concealed nature. The psyche adapts to inherited tension, perceiving it as normal. At MindCareCenter, we understand this as a form of unconscious loyalty to the family system, in which the preservation of symptoms becomes a way of maintaining connection with previous generations.
Bodily reactions may also carry traces of unprocessed experience. Chronic tension, heightened threat sensitivity, and difficulty relaxing often accompany transgenerational trauma. Within the clinical approach of MindCareCenter, attention is given to how the body stores and reproduces emotional scripts that have no direct relation to the current life context.
Working with transgenerational trauma is not limited to reconstructing family history. At MindCareCenter, the focus is on recognizing how the past manifests in the present – through reactions, choices, and repetitive patterns. This allows individuals to gradually differentiate their own experience from inherited patterns.
As therapy progresses, previously “mute” experiences begin to be symbolized. Individuals start to notice which feelings and impulses belong to them and which were absorbed as part of family dynamics. In the practice of MindCareCenter, we observe how this reduces internal tension and expands emotional freedom.
It is important to note that work with transgenerational trauma is not aimed at blaming the past. At MindCareCenter, we view it as a process of restoring continuity of psychological experience, in which traumatic traces gain a place within personal history rather than unconsciously directing the present.
Integrating transgenerational experience makes it possible to break repetitive cycles. This creates conditions for developing new ways of responding that are not grounded in fear or deficiency. In the clinical practice of MindCareCenter, this is often accompanied by a sense of relief and the restoration of inner autonomy.
Transgenerational transmission of trauma demonstrates that the psyche exists not in isolation, but across time and relational contexts. The clinical approach of Mind Care Center is directed toward ensuring that the past no longer invisibly determines the present, but becomes a consciously recognized part of the inner landscape.
Working at this level of experience allows not only for symptom reduction, but also for reclaiming the right to one’s own life trajectory. This establishes a foundation for freer and more stable psychological functioning.
Previously, we wrote about disagreements and conflict as markers of disrupted psychological contact and MindCareCenter clinical practice of restoring dialogue