Intergenerational Trauma and Family Resilience: Exploring the Role of Family Counseling in Breaking the Cycle of Violence tnd Abuse

Main Article Content

Mujahidah Mujahidah
Zulaekah Zulaekah
Som Cha

Abstract

Intergenerational trauma and family resilience are critical issues that significantly impact mental health and social dynamics. This study investigates the transmission of trauma across generations and its role in perpetuating cycles of violence and abuse within families. By examining the effectiveness of family counseling as an intervention, the research seeks to identify strategies that can disrupt these harmful patterns. Utilizing a qualitative methodology, data were gathered through in-depth interviews with therapists and families affected by intergenerational trauma. The results reveal that family counseling serves as a vital tool not only for conflict resolution but also for fostering open communication, empathy, and understanding among family members. Participants reported that counseling facilitated the development of healthy coping mechanisms and strengthened family bonds, enhancing overall resilience. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of culturally sensitive approaches in counseling to address the specific needs of families from diverse backgrounds. These findings underscore the potential of family counseling to promote healing and recovery, effectively breaking the cycle of violence and abuse. By providing a supportive environment, families can cultivate resilience, ultimately leading to healthier relationships and improved mental well-being for future generations.

Article Details

How to Cite
Mujahidah, M., Zulaekah, Z., & Cha, S. . (2025). Intergenerational Trauma and Family Resilience: Exploring the Role of Family Counseling in Breaking the Cycle of Violence tnd Abuse. International Journal of Research in Counseling, 3(2), 134–149. https://doi.org/10.70363/ijrc.v3i2.264
Section
Articles

References

Aggarwal, N. K. (2023). Editorial: Combatting the Intergenerational Trauma of Structural Racism Through Practice, Policy, and Research. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 62(10), 1092–1094. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2023.05.019

Ahlfs-Dunn, S. M. (2022). Intergenerational transmission of trauma from mother to infant: The mediating role of disrupted prenatal maternal representations of the child. Attachment and Human Development, 24(2), 229–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616734.2021.1933769

Alexander, B. K. (2022). Generational drama/ Intergenerational trauma. Performative Intergenerational Dialogues of a Black Quartet: Qualitative Inquiries on Race, Gender, Sexualities, and Culture, Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04, 27–31. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003274315-3

Alshabani, N. (2025). Intergenerational resilience in the context of historical and ongoing trauma. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000446

Bachem, R. (2024). Complex posttraumatic stress disorder in intergenerational trauma transmission among Eritrean asylum-seeking mother-child dyads. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2023.2300588

Békés, V. (2024). Assessing transgenerational trauma transmission: Development and psychometric properties of the Historical Intergenerational Trauma Transmission Questionnaire (HITT-Q). European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2024.2329510

Broeks, C. W. (2023). Intergenerational impact of childhood trauma on hair cortisol concentrations in mothers and their young infants. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 14(Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2023.100167

Cai, J. (2022). Intergenerational Communication about Historical Trauma in Asian American Families. Adversity and Resilience Science, 3(3), 233–245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-022-00064-y

Cardwell, M. (2023). INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA: Understanding Family Histories and Narratives. Family Communication and Cultural Transformation: (Re)Awakening Legacies of Equality, Social Justice, Freedom, and Hope, Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04, 110–124. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003220480-7

Dobbins, M. (2024). Adapting (to) Jane Eyre: Racial Violence, Intergenerational Trauma, and Black Optimism in Lauren Blackwood’s Within These Wicked Walls. Victoriographies, 14(3), 198–217. https://doi.org/10.3366/vic.2024.0541

Fachinger, P. (2022). Healing Intergenerational Trauma through Cultural Reclamation in David Alexander Robertson’s Cree-Centric Retelling of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures, 14(1), 49–64. https://doi.org/10.3138/jeunesse-14.1.01

Feldman, B. (2022). After the catastrophe: Working with the intergenerational transmission of collective trauma in Jungian analysis. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 67(1), 105–118. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5922.12752

Fortuna, L. R. (2022). Focusing on Racial, Historical and Intergenerational Trauma, and Resilience: A Paradigm to Better Serving Children and Families. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 31(2), 237–250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2021.11.004

Fraser, J. J. (2024). How the Church Can Heal: Healing Intergenerational Trauma Through Trauma-Informed Discipleship. Christian Education Journal, 21(1), 60–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/07398913241261388

Gélinas, J. (2025). Intergenerational transmission of childhood interpersonal trauma in adults entering therapy for intimate partner violence: The role of identity diffusion. Child Abuse and Neglect, 161(Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107258

Goswami, K. (2023). COPING WITH INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA. Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, 2023(1). https://doi.org/10.5465/AMPROC.2023.200bp

Haami, D. (2024). From Hinengaro to Hineora: Tracing the origins of Intergenerational Trauma to attain Intergenerational Healing. Explore, 20(6). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2024.103058

Hamley, L. (2023). Intergenerational Affect, Language Trauma, and Pride: Young M?ori Men’s Emotional Experiences of Te Reo M?ori. Journal of Language, Identity and Education, Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2023.2281955

Huang, A. Y. (2024). Childhood Trauma as a Mediator of Intergenerational PTSD Symptom Transmission in Rwanda: A Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of Loss and Trauma, Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2024.2422610

Ingabire, M. C. (2022). Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma and Its Association With Attitudes Toward Reconciliation. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 15(Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04). https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001416

Johns, A. N. (2022). Examining intergenerational transmission of Holocaust trauma as it relates to Jewish identity, communication type, and mental well-being. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 35(5), 1497–1507. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22856

Jones, A. A. (2023). Impacts of intergenerational substance use and trauma among black women involved in the criminal justice system: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 153(Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.josat.2023.208952

Jovanovic, T. (2023). Intergenerational transmission of trauma: A biological perspective. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 36(4), 662–664. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22938

Kagoyire, M. G. (2023). “A calf cannot fail to pick a colour from its mother”: Intergenerational transmission of trauma and its effect on reconciliation among post-genocide Rwandan youth. BMC Psychology, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-023-01129-y

Kang, S. H. (2025). Analysis of Intergenerational Trauma Transmission in Artificial Human Families: A Metaverse-Based Study of Complex Psychological Phenomena. IEEE Access, 13(Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04), 1908–1922. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3523398

Keels, M. (2022). Developmental & Ecological Perspective on the Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma & Violence. Daedalus, 151(1), 67–83. https://doi.org/10.1162/DAED_a_01889

Këllezi, B. (2024). A Social Identity Analysis of Ingroup Norms, Trauma, and Justice: The Intergenerational Experiences of Albanian Dictatorship Survivors. Peace and Conflict, 30(3), 361–371. https://doi.org/10.1037/pac0000723

Khalil, M. B. (2024). Intergenerational transmission of trauma and mentalizing after the Lebanese War. The Psychology of Mentalizing, Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04, 117–131.

Kiweewa, J. M. (2024). Intergenerational and Historical Trauma. Professional’s Guide to Trauma-Informed Decision Making, Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04, 81–101. https://doi.org/10.1007/9783031546266_5

Lattanzi, G. M. (2023). Attachment Theory, Intergenerational Trauma, and Their Role in Maternal Filicide. Handbook of Anger, Aggression, and Violence, Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04, 709–730. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31547-3_178

Lee, A. T. (2023). Addressing intergenerational trauma in Black families: Trauma-informed socioculturally attuned family therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 49(2), 447–462. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12632

Leslie, C. E. (2022). Implications of Intergenerational Trauma: Associations Between Caregiver ACEs and Child Internalizing Symptoms in an Urban African American Sample. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 15(5), 877–887. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001334

Levin, Y. (2023). Heal the aftermath of intergenerational trauma and grief. Nature, 624(7992), 522–522. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-04059-2

Mañero, L. M. (2023). Intergenerational Transmission of Holocaust Trauma: Lily Brett’s The Auschwitz Poems, an Insight into the Unique Female Concentrationary Experience. Holocaust and Genocide Studies, 37(1), 25–42. https://doi.org/10.1093/hgs/dcad003

Matheson, K. (2022). Canada’s Colonial Genocide of Indigenous Peoples: A Review of the Psychosocial and Neurobiological Processes Linking Trauma and Intergenerational Outcomes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116455

Mekawi, Y. (2023). Intergenerational Transmission of Depression: Examining the Roles of Racism and Trauma Among Black Mothers and Youth. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 62(10), 1147–1156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2023.04.016

Miramonti, A. (2024). Healing the intergenerational trauma of enslavement: The enactment of historical documents with Afro-Colombian youth. Trauma and Embodied Healing in Dramatherapy, Theatre and Performance, Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04, 230–248. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003322375-19

Mitroiu, S. (2023). Dialogic Memories in Graphic Narratives: Intergenerational Entanglements of Witnessing, Trauma and Vulnerability. Parallax, 29(1), 67–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/13534645.2023.2271724

Montanari, S. (2025). Intergenerational transmission of childhood trauma in youths with mood disorders and their parents. Journal of Affective Disorders, 370(Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04), 385–391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.11.013

Moore, S. R. (2022). Infant DNA methylation: An early indicator of intergenerational trauma? Early Human Development, 164(Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2021.105519

Nagata, D. K. (2024). Intergenerational Transmission of Ethnoracial Historical Trauma in the United States. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 20(1), 175–200. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-080822-044522

Pouesi, F. (2024). Black Rain: A kaupapa M?ori (a M?ori approach) to addressing family violence and intergenerational trauma. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 45(1), 23–30. https://doi.org/10.1002/anzf.1556

Reese, E. M. (2022). Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma: The Mediating Effects of Family Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19105944

Rimmington, D. (2024). Dissociation in mothers with borderline personality disorder: A possible mechanism for transmission of intergenerational trauma? A scoping review. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Dysregulation, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40479-024-00250-7

Salter, M. (2025). “I see it running through my family”: The intergenerational and collective trauma of gender-based violence. Journal of Family Trauma, Child Custody and Child Development, Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04. https://doi.org/10.1080/26904586.2024.2443843

Sarigedik, E. (2022). Intergenerational transmission of psychological trauma: A structural neuroimaging study. Psychiatry Research - Neuroimaging, 326(Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pscychresns.2022.111538

Sharma, R. (2025). ‘Chronically Ill-Disabled-Diasporic-Mixed Race-Queer Femme of Color’: Spotlighting the Inscriptions of Intergenerational Trauma and Abuse Through a Reading of Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha’s Memoir Dirty River. South Asian Review, Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04. https://doi.org/10.1080/02759527.2025.2457231

Starrs, C. J. (2024). Historical Intergenerational Trauma Transmission Model: A Comprehensive Framework of Family and Offspring Processes of Transgenerational Trauma. Traumatology, Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04. https://doi.org/10.1037/trm0000505

Subramanian, S. (2024). Fixed fantasies of loss and reunion in a mother-baby treatment of intergenerational trauma. Infant Observation, 27(1), 5–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698036.2024.2405470

Thambinathan, V. (2023). Decolonizing trauma studies: A critically reflexive examination of epistemic trauma and intergenerational memory, and its implications for conflict-fleeing migrant diaspora communities. SSM - Mental Health, 3(Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2023.100225

Twigger, A. (2024). Clinician and lived experience perspectives on non-judgemental family care, in working with childhood maltreatment and intergenerational trauma: A pilot narrative review. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 45(4), 388–400. https://doi.org/10.1002/anzf.1611

Walker, L. A. (2023). Historical and intergenerational trauma. Encyclopedia of Macro Social Work, 2(Query date: 2025-03-02 00:37:04), 1195–1211.

Wang, X. (2023). Intergenerational transmission of trauma: Unpacking the effects of parental adverse childhood experiences. Journal of Family Studies, 29(4), 1687–1703. https://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2022.2073903

Watson, M. F. (2024). Caste and Black intergenerational racial trauma in the United States of America. Family Process, 63(2), 475–487. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12955

Wilmott, J. (2024). Healing from intergenerational trauma: Narratives of connection, belonging, and truth-telling in two Aboriginal healing camps. Settler Colonial Studies, 14(2), 125–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/2201473X.2023.2260547

Zhou, A. (2023). Biological Embedding of Early-Life Adversity and a Scoping Review of the Evidence for Intergenerational Epigenetic Transmission of Stress and Trauma in Humans. Genes, 14(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14081639