The PANY Bulletin

Psychoanalytic Association of New York
Volume 42, #3 Fall 2004

30th Melitta Sperling Memorial Lecture
Transgenerational Transmission of Trauma and Resistance to Change in Individuals and Large Groups
by Vamik D. Volkan, M.D.
October 18, 2004

Since the early days of psychoanalysis, the concept of resistance against gaining insight and working through conflicts during psychoanalytic treatment has held a prominent place in the theory of technique. This paper focuses on a specific type of resistance related to transgenerational transmission of trauma, which has not been explored much in psychoanalytic literature. The author presents a clinical case to illustrate resistance to analytic process because the patient carries the traumatized image of his stepfather within his self-representation and because getting well would mean a drastic change in his identity.

Furthermore, keeping in mind that thousands or millions of people share some massive traumas, such as those occurring during wars or war-like conditions, the author examines large group resistance to change that is related to the transgenerational transmission of trauma. The author uses the term chosen trauma to refer to the shared mental representation of an historic event that has caused a large group to feel helpless, victimized, ashamed and humiliated by others and to face drastic losses, such as losses of people, land, prestige, dignity. Members of the traumatized group deposit their injured self and object images into the self-representations of children in the next generation. These children are also given certain tasks, such as reversing helplessness, shame and humiliation, being active instead of remaining passive.

Another task that is passed to the next generation relates to completing the shared mourning process. All these images and tasks link the members of the generations that follow. They unconsciously choose to begin considering the mental representation of the event as a significant element in their large-group identity. When there is a present danger from others, the current generation reactivates the group's chosen trauma in order to enhance the threatened group identity. This reactivation, in turn, becomes a stubborn resistance to peaceful activities for the resolution of ethnic or other large-group conflicts.