Therapy Card Deck:  Healing Intergenerational Trauma in Latinx Families

Therapy Card Deck for Latinx Families 

This card deck is designed to spark unspoken conversation in Latinx familes. The card deck can be used as an individual tool or as a group discussion. There are a few "ACTION" cards to incorporate a chance for small reflection.

Description:

 In many Latinx families, difficult conversations about trauma often go unspoken. “Acculturation gaps may lead families to experience conflict between mainstream and heritage cultural values (Carrera, et al., 2014), as well as creating conflict and communication barriers within families. These challenges, combined with the stigma sourrounding mental health in Latinx culture, can make it difficult for individuals and families to open up about their emotions and seek healing.

This card deck creates a gentle and structured bridge to break down these barriers. By fostering open and culturally grounded conversations, it allows individuals and families to open up and explore their histories, emotions and intergenerational experiences at their own pace. With this deck, incorporating cultural pride and strengths will help individuals find healing within their heritage rather than seeing therapy as taboo or feeling disconnected from their identity.

To ensure accessibility and inclusivity, this deck will be both in English and Spanish. Language plays a crucial role in how families communicate and express emotions. Comfort with expressing needs in a language may vary across generations and the “inability to use common language to share intimate experiences with one another may make them prone to linguistic misunderstandings” (Carrera, et al., 2014). Offering a bilingual card deck, creates a space where individuals can engage in meaningful dialogue in the language that feels most comfortable to them.

This therapy card deck is designed to support counselors with the Latinx communities by having hard conversations around intergenerational trauma, cultural identity and emotional well-being. It provides a flexible and supportive approach that aligns with multicultural counseling principles and helps clients navigate  through deeply rooted family dynamics. The deck can be used in structured exercise or organically incorporating into sessions, giving counselors the flexibility to tailor discussions to each clients needs. The card deck can ultimately help counselors and clients increase their bicultural competence. 

The card deck and Canva link for an easier view: