Collective & Transgenerational Trauma in Bangladesh
Lab Cycle Oct 2020 - July 2021 Report
Facilitators
Louise Marra & Patrick Dougherty
LANGUAGE
English
Description
The project was called “As within so without: An integration process of the collective and intergenerational trauma within Bangladesh”, with a focus on the education system. Our Bangladesh lab was working with the Teach for Bangladesh organisation, an NGO that aims to provide quality education to the least well off in their society, and also to help reform the education system. They were keen to explore and understand the impact of collective and intergenerational trauma on their country and system.
We started out with a group of 20 participants and completed with 16 participants. We met for 12 group sessions from February 2020 – February 2021 and triads were formed after our second session.
We explored the following questions:
- What constitutes the historical background to the intergenerational trauma in Bangladesh?
- How does collective and intergenerational trauma influence the construction of identity and the processes of “othering” and being othered?
- How does collective and intergenerational trauma In Bangladesh influence the development of the cultural architecture in the education system, and thereby and outcomes for children?
- How does our use of language reflect and reinforce the consequences of this trauma within the system?
- How does collective and intergenerational trauma show itself and collide with other global traumas (eg Covid19, the climate crisis, etc)?
- Can coherent ‘we spaces’ and a process of witnessing collective and intergenerational trauma lead to an integration and eventual healing of collective trauma?
Stages of our process as a group:
1. Synchronising & Resourcing
2. Meeting the Collective Trauma Landscape
4. Listening to Ancestral Roots & Voices from the Field
5. Integrating & Restoring
Moments of Challenge
- Language barrier as neither of the Facilitators spoke Bengali
- We had technological limitations, i.e. many could not come onto the calls with video, nor stay on long in the session with stable connection.
- Building beyond the fear of looking at trauma, many had not done any trauma work and opening that door was a big step.
- The Covid pandemic hit hard in Bangladesh, in a country already trying to recover from many traumas.
- Helping participants to apply what they were learning to everyday life and to how it might change how they worked.
- Neither of the Facilitators being from Bangladesh meant that they were not able to understand the dynamics within the group, who had more regard due to religion, age, education, and gender, etc.
MOMENTS OF GRACE
- Being able to resource people in such a time of need, and the huge gratitude for these resources that were applicable to the participants.
- Meeting together with such humility in the face of such challenges.
- Building a literacy for participants to work on their own trauma with less fear.
- Building a sense of awareness of the impact of the intergenerational trauma on current lives – and noticing ‘the lights turning on’.
- Being present to the participants, particularly when some spoke with great courage for the first time about issues of sexism, gender conflicts, family background and what their ancestors had done in response to collective traumas in their history. Very moving to be present for something new emerging.
- Such beauty in these people, such resilience, such creativity and humility to face their trials.
INSIGHTS
- Focus more on the senior leadership team (of the NGO) as a discreet unit of change, helping them see how intergenerational trauma shows up in their team and how they lead the system changing.
- Further link the trauma integration work to the organisation’s Theory of Change.
- Help the NGO make meaning and relevance of trauma integration work in relation to their own work and lives.
- Help the NGO prototype, as they go along, things that they may apply at work.
- Resource even further by helping organise individual coaching/therapy for employees as they travel this deep road of trauma integration.
- Set goals for very small steps, (“baby steps”), remembering those are first steps on a generations’ long journey.
- Ensure we have a person within the Lab that can give honest feedback as participants do value the Facilitation team but dynamics can obscure more constructive feedback.
- Technology is a real problem, and we are not sure what to do with this challenge in the future.
Our Lab Team
Louise Marra
Patrick Dougherty
Facilitators: Louise Marra and Patrick Dougherty; trainee: David Sherman
Language: English
As within so without – an integration process of the collective and intergenerational trauma within Bangladesh, with a focus on the education system via Teach for Bangladesh a NGO working to expand and lift educational opportunities to all children.
We will be exploring
- What constitutes the historical background to the intergenerational trauma in Bangladesh?
- How does collective and intergenerational trauma influence the construction of identity and the processes of “othering” and being othered?
- How does collective and intergenerational trauma In Bangladesh influence the development of cultural architecture in the education system and outcomes for children.
- How does our use of language reflect and reinforce the consequences of this trauma within the system?
- How does collective and intergenerational trauma show itself and collide with other global traumas eg Covid19, climate crisis
- Can coherent we spaces and a process of witnessing collective and intergenerational trauma lead to an integration and eventual healing of collective trauma?
Participants are asked to commit to
- Be present for the duration of the cycle of the Lab – two-hour sessions once a fortnight, triads once a week, individual practices – about four hours a fortnight.
- Be present for introductory calls to basic competencies (or to watch the recordings), especially should you be new to this field of work
- Show up with mindfulness and authenticity and explore questions like:
- How do I participate in the integration of this trauma and how do I perpetuate it?
- How do I participate in othering?
- Ensure to be free from the influence of drugs.
- Assume confidentiality – all personal sharing within this Lab will be kept confidential and names of other participants will not be shared, nor will they be described.
- Assuming self-responsibility for your health – this Lab does not provide therapy or treatment.
This group is currently closed!
Lab Team
Louise Marra
has post graduate qualifications in environmental management, public policy and Jungian and Transpersonal psychology. She has trained with Thomas Hübl for many years including through the Pocket Project. She is an executive coach and group process leader employing many different modalities including somatic therapies. She works mainly with diverse groups of leaders on transforming patterns of the past and leading for systems change, within us and within the whole. She has worked for Prime Ministers, boards, NGOs, corporate teams, public sector and philanthropy across the globe in emergent practice, social innovation and leadership. She is deeply connected to the living planet and all its beings, and is part of the Ngai Tuhoe tribe in New Zealand and is passionate about reconnecting people as nature.
Patrick Dougherty
is a licensed psychologist who has over 40 years of clinical work and decades of working with social despair and collective trauma. The last 5 years he has been developing models and protocols to support therapists, individuals and groups to stay in good relationships as they work towards integrating trauma. Stemming from his experience as a Vietnam veteran, he has a focus on collective trauma cause by involvement in or experience of armed violence, war and genocide. He has been with the Pocket Project since its inception.
![](https://pocketproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Icon_024a_Donations.png"){kind=icon}
Donate