For us trans- and intergenerational trauma affects people from a variety of backgrounds. Although our focus will be on the Holocaust trauma we do invite and encourage all people who struggle with the legacy of historical trauma. 

Attending to the Silence:
Trans- and Intergenerational Trauma Group
for the Post Holocaust Generations
- All Sides

The holocaust and its aftermath still have a fundamental mind and body impact on many of us. Just over half a century ago the unthinkable and unimaginable has happened and we, the 2nd and 3rd post-Holocaust generations, are left to deal with one of the most devastating, brutal and dehumanising experiences in human history.

We are presented with a complex phenomenon that has national, political, sociological, relational as well as psychological and biological effects at multiple levels of our existence, which are now part of our lives and of our embodied psyche. Most of us know people who were directly destroyed or fundamentally damaged by the atrocities committed by the Nazi state. In this sense we dedicate this group to the sons, grandsons, daughters and granddaughters of the holocaust victims, perpetrators and all of those who knew and did nothing.

The traumatic trace, ‘like a child’s footprint in wet cement, are often preserved for generations’. Many of us have to make sense of a most painful past and the most gruesome inter- and transgenerational inheritance by either belonging to one side of these horrors or by being from families who combine the culture and background of victims and perpetrators alike.

In the shadow of the Holocaust, the development of our identities and our deep sense of selves is at the very least a very difficult and intensely painful struggle. This group offers space and time to explore, share and reflect on our experiences, in order to be able to grow, develop, experience pleasure and joy and allow personal healing to emerge. Deep inside, we are still paralysed in shock, having been shocked into silence by the catastrophe and our inability to find a language to express what has happened. Wordless suffering and shtika (silencing) are of central significance for the Second and Third Generations of the Shoa. This seems to be true for all sides - victims as much as perpetrators, and bystanders - as well as their descendants, the second and the following generations.

We understand that this silence is a protective reaction to that which cannot be named or talked about. Yet, this kind of silence prevents healing. In this group we explore the possibilities of building bridges together, with hopes for truth and reconciliation - internally as well as interpersonally! - Let us therefore attend to the silence now.

We are inviting all those with whom these thoughts resonate to an ongoing therapy group. The group will be limited to 16 members and will meet for 2 hours about every 4 weeks.

Cost for the first session is £45. Cost for 10 sessions is £ 420.00. Twenty percent (20%) of which is payable on registration (non-refundable) and the full amount on the first evening.

Our group meets monthly on a Sunday evening and runs from 7.00 till 9.00pm.

We meet near Golder's Green tube station and if you interested in attending please do get in touch! Mob 07984085355 or via email g.payrhuber@btopenworld.com