Anne Ancelin Schützenberger is one of the pioneers in the field of transgenerational therapy - she "coined" the term "psychogenealogy". In her bestseller, The Ancestor Syndrome, Schutzenberger explains and provides clinical examples of her unique psychogenealogical approach to psychotherapy. She shows how, as mere links in a chain of generations, we may have no choice in having the events and traumas experienced by our ancestors visited upon us in our own lifetime.
The book includes fascinating case studies and examples of 'genosociograms' (family trees) to illustrate how her clients have conquered seemingly irrational fears, psychological and even physical difficulties by discovering and understanding the parallels between their own life and the lives of their forebears. The theory of 'invisible loyalty' owed to previous generations, which may make us unwittingly re-enact their life events, is discussed in the light of ongoing research into transgenerational therapy.