Psychiatry & Psychotherapy Podcast Intergenerational Trauma Explained: The Role of Reflective Function and Mentalization in Healing Attachment
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Oct 17, 2025 This discussion features Sharia Cherlow, a Psychiatry resident sharing insights on reflective function and attachment interventions, Khaled Itani, who offers perspectives on mentalization's role in early development, and Fidel Schumann, who provides clinical examples of attachment phenomena. They dive into intergenerational trauma, exploring how trauma-specific reflective functioning impacts attachment styles. They also discuss effective therapies like Mentalization-Based Therapy and practical strategies for parenting to promote secure attachments in children.
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Trauma Mentalization Predicts Infant Attachment
- High trauma-specific reflective function predicts organized, secure infant attachment despite maternal abuse history.
- Low reflective function about trauma increases odds of infant disorganized attachment and later dissociation.
Work On Trauma Before Parenting
- Do mental health work on trauma before or during parenting to reduce intergenerational transmission.
- Improving trauma-focused reflective function can meaningfully change infant attachment outcomes.
Freezing At A Pool Shows Dissociation
- David Puder described a guest freezing when a child fell in a jacuzzi and his wife immediately rescuing the child.
- He used this to illustrate how unprocessed trauma can cause rapid dissociation in crises.
