Dr. Sandra Mattar on Intergenerational Trauma on the Morning Show October 5th
October 4, 2023October 4, 2023
Newburyport
Dr. Sandra Mattar on Intergenerational Trauma
Dr. Sandra Mattar, an Assistant Professor and Clinical Psychologist at the Boston University School of Medicine and a Psychologist at the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights, visits the show this week to discuss intergenerational trauma.
I will speak with Dr. Mattar about trauma’s impact on the mind and body, which can by overwhelmed by the traumatic event, leading people to lose their ability to “return to baseline” functioning. Instead, people overlay cues from the past onto what is happening in the present, keeping them, in effect, suspended in the past.
As Dr. Mattar explains, trauma-informed therapy aims at restoring people to life in the present moment, beginning with taking care of the body through breathing and mindfulness, and only then focusing treatment on exploring the trauma.
Recent research has shown how traumatic impacts can ripple outward over multiple generations. One means of transmission includes behavioral modeling and teaching, as well as broken attachments within the family.
The developing field of epigenetics also provides evidence that traumatic effects can be passed down from parent to child genetically, not directly through changes in the DNA code, but by affecting which genes are expressed, or “turned off or on,” such that children of trauma survivors who have never experienced trauma themselves nonetheless can manifest symptoms of PTSD.
Dr. Mattar will discuss why it’s important to educate the public about intergenerational trauma, so that the cycle of trauma can be disrupted. When intergenerational transmission goes undetected, it can remain underground and contribute to many mental health issues that will otherwise not be fully understood and may not be effectively treated.
To learn more about Dr. Mattar’s research and therapeutic work, visit https://www.bmc.org/about-us/directory/doctor/sandra-mattar-psyd
