Authors
Nicholas Lewis, Yasmine Dunn, S J Ash Summers
Published in
European journal of psychotraumatology. Volume 17. Issue 1. Pages 2715816. Epub Sep 28, 2026.
Abstract
Background: There is a lack of research into idiographic experiences of intergenerational trauma. Genograms are used in psychological interventions, but research into genograms as a research method is needed.Objective: We sought to understand how descendants of Holocaust survivors experience the use of genograms as a visual research method to discuss intergenerational processes.Method: Seven participants described their experiences of a genogram interview in a semi-structured interview. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyse data from the semi-structured interview.Results: Five group experiential themes were identified: 'The legacy of prior experiences' - the experiences that participants brought to the genogram interview, and how they were able to engage with the process; 'Scaffolding sensitive and nuanced discussions' - the material and relational aspects of the genogram fostered safety while situating participants at the heart of the discussion; 'The importance of telling our stories' - the telling of rich and unedited stories steeped in beauty and strength; 'The impact of sharing stories' - participants felt vulnerable while revealing threads that ran through the generations, and also empowered by connecting with their heritage; and 'Reverberations of storytelling' - the psychological impact of the genogram in a broader journey of discovery.Conclusions: Genograms elicit rich, contextualized data. Future research could investigate genograms with other ethnically minoritized groups recovering from the effects of genocide, using narrative approaches.
PMID:
42804427
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 29 Sep 2026.
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