• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Ancestral Souls

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Our Services
  • Appearances
  • My Books
  • Testimonials
  • Join Mailing List
  • Contact Us

Recent Posts

  • Exploring Collective Trauma in the Family Tree
  • Trauma in the Family Tree Course Details
  • Chakra Balancing & Healing Sessions Available
  • Energy Tool: Exploring Duality
  • Energy Tool: What’s The Worst Thing That Could Happen If I…….

Archives

  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020

ancestral healer

Do Research Professionals Require Therapy?

March 9, 2020 by Jennifer Holik

That is a loaded, triggering question isn’t it? Isn’t it time these communities start the conversation about the effects of research on us mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally as researchers and professionals?

I have been a genealogical researcher for more than 20 years. For a decade, I’ve studied every military branch and it’s paperwork for WWII, which resulted in the creation of numerous research guides, speaking programs, and more clients than I can count. I took ProGen and several other professional genealogy prep classes back in the day. I self-taught the 20th century military research because no one else was teaching this – no other books existed. Then in 2012 when I moved out and got divorced, I started down a spiritual path alongside the military research. Then I began to travel in Europe. I also wrote some gut wrenching, sad, life changing books about my family’s military members. Those broke me open. Helping clients write books and share their deeper stories has also broken me open.

Do you know none of the genealogy business groups, classes, webinars, or anything talk about these issues? None provide support on how we as professionals or researchers deal with this? Only recently through the DNA surprises people are getting are these topics I speak of below being even whispered. Yet no one is stepping forward to address the therapeutic side of what we do.

The combination of years of genealogy research for both myself and clients plus the military research plus explaining to clients the heavy stuff, the family secrets they didn’t know about (pregnancy during war time that was never disclosed), helping unravel family trauma, PTSD, inherited trauma, multiple issues that we all grow up with, broken homes, and on and on PLUS being a caregiver to my husband and dealing with loss, grief, anticipated grief, PTSD, etc., – as a result of the genealogy and/or military research I was doing for clients……resulted in both myself as a professional and my clients or anyone else who worked with me to have unresolved grief, triggers for PTSD and other issues, and many other things show up because we chose this work.

 

How Do I Know We Need Help?

In the last two years, the clients who hire me have changed. They require and sometimes demand the deeper healing – the deeper answers. Most are not satisfied with the facts, documents, answers to their questions. They require facilitation to process what we discover, especially when it turns their world upside down and makes them question who their father or mother was and who they are now that they know this information.

Many clients deal with caregiving issues, grief, loss, PTSD, inherited trauma, compassion fatigue, discovering their WWII mom had a baby out of wedlock the family didn’t know about, discovering a father wasn’t who they thought he was, talking about LGBTQI issues, rape, assault, they ask about ancestral lineage healing, they are adopted or through DNA discover things they weren’t prepared for…..it goes on and on. All of this comes up in the military and family history work I do with clients.

I have had to find resources in books, online classes, professionals, and articles, to name a few things I’ve used, to help both myself move through the issues of caregiving, the issues of professional compassion fatigue and PTSD from the work I do, and help my clients through these issues.

Am I a therapist? No. But I do not believe we need to be therapists to help guide clients and provide resources. I do believe we need to recognize when we should refer someone to a professional therapist/spiritual teacher/religious guide, etc. That is part of our responsibility as professional researchers and human beings. To help support and love each other.

 

What’s the Next Step?

 

In January 2020, I gave a free webinar for genealogy and military research professionals, with a workbook, on incorporating resources into our genealogy and military research businesses to help clients.

 

 

Work WITH ME

Register for a facilitation session and let’s discuss how I can help you create more in your business.

 

Follow Jennifer and All Her Military & Family History Topics

Are you following Jennifer and all her work on all her social media sites? Click the link to learn more and find different content.

© 2020 Ancestral Souls

Filed Under: Blog, Genealogy, Military Research Professional, Professional Genealogist Tagged With: ancestral healer, ancestral lineage healing, client services, energy heailng, family patterns, inherited trauma, military research, professional genealogist, psychology, PTSD, therapy, wwii research

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Exploring Collective Trauma in the Family Tree February 3, 2021
  • Trauma in the Family Tree Course Details January 30, 2021
  • Chakra Balancing & Healing Sessions Available January 29, 2021
  • Energy Tool: Exploring Duality January 27, 2021
  • Energy Tool: What’s The Worst Thing That Could Happen If I……. January 25, 2021

Archives

  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • Connect with me Everywhere
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • WWII Education
  • Finding the Answers Journey Course Site
  • Admin Login

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT