Product Description Drawing on twenty years experience as a therapist and analyst, the author explains and provides clinical examples of her psychogenealogical approach to psychotherapy. She shows how, as mere links in a chain of generations, we may have no choice in having the events and traumas experienced by our ancestors visited upon us in our own lifetime. The book includes fascinating case studies to illustrate how her clients have conquered seemingly irrational fears, psychological and even physical difficulties by discovering and understanding the parallels between their own life and the lives of their forebears. The theory of "invisible loyalty" owed to previous generations, which may make us unwittingly re-enact their life events, is discussed in the light of ongoing research into transgenerational therapy.
Customer Reviews:
Our ancestors do affect us.June 5, 2008 The ancestor syndrome is well documented, Anne Schutzenberger painstakingly connects the various researchers and how they contributed to the field. As an alternative therapist I have learned that we are not just a product of our environment, but that our ancestors do pass down to us unresolved issues. Myself and all of my patients have some issues that can be traced to ancestors, even ancestors that died well before their birth.
Personally I believe the book should include more case studies, though the cases included are very interesting and well written. In my personal experience it is true that all one has to do is uncover and speak about the original ancestral trauma and the patient's problem most often is resolved.
Taking family trees to the next stepJanuary 27, 2008 This is an excellent and thought provoking book, exploring the psychological impact of one's family tree.
It is the exploration of the present impact of past actions by family, caste, race, regions and nations.
Although of value to everyone, it is particularly important to those who have already begun to explore the question of 'where do I come from' in terms of genealogy.
substantialFebruary 24, 2002 9 out of 9 found this review helpful
an amazing work that describes the uncanny patterns and systems of occurrences that befall families from generation to generation. Explorations are made into healing and recovering from these often bizarre "psychic strands."
While much of the "theory" in this book would be impossible to duplicate or reproduce scientifically, the reader is spurred to consider the seemingly incredible links between events that occur across passages of time and physical distance.
A note on the design of this book:
The cover is quite attractive and the paper they used is a nice, sturdy grade that makes for good tactility and an overall pleasurable read.
A wise purchase.
Deserves 6 starsApril 20, 2000 21 out of 23 found this review helpful
I met 81 yr old Anne Ancelin Schutzenberger at a the World Conference of Psychotherapy in Vienna where we both were presenting. I was so excited by her presentation that I immediately bought her book and read the amazing wealth of information that she has gathered over her illustrious career as a psychodramatist. If I had read her book before I wrote mine, WHY WE PICK THE MATES WE DO, mine would have referred to hers constantly. She explains how the anniversary date of or a certain tragedy in the past can be stored in unconscious memory and acted out by following generations. Anniversary reactions appear not only as dramatic coincidences in dates or behaviors, but also in health problems, family secrets and accidents which seem to repeat generation after generation without any plausible explanation. I went to Paris to study with this lady, and now am even more impressed with her work on the hidden links in the family tree and even more certain of the value of using such a thorough transgenerational approach in therapy to explain and work through inherited negative feelngs and imprints. My compliments to her for pioneering the field of transgenerational therapy.
Schutzenberger's research on repititions in one's family and connections to world history is astounding and well worth reading. It will change your logical understanding of why we do the things we do to a genuine wonder that may even get you reading Rupert Sheldrake's books on morphogenetic fields. I am a couples and family counselor and already had 1000 case studies or more of repititious patterns of couple behavior that were imprinted in the unconscious minds of my clients during childhood, but until I read The Ancestor Syndrome, had not met anyone who had researched several generations back in families.
Leading edge do-it-yourself understand-yourselfJanuary 3, 1999 13 out of 17 found this review helpful
A very workable translation of the seminal French work by a leading psychoanalyst, specialising in group psychotherapy -- sending AIDS and cancer into remission! by a noted French psychologist (also spent much time in the US and of Russian/Swiss ancestry herself). Oftentimes many of the roots of our current complexes can be explained by an easy but methodical tracing of our family trees, uncovering the FACT that important events have been interred into our genetic structures, only to pop up generations later. In other words, ignorace is bliss until you have to live with the circumstances, in which case knowledge is power. This should not be confused with New Age or Easy Self-Help.
