Wednesday 22 July 17:15
- 18:45
Hall: 18 - Room 15 SA
Chair:
Khoury Brigitte
Discussant:
Saths Cooper
Division: Division 6: Clinical and Community Psychology
This symposium examines the intergenerational and cumulative impact of trauma in Lebanon, a country where decades of conflict and instability have left deep psychological and social imprints. Drawing from published qualitative research on "The Lebanese Civil War: Transmission and Impact on Second-Generation Descendants" and extensive clinical and community work with families affected by war, the presentation explores how the legacy of a civil war, one fought among neighbors, within families, and across communities, continues to shape the inner and relational worlds of those born after its end. Unlike external wars, civil wars rupture both the social fabric and the sense of collective belonging, leaving wounds that are intimate, complex, and enduring.
Through in-depth interviews and focus groups with survivors and their adult children, two central themes emerged: "From Generation to Generation: The Passing of a Nation's Scars", highlighting the transmission of emotional residues through family narratives, silence, and collective memory; and "Carrying the Burden of an Unlived War", reflecting the second generation's struggles with identity, belonging, and inherited anxiety in a society still divided by its past.
These insights resonate within Lebanon's current context of chronic instability, economic collapse, and recurring armed conflict, where children and adolescents continue to face cumulative and overlapping traumas. Ongoing research by our team since 2014 has shown a high prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and a significant treatment gap among Lebanese youth, alongside notable protective factors such as family cohesion and community connectedness.
Finally, the symposium situates these findings within the broader literature on trauma interventions, ranging from CPT, PE, ACT, NET, and EMDR to DBT-based approaches, questioning their cultural relevance and adaptability in contexts of prolonged and intergenerational trauma. It calls for culturally sensitive, contextually grounded frameworks for both research and clinical practice in societies marked by chronic adversity
