The Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma: Melancholia, Mothering and Motherhood

Prophecy Coles describes the psychic impact of intergenerational trauma, with reference to clinical cases, literature and social issues.

The book considers how trauma is transmitted across generations and explains the evidence base from research in relational theory and attachment theory. Coles discusses the trauma wrought by the Holocaust, colonialization and the transatlantic slave trade, and how these deep wounds continue. Contemporary racism and misogyny are also discussed, and the book concludes with a discussion about human and civil rights in light of decolonialsation.

The Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma will be essential reading for psychoanalysts and psychotherapists, and for all readers interested in the impact of trauma across generations.