According to the psychogenealogy, part of what we are is related to our ancestors. This area associates the terms “psycho”, “gene” and “lodge” that give rise to the theory that the configuration of the mind is related to people’s family tree.
This area supports that behaviors, ways of thinking and motivations of individuals are transmitted from generation to generation, as a guideline for life decisions or as a conditioner in the actions of the subjects that inhibit self-realization.
Experts in the field, such as Alejandro Jodorowski and Anne Ancelin Shutzenberger, affirm that “for an individual to become aware of his predispositions and to take control of his life, the first thing he must do is study and understand his family tree.”
This theory affirms that many people are unable to achieve their goals due to experiences of their ancestors, for that reason it is necessary to free oneself from that “umbilical cord” to be able to live an own history. They call this situation in psych genealogy as “unconscious family”, which has been validated by some orthodox currents of psychology and establishes that the relationships between the patient’s family and their influence on their life are crucial.
On the other hand, traditional psychology does not base the explanation on genetics, because, in case studies of orphaned children who grow up in an adoptive family, the research is carried out on the adoptive families and not on the biological ones.
Traditional psychology establishes that human beings are prone to learn by imitation, taking people as reference models and trying to solve situations in the assumption of what another person would do. This is known as “Vicarious learning”. Therefore, it is very common for children to want to be like their parents, teachers or peers, as well as other inspiring models such as superheroes or television characters.
Starting from that vicarious learning, traditional psychology and psychogenealogy diverge in the theme, since taking the example of an adopted child, if the child has a biological origin from a Latin American country, and the adoptive family is Spanish, it is much more likely that in adulthood, this adopted person has tastes attached to the Spanish tradition, both in clothing, hobbies, socialization, culture and even gastronomy.
Therefore the rational and emotional structure of the person has been configured in a European environment and rules out the genetic factor in this regard. Although it is possible that he decides to investigate his roots and even adopt the customs of his country of origin.
The defenders of the psychogenealogy, affirm that the family history of each person transcends to define their way of life, including illnesses, accidents, anecdotes and behavior patterns.
They also affirm that the traumas and experiences of the ancestors can influence up to four generations of descendants. Nevertheless the relationship between genes and psychology is not so clear for traditional psychology, since there is no scientific basis to link these aspects.
ALFA