This is the second book by Professor Franz Ruppert in English translation and continues his exploration of the impact of trauma across generations. Here he deepens his understanding of the process and function of psychological splitting as a natural response to traumatic events, exploring in detail the results such survival strategies have on the traumatised person and those with whom they are in close contact. His contention is that it is only by understanding in detail the processes involved, and developing an ability to recognise trauma, survival strategies and the healthy aspects of our clients, that we can successfully work with trauma as a personal experience and as an inheritance from our family system.

There are detailed examples of case studies illustrating the process of the disintegration of the survival psychological structure and the subsequent integration of the fragmentation.

In addition Ruppert gives a very useful account of his thinking about the methodology of Constellations as a means of achieving understanding and integration.