Abstract
An acknowledgement that the legacy of apartheid lives on in the minds of Gauteng’s born free
generation, necessitates an exploration of psychologists’ interventions for transgenerational
trauma. This research aimed to contribute to research on this subject by interviewing South
African psychologists and with the ultimate objective of assisting professionals formulating
interventions. Firstly, the ways in which psychologists identify transgenerational trauma were
explored. This provided a foundation for exploring the psychologists’ interventions for
transgenerational trauma and contributed to a discussion of how interventions could be
enhanced. Thematic analysis of the semi-structured interviews revealed that stuckness paired
with guilt, grief resulting from silence and certain manifestations of identity and relationship
issues are identifiers of transgenerational trauma. Findings also pointed to the utility of certain
approaches to individual, group, family and community interventions. Recommendations for
enhancing psychologists’ interventions for transgenerational trauma in Gauteng’s born free
generation, revealed the imperative for psychologists to actively engage in professional and
personal growth, predicated on the complexity of challenges within the South African context.
Keywords: transgenerational, intergenerational, trauma, born free generation, Gauteng,
psychologists