Understanding the impact of family and trans-generational patterns
These patterns are composed of a range of factors, events and unresolved issues in a person’s family that influence or are ‘passed on’ to the child. The process by which a child responds to these influences is extremely complex and largely unconscious. Each child experiences and responds to these influences in a unique way that forms part of their adult character and the drives they have adopted to deal with the world. When they marry, they, in turn, create a new family with their partner, within which their children are exposed to the trans-generational patterns of both parents.
To identify the particular patterns that have affected them, the participants do structured homework about the lives of family members, as well as their own history and that of their life partner and children. Sometimes even before it has been discussed and analysed, the act of collecting this information directly from parents and close relatives throws up new insights and discoveries.
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