ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I define and describe the impact of trauma and outline the psychological approaches to emotional development that might be disrupted by traumatic events. This is followed by the therapeutic possibilities, particularly psychoanalytic and systemic family therapy and narrative therapy. The psychoanalytic theories, especially the work of Erik Erikson as well as traditional attachment theory are assessed. Using real-life examples, I suggest how the unconscious elements of disrupted psychosocial development and attachment experiences may be transmitted across generations with ongoing pan-historical repercussions. I evaluate the processes that contextualize the development of our sense of identity and mental well-being and how identities are constructed in socio-historical as well as psychosocial contexts.
