Relational trauma therapy is a specialized therapeutic process focused on addressing the consequences of distressing, injurious, or destructive experiences occurring within significant relationships, often during childhood or in close adult partnerships. Relational trauma can affect self-perception, perception of others, and worldview, frequently leading to difficulties in trust, emotional regulation, forming secure attachments, and maintaining stable interpersonal relationships.

In relational trauma therapy, the therapist provides a safe and stable environment in which the client can gradually recognize, articulate, and process painful memories and their present-day effects. The process may involve working on attachment patterns, emotional regulation, self-esteem, and beliefs formed through past experiences.

The therapy aims to restore a sense of safety, strengthen the ability to form healthy relationships, and enhance emotional stability. It supports the client in experiencing closeness, trust, and relational satisfaction while fostering a more coherent and stable sense of self. During relational trauma therapy very useful are also transgenerational psychoanalysis and psychogenealogy.

These approaches focus on the influence of family history, intergenerational transmissions, and unconscious emotional patterns on individual functioning. They assume that experiences of ancestors -especially those involving trauma, loss, family secrets, or unresolved conflicts - can be unconsciously transmitted across generations, shaping identity, relationships, beliefs, and behavioral responses.

Transgenerational psychoanalysis examines unconscious familial loyalties, recurring behavioral patterns, and the emotional “legacy” of ancestors, exploring their impact on current life difficulties. Psychogenealogy uses tools such as genograms, family history analysis, and symbolic interpretation of recurring patterns to understand inherited roles, expectations, and messages.

Both approaches aim to increase awareness of one’s psychological roots, process emotional burdens from family history, and regain autonomy in life choices. They support personal development and help break intergenerational cycles detrimental to emotional health and well-being.