Building resilience and breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and social inequity

Berry Street Take Two is a partner in the Stronger Futures project which has received an NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence grant.

Despite growing recognition of intergenerational cycles of trauma and family violence, there is limited research evidence regarding effective intervention strategies to prevent or reduce intergenerational transmission of complex trauma and/or enable healing and recovery from the effects of trauma.

The transmission of complex trauma across generations is a global public health and human rights issue.

Our five-year goal is to improve social and emotional wellbeing, family functioning and resilience in families and communities disproportionately impacted by intergenerational trauma and family violence. In the longer term, our aim is to contribute to the reversal of the current upward trends in rates of suicide, self-harm and mental health disorders in children and young people.

There are 4 research priority areas:

• Priority 1: Impact of intergenerational trauma and family violence
• Priority 2: Trauma-informed principles and approaches
• Priority 3: Resilience and prevention
• Priority 4: Healing and recovery from intergenerational trauma and complex PTSD.

This is a large multi-site project with many collaborators that will span the next 5 years. You can sign up for project updates on the Stronger Futures website.

Berry Street’s Take Two service is a Victoria-wide therapeutic service helping to address the impact on children of the trauma they have experienced from abuse, neglect or adverse experiences.