Cultural and genealogical psychology
We are affected not only by things that happen to us personally, but also by things that have happened in our lineage, to our parents, grandparents and ancestors. Likewise the traumas that happened within our culture affect us; ironically all the more so when they have been forgotten, relegated to the unconscious realm, where they can cause physical symptoms, phobias, depression, nightmares and other unexplained things.
I work with second generation Holocaust survivors, refugees, migrants and other survivors of family and cultural traumas. We work using family trees, photos, maps, family myths and stories, and other material, to piece together the story of what happened. EMDR can help undo some of the lingering pain of traumatic memories, and haunting images. Creative expression or ritual can help to release the ghosts, and grieve the losses, as well as call in other narratives, helpful legacies and new possibilities. By making the trauma in our lineage and in our culture more conscious, we can loosen its hold on--helping to restore a sense of our own self and our own freedom of choice, and allowing what is not ours to rest in peace. |
Rachael Vaughan MA, MFT # 50730: Depth Psychotherapy and EMDR in San Francisco and Marin, for individuals and couples, in English and French