We are only starting to understand the impact of trauma, and its many origins. It is possible that some of the traumas that we deal with on a daily basis come from events we do not even remember, such are when we were in utero or during our early years. Beyond this, some traumas come from our ancestors. There is now an emerging interest in healing intergenerational trauma that coincides with the advances in science that show that our genes carry more information than the color of our eyes. Alongside, we witness the decolonization of psychotherapy and a remembrance of how many cultures honored their ancestors and used ancestral healing.

When we engage in ancestral healing, we invite family stories that have been buried under feelings of shame, pain, and intrigue. This requires courage to re-visit these past harrowing stories with curiosity and compassion. Stories that maybe haunted us when we were children, or that haunted our parents. It is a deep work that develops our resiliency and anchors us.

Psychotherapy was born in the West with ideas of science as objective, separating mind, body, and spirit. But, in recent years, this stance has been questioned, and in making psychology more appropriate for people in collective societies, we have started to reclaim Indigenous beliefs and traditions to support well-being and psychological health. Slowly many practices have become more available, and these practices come from many different cultures.

As such, we have started to welcome the spirit in the psychotherapy space. With this openness, we also welcome the stories of our ancestors. Most of the work involves seeking to understand and then process the pain and trauma our ancestors caused or experienced.

From this ancestral healing perspective, once we do this work and process, this releases the weight carried by the whole family. It does mean that we have to do the work and feel the deep feelings that have been buried for a long time, but it also means that we can then move to acceptance and forgiveness. We can see this as an honor, opportunity, or curse. Either way, the family stories get imprinted in us as patterns and habits.

Psychotherapy helps us become strong to listen and hold ancestral stories. To develop empathy and compassion so that when we listen to the family history, we do not judge but instead bring understanding. It is not about excavating our past, but curiously looking at our patterns and behaviors to assess if they might relate to ancestral stories and family history. This work of reconciliation can accompany your psychotherapy. In some instances, ancestral work happens in healing spaces different than psychotherapy; as long as you do the work with a well-trained and supportive professional, powerful transformations can occur.

How to receive the ancestral:

• Learn to read your body. Epigenetics tells us that the environment will trigger stories in our genetic code. Pay attention to messages and communications from your body and how they might relate to the stories of your ancestors.
• Pay attention to your family system. Can you see emotional and behavioral patterns in your family? Maybe a tendency towards anxiety or even comfort with loneliness? What stories hold these patterns?
• Observe your relationships. What can you see in your relationships? Do you keep finding the same type of relationship over and over?
• Know your stories. Why did your parents give you your name? Is there a story around it? Do you remember stories you heard when you were young? Are you similar to a family member? Or your family constantly reminds you not to be like xx. You can also start to collect stories from family members.
• Use art and other creative means to connect with the family history and deepen into what you already know but do not know that you know.

Many imprints need to be voiced. Even though these stories and traumas did not happen during our lifetime, we still could resolve them. But, we must learn these stories to drop them and not continue acting them out. Sometimes we also need to resolve them, ask for forgiveness, or request compensation, even if it is symbolically. As an art therapist, I have often witnessed people accessing deep and unknown truths through artmaking. Once we have access to our history, we can heal it and bring our present life into well-being and healing.