EMDR Therapy Quarterly

Report and reflections on a presentation delivered by Aileen Alleyne at the EMDR UK Annual Conference 2025

Introduction

This article offers a personal reflection on Dr Aileen Alleyne’s keynote presentation at the EMDR UK Annual Conference 2025, which addressed the intergenerational impact of trauma and Black identity wounding. Drawing on Aileen’s clinical insights and longstanding research into the internal oppressor, the artic probably be a bit more cleverle explores the resonance of her work for EMDR practitioners, especially those engaging with culturally complex trauma. It also shares the personal significance of the presentation for the author, highlighting the shift in the EMDR field towards acknowledging racialised trauma in clinical spaces.

Dr Aileen Alleyne is a UK-based psychodynamic psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and organisational consultant. Her work centres on the psychological impact of racism and generational trauma, particularly within Black communities. She is known for developing the concept of the ‘internal oppressor,’ which describes how societal racism becomes internalised and affects self-worth. Her book, The Burden of Heritage, explores identity trauma, cultural enmeshment and the emotional weight carried across generations. Alongside managing her private practice, she teaches, writes and consults across health, education and public services. This brings thoughtful, therapeutic insight into the realities of race, identity and belonging.

As someone who has known Aileen for over 20 years, hearing her speak at the EMDR UK Annual Conference was both moving and inspiring. It felt like a full-circle moment – personally and professionally. It’s been almost 10 years since we met in person. Aileen was my clinical supervisor for some years during a time when I was experiencing racism and racial bias at work, and I was fortunate to have her clinical support to process what was happening. In more recent years, we’ve reconnected. She now offers consultation and mentoring support for my work on embodied racialised trauma, decolonising therapy and my role as a psychologist and yoga teacher trainer.

Themes and relevance in EMDR work

The talk covered topics such as the history of slavery, initial trauma for Black people, the question “Who remembers us Black folks?”, generational trauma, the hidden white minority, the internal oppressor and practical therapeutic pointers.

This presentation felt significant, both in content and in its relevance to EMDR practice. As the chair, Russell Hurn, said in his introduction:

“This is an uncomfortable topic for many of us – Aileen will focus on generational trauma through the specific lens of Black identity wounding, with the aim of identifying good intercultural practice, which is essential for all EMDR therapists.”

The International Slavery Museum in Liverpool

The presentation began by drawing a connection between the Albert Dock and the International Slavery Museum, the only museum of its kind. I lived in Liverpool from my teenage years and completed my first degree in Applied Psychology in the city. Liverpool shaped my identity, and as Aileen pointed out, this port holds deep and wounding links to Britain’s history of enslavement.

She shared hard-hitting facts about the history of ‘colonial produce.’ As I listened, I reminded myself to breathe, remembering the lessons of Resmaa Menakem’s book My Grandmother’s Hands. The presentation was both rich and challenging – I could feel the history and trauma sitting in my body. I reminded myself to breathe deeply, to stay present, feet grounded and jaw unclenched.

Aileen shared that between the 15th and 18th centuries, over 18 million African people were taken captive. Six million died during capture and transport, and 12 million were forced into labour on plantations across the Americas and the West Indies.

“I start with this spotted history to create a significant backdrop to the topic… As I see it, this initial trauma for Black people is very poignant, because it’s the systematic dehumanisation of African slaves.”

Who remembers us Black folks?

Aileen spoke powerfully – in a way I felt in my body. I was nervous, aware of how her words might land in a room of predominantly white-bodied therapists. How would it be received? My internal oppressor was stirred, yet also felt freed by the strength and clarity in front of me. Aileen named what often goes unsaid. The audience met her with warmth and curiosity; that support was palpable. I felt held, and that brought a quiet sense of connection.

When Aileen spoke about how differently we relate to the atrocity of slavery, and how it’s everyone’s shame and everyone’s loss, she named how this crime is allowed to be forgotten. She linked this to the trauma of being forgotten and the additional weight Black people carry when left to hold this pain alone.

She spoke with conviction about the importance of remembrance – Holocaust Memorial Day, Remembrance Day – and then asked plainly:

“But who remembers us Black folks?”

Generational trauma and Black identity wounding

Aileen made it clear that we cannot talk about generational trauma for Black people without starting with slavery. She stated:

“You have to start from slavery – even though Black people’s existence didn’t begin there –because of the psychic wounding it created. Most, if not all, Black people carry something of this, knowingly or unknowingly.”

She explained that the world’s forgetfulness, its neglect of this vast and violent history, keeps the wound alive. That invisibility causes its own harm – the feeling of not being seen, valued or remembered. This, she noted, can lead people to hold tightly to the wound as a way of protecting it from erasure.

Aileen named the emotional weight of this trauma – shame, depression, anxiety, mourning, anger, and how these live in the psyche of Black people. For some, this leads to avoidance or detachment. For others, an over-attachment to history means the wounds are continually reopened. This, she noted, is what defines Black identity wounding.

She reminded us gently, through humour, warmth and care, that this isn’t easy work. And she appreciated Russell Hurn for naming the discomfort:

“If you’re not feeling uncomfortable, I think something’s wrong.”

That discomfort is necessary. Aileen helped us sit with it.

She also clarified her use of the broader term ‘generational trauma,’ which holds both:

• Intergenerational trauma: passed through families (shame, secrecy, inherited illness), transmitted biologically and socially.

• Transgenerational trauma: rooted in historical events like colonisation, slavery, genocide and forced displacement.

Her framing held all of this – with clarity, care and grounding.

Intersectionality and the hidden white minority

Aileen also spoke about the intersectional nature of generational trauma, not just rooted in history but showing up in daily experiences. She calls this ‘heritage hauntings’ – how the past echoes into the present. It’s a clear reminder that trauma isn’t fixed in time – it’s ongoing.

One concept that stood out for me was Aileen’s term ‘hidden white minority.’ She uses this to describe communities that may be perceived as white but experience being othered, such as Jewish communities, Roma, Travellers, Eastern Europeans and people of mixed heritage who ‘pass’ as white. These groups often carry their own histories of exclusion and invisibility. Their trauma isn’t always immediately recognised, but it’s there.

It reminded me that the way we talk about identity keeps shifting. And staying open to that helps us stay connected to what people are really carrying.

How generational trauma is passed on

Aileen spoke about how generational trauma is often passed down through everyday family dynamics, parenting styles and inherited belief systems. It’s not always obvious, but when you listen closely, the patterns start to reveal themselves.

She gave examples we are likely to hear in the therapy room:

• Parenting patterns: Emotionally absent or punitive parenting, often seen in authoritarian households, can reflect unresolved trauma passed down from previous generations. These ways of coping become repeated learned behaviours.

• Father absence: Aileen spoke about the emotional or physical absence of fathers in some Black families, based on her clinical experience, and the lasting impact this can create. She described how this absence can leave a gap in emotional connection and security—one that may echo across generations.

• Emotional legacy: These dynamics can leave behind deep-rooted feelings of abandonment, neglect, resentment, shame and repressed anger, which often resurface as addiction, compulsive behaviours or chaotic relationship patterns.

• Scripts: Perhaps the most striking aspect was Aileen’s example of the internalised script: “You have to work twice as hard as your white counterparts.” She spoke about how this made her driven, but at a cost. She has since worked to reframe that script.

Therapists are invited to listen out for these individual, family and societal scripts that shape a person’s self-belief and sense of possibility. That same script, “work twice as hard,” was given to me by a tutor while I was studying for my master’s in psychology. As a South Asian woman of colour, I was told I’d need to overperform just to be seen. That message stayed with me. It shaped a sense of shame, of not belonging, and a drive to succeed in systems that weren’t built with me in mind.

It was powerful and healing to hear this kind of dialogue spoken aloud. Equally affirming was the genuine curiosity in the room from practitioners working with racialised and marginalised groups.

In conversations after the presentation, I was struck by how many people, from all backgrounds, were reflecting on their own inherited scripts and family dynamics. These exchanges felt meaningful. There was a shared sense of reflection and recognition across difference.

Aileen reminded us that good intercultural work isn’t about asking someone to reject their culture or family. Rather, it is about helping them access and express their ‘real,’ and often conflicted, feelings with honesty and care. This, she emphasised, is the heart of meaningful therapeutic work.

The internal oppressor

By this point in the presentation, Aileen had laid the foundations – guiding us through history, personal scripts, emotional legacies and the inherited weight many of our clients carry. It felt like a slow, deliberate build-up. Each layer of the talk invited us to go deeper – to bear witness, not just to our clients’ experiences, but to our own internalised messages as well.

Then came the ‘Doll Test’ video.

It brought tears to my eyes and to my colleague sitting beside me. My body felt the sadness. It was tough to watch, confusing and painful – you could feel the depth of it in the room.

The short video (2 mins 44 secs) recreated the 1940s Doll Test with Italian children. Children of colour were asked to choose between a white doll and a Black doll, and say which one was good, pretty or bad. Almost all chose the white doll as ‘good’ or ‘beautiful,’ and the Black doll as ‘bad’ or ‘ugly’.

The hardest part was when they were asked, “Which doll looks like you?” The discomfort was immediate – in the children and in us watching. It was a simple exercise, showing how early the internal oppressor takes root. These messages are absorbed from a young age through media, school, family dynamics, playgrounds, and now TikTok and social media. They drip-feed into children’s minds, often before the age of six or seven.

Aileen held the topic with such care and relevance, threading it into everything she had already shared. It didn’t feel abrupt; it felt like something she had mindfully been preparing us for. As if to say: this is the work; this is what’s at stake. And this is why we need to keep doing it, with depth, honesty and awareness.

She reminded us that the internal oppressor is not the same as internalised oppression:

• The internal oppressor is a part of the self, an aspect of the ego, a noun. It inhibits. It functions as an inner enemy.

• It is often more challenging than external oppression because it becomes part of how someone sees themselves.

• It can come from unresolved cultural or historical pain, not only racial but from personal or family history as well.

• It often manifests as shame.

These messages start early. And the cost of carrying them quietly, sometimes unconsciously, shows up in how people relate to themselves and others. This part of the talk left me reflecting deeply on what we hold in our own bodies and what our clients silently carry into the therapy room.

Final reflections and practical guidance

After such a powerful exploration of history, identity and the embodied effects of racial trauma, Aileen closed the presentation by grounding us – offering practical guidance for working with generational trauma in clinical settings.

She spoke about the importance of exploring a client’s developmental history while holding in mind the vertical and horizontal impacts of oppression and how inherited trauma intersects with lived experience. This affects identity, self-esteem, relationships (intimate, familial, professional) and the client’s overall sense of worth.

She reminded us that resource building is essential – not just focusing on wounds but also helping clients access stability and strength.

Micro-skills for therapeutic work:

• Bracketing: Avoid assumptions and don’t objectify the client’s experience.

• Horizontalisation: Observe without rushing to interpret – allow clients to connect their own dots.

• Descriptive focus: Stay with what is being shared and reflect gently to support deeper insight.

• Curiosity: Stay curious – it’s a skill and a stance.

Aileen shared a moment from her journey to the conference, a long drive from East Sussex, where she saw a white van (driven by a white man!) with the words:

“Blessed are the curious, for they shall enjoy adventure.”

That stayed with me. It was a simple but timely reminder that curiosity is a strength, especially when navigating the complexity of intercultural and intergenerational work.

Questions for therapists (and clients) to reflect on:

• Which of your worldviews were shaped by your parents?
• What family scripts have you internalised that still shape your life?
• Where does identity shame reside in your family?
• What shame has been passed down, and how have you internalised it?

These kinds of questions don’t just open insight; they gently guide us into the deeper layers of generational trauma. They invite us and our clients to reflect with care.

What stayed with me

What stayed with me most was the reminder that history is not just a backdrop – it is present in the room, in the body and in the therapy relationship. As EMDR therapists, we need to know the history, especially the role of the British Empire and the legacy of slavery, and how being unseen, unacknowledged and misrecognised continues to impact racialised clients today.

Aileen’s framing of the internal oppressor stayed with me too – how it takes root so early, and how we might help clients begin to name it. The script, “You’ll have to work twice as hard,” still lives in many people. Naming it publicly, in a space where people were ready to listen, felt quietly powerful.

This presentation didn’t just inform – it invited us to reflect, to stretch and to stay open.

Chair Russell Hurn’s closing words captured that invitation:

“Thank you for highlighting that we’re all part of a system that historically has divided us – but we’re part of that system now, which means we can be part of bringing something different. We can work towards a more inclusive future, if we’re just able to remain curious, and able to have those really difficult conversations.”

That’s the work. And it starts with staying curious – about ourselves, our clients, and the stories we’ve inherited. In doing so, we begin to honour what’s been silenced, name what’s been internalised, and support our clients in finding their own language for healing.