Family Secrets: To Keep or Not to Open. A Systemic Analytical Approach to Transgenerational Transmission of Family Trauma

This book unveils the secrets that arise in families as a result of trauma and are carefully guarded by their members. The reasons for the emergence of family secrets, their transformation throughout the family's life, and their impact on subsequent generations reveal the monstrous and destructive consequences of secrets for the psyche of descendants: the destruction of connections between loved ones, diffusion of identity, severe illnesses, and decreased vitality. It describes the most common secrets related to extramarital affairs, illnesses, deaths, money, incest, war, and adoptions. The book is illustrated with numerous examples from the author's more than 30 years of practice. The presented clinical illustrations detail both the mechanisms by which secrets affect family life and specific ways of psychological assistance. It is addressed to a wide audience of psychologists, psychotherapists, doctors, teachers, representatives of socio-economic professions, as well as anyone interested in the issues of family, family history, family myths, and family secrets.