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Intergenerational Trauma and Its Relationship to Mental Health Care: A Qualitative Inquiry

• Original Paper
• Published: 17 August 2020
• Volume 57 , pages 631–643, ( 2021 )

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• Sophie Isobel   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1027-5847 1 ,
• Andrea McCloughen 2 ,
• Melinda Goodyear 3 , 4 &
• Kim Foster 5 , 6  

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Intergenerational trauma is a discrete form of trauma which occurs when traumatic effects are passed across generations without exposure to the original event. This qualitative study aimed to explore how psychiatrists understand intergenerational trauma in respect to their practice, for the purposes of identifying interventions for addressing intergenerational trauma in public mental health services. Findings revealed that psychiatrists observe intergenerational trauma frequently in their roles and try to opportunistically promote awareness of trauma with adults, and refer families to external services for supportive interventions. They feel powerless when faced with directly intervening with intergenerational trauma and required restructuring of their roles to adequately address it in public settings. Findings have implications for training, advocacy and research on the relationship between trauma and mental illness. Alongside this, there is an indicated need for examination of how systems can ensure access to appropriate services once organisations become trauma-informed.

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This research is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. The authors wish to acknowledge the contribution of Dr Brenda Gladstone to the design of this study.

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Isobel, S., McCloughen, A., Goodyear, M. et al. Intergenerational Trauma and Its Relationship to Mental Health Care: A Qualitative Inquiry. Community Ment Health J 57 , 631–643 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00698-1

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Received : 07 November 2019

Accepted : 12 August 2020

Published : 17 August 2020

Issue Date : May 2021

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00698-1

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