Trauma (on the) brain

I've been writing about trauma a lot recently, like really, a lot. So much so I have written a group course for people to understand their trauma better and how trauma shapes our relationships and our thinking. It's a culmination of 3 years of work reading research and combining ideas and theory in a way that works with the person-centred approach.

Trauma is derived from the Greek word for wound. As Susan Dale puts it, it's "situations and events that people have experiences as terrifying, horrific, incomprehensible or life-threatening and when the effect and memories of those events continue to intrude on and negatively influence their life"(1). There is a power in recognising that trauma is subjective and about how someone experiences them. There are 'obvious' traumas that we might point out, but it's not uncommon to meet someone who is less affected by an experience of extreme stress than another.

Intergenerational Trauma

It might be a term you are or aren't familiar with, but intergenerational trauma is the experience of trauma passed to next generations through different channels. This includes biological (in hereditary predispositions to PTSD), cultural (through storytelling, culturally sanctioned behaviours), social (through inadequate parenting, lateral violence, acting out of abuse) and psychological (through memory processes) channels(2).

This research started with survivors of the Holocaust and their families, then research broadened into the descendants of Aboriginal communities of Australasia and the Americas. Aboriginal has historically only been used for the indigenous people of Australia, however the term has been used to cover all indigenous people in nations colonised by Europeans(2). Now, intergenerational trauma has been broadened to look at all manner of impacts that previous generations have faced. One paper has said that a severely stressful event which a woman pregnant with a baby girl could experience, would not just shape the woman and their unborn baby, but also the eggs within the baby(3).

Recent evidence has shown that poverty is a clear factor in how children from different socioeconomic backgrounds have no significant differences in their brains, however children from lower-economic backgrounds show clear signs of chronic stress and tiredness(4). This shows clear biological and psychological differences in upbringing, leading to differing social experiences. I and others would argue that poverty is a trauma, what social adversity is experienced becomes biologically embedded(5). To paraphrase Gabor Maté, trauma isn't just built on experiencing bad things, but also the absence of good things(6).

Or in another way, as Bessel Van Der Kolk has put it, "Trauma is when we are not seen and known"(7). Pain that we have experienced which has been put down or supressed by society at large produces more pain. And like with all forms of trauma, we want to find safe ways of letting this out at a pace that you can handle. Peter Levine would call this titration(8).

On that feeling of hopelessness

The feeling that trauma research makes us feel hopeless for ourselves and for looking for the solution is common. In reading books and papers I start to feel that too, partially because of the sheer amount of information available. But the solutions are there and it is not something we have to pass down to the future generation, whether you want to be, will become, or are a parent. By being aware of your experience and how it affects you, you are consciously choosing to make a change.

Starting in September, I will be running a course titled 'Understanding Trauma' at No Limits, the youth charity in Southampton. It will be for people aged 18-25 looking to explore these issues in a safe and supportive way. I have written this course over years from the ground-up, taking the latest research and emphasising an educational space which encourages safety and open discussion

To take ownership of your own story, to find or create your own community and family, to find "post-traumatic growth" out of the pain and to even sit with the pain that you feel are steps along the way. All things that we explore in the course, whilst also exploring breathwork, meditation and communication.

References

1. Dale, S., 2024. Trauma-Informed Therapy: A Collaborative Narrative Approach. 1st ed. Monmouth: PCCS Books. Buy New: PCCS Books

2. Marsh, T., Coholic, D., Cote-Meek, S. & Najavits, L., 2015. Blending Aboriginal and Western healing methods to treat intergenerational trauma with substance use disorder in Aboriginal peoples who live in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. Harm Reduction Journal, pp. 1-12. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12954-015-0046-1

3. Hurley, J., Koenning, M., & Bray, A. (2018). Responding to intergenerational psychological trauma: A literature review paper on the place of Family Constellation Therapy. Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.59158/001c.71192https://pacja.org.au/article/71192-responding-to-intergenerational-psychological-trauma-a-literature-review-paper-on-the-place-of-family-constellation-therapy

4. Church, Jessica. 'Socioeconomic Status Leaves Deep Imprints on Developing Brains' 11 June 2026 https://neurosciencenews.com/socioeconomics-child-brain-development-iq-30870/ (accessed 29 June 2026)

5. Hua, J; Dal Bon k (2026). Social Determinants of Health and Neurobiology Across the Schizophrenia Course A Systematic Review. JAMA Psychiatry. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2850387

6. Maté, G. 2024. The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture. . Buy New: Waterstones

7. Van Der Kolk, Bessel. 2014. The Body Keeps The Score. s.l.:Penguin. Buy New: Waterstones

8. Levine, Peter. 2014. Dr. Peter Levine on the Somatic Experiencing Approach and the Cocept of Titration. (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFUZHz6_0XE (10 minutes) (accessed 29 June 2026)