Compassion in Therapy Training Series: Intergenerational Healing and Historical Trauma

Introduction

• Host: Kaylee Isaacs, founder of the AWAKE Network
• Guest: Dr. Eduardo Duran, Vietnam veteran and psychotherapist
  • Focus on indigenous communities
  • Developed hybrid model for addressing soul wounding
  • Influenced by indigenous elders and community experiences
  • Authored several books on the subject
• Key Topics: Intergenerational healing, historical trauma, moral injury

Understanding Soul Wounding

• Soul Wound: Term emerged from clinical work with Native communities
  • Western psychotherapies initially ineffective
  • Intergenerational trauma observed through client experiences
• Phenomenon: Presence of "others" during therapy sessions
  • Explained by elders as ancestors' involvement
  • Emphasized seven generations forward and backward affecting healing
  • Leads to understanding soul wounding as a collective trauma

Intergenerational Trauma

• Historical Context: Communities faced near extermination in late 1800s
  • Impact of historical events on present mental health issues
• Modern Examples: Current conflicts like Ukraine and Russia
  • Earth's trauma mirrors human trauma

Western Psychology vs. Indigenous Approaches

• Western Diagnosis: Tends to objectify and solidify conditions
  • Patients are labeled as disorders, which limits healing
• Indigenous Perspective: Everything viewed in movement (verbs)
  • Use of probabilistic language, e.g., "spirit of sadness"
  • Diagnosis seen as energy transformation instead of elimination

Soul Wounding and Moral Injury

• Soul Guilt: Derived from moral injury, often through violence
  • Acknowledged by VA as "moral injury"
  • Connected to PTSD, often not addressed properly
• Healing Through Ancestral Work: Emphasizes healing across generations
  • Motivates healing for both ancestors and future descendants

Therapeutic Techniques

• Genogram: Maps family across generations
  • Illustrates impact of present healing on past and future
  • Encourages viewing personal trauma within broader historical context
• Dream Work: Integral part of therapy
  • Encourages relationship with dreams as guidance
  • Ancestors and future generations can appear in dreams

The Wounded Healer Archetype

• Importance: Healers are more effective when they have healed their own wounds
  • Activates patient's internal healer
• Role of Compassion: Central in healing trauma
  • Seen as a fundamental, transformative energy

Conclusion

• Final Thoughts: Encouragement to engage with dreams and compassion
  • Healing individuals contributes to healing the earth
  • Importance of understanding the earth's consciousness in healing process
• Call to Action: Therapists urged to integrate these insights into practice