ABSTRACT
Clinical observations and research indicate that culturally specific traumatic events have a long-term affect that is not limited to the survivors only—it often affects significant others like family, friends, and caregivers. There has been a broad, interdisciplinary approach to the question of whether and how the experience and consequences of surviving trauma are passed from one generation to the next. Studies range across levels of analysis, including psychodynamic, family systems, epidemiological, sociological, and biological. Subsequently, intervention through movement and dance has long been known to be especially effective for people who have had to deal with traumatic experiences. This chapter highlights three examples through which dance/movement therapy has contributed significantly to the healing and processing of multigenerational trauma. This will be demonstrated by focusing on the descendants of three different populations who have experienced severe cultural trauma, namely, Native Americans, African Americans, and Holocaust survivors.
