Reflections on Dr Aileen Alleyne’s Keynote at the EMDR UK Conference 2025

In this blog post, I share my personal reflection on Dr Aileen Alleyne’s keynote presentation at the EMDR UK Annual Conference 2025. Her work on generational trauma, Black identity wounding and the internal oppressor has shaped my understanding of racialised trauma over many years. What follows is my own experience of hearing her speak again, and how her framing continues to influence my EMDR practice and my wider decolonising work. These reflections are entirely my own.

EMDR UK Conference 2025: Reflections on Dr Aileen Alleyne’s Presentation

Dr Aileen Alleyne’s keynote addressed the intergenerational impact of trauma and the wounding carried within Black identity. Drawing on her clinical work and research on the internal oppressor, she brought clarity and depth to a topic many therapists feel but rarely name directly. This article reflects on those themes, the emotional and clinical resonance they hold for me, and the shift I can feel in the EMDR field towards naming racialised trauma more openly in therapeutic spaces.

Aileen is a psychodynamic psychotherapist, supervisor and organisational consultant. Her work centres on the psychological effects of racism, the legacy of enslavement and the emotional inheritance passed through generations. Her concept of the internal oppressor describes how societal racism becomes internalised and shapes self-worth. Her book The Burden of Heritage explores these ideas in depth.

I have known Aileen for over twenty years. She supervised me during a period when I was navigating racism and bias within my workplace. Her support helped me understand what was happening both personally and somatically. To hear her speak again , after almost a decade, felt grounding and full-circle. We have reconnected in recent years, and she now offers consultation and mentoring for my work with embodied racialised trauma, decolonising therapy and my role as a psychologist and yoga teacher trainer.

Themes and Relevance for EMDR Practitioners

Aileen explored a wide landscape: the history of enslavement, the question “Who remembers us Black folks?”, generational trauma, the hidden white minority, the internal oppressor and therapeutic approaches for intercultural work. The chair, Russell Hurn, framed the talk honestly:

“This is an uncomfortable topic for many of us… but essential for all EMDR therapists.”

That honesty set the tone. The presentation was both challenging and necessary.

History in the Body: Liverpool, Enslavement and Presence

Aileen began by acknowledging Liverpool’s central role in the transatlantic slave trade. Having lived in Liverpool during my teens and early adulthood, I felt the emotional weight of this history in my body as she spoke. I reminded myself to breathe, jaw soft, feet grounded, echoing the somatic practices taught by Resmaa Menakem.

Aileen shared stark facts: between the 15th and 18th centuries, more than 18 million African people were taken captive; six million died during capture and transport; twelve million were forced into labour across the Americas and the West Indies.

She said:

“This initial trauma for Black people is poignant because it reflects the systematic dehumanisation of African slaves.”

Her words landed heavily, but clearly.

“Who Remembers Us Black Folks?”

Aileen spoke about how easily the atrocity of enslavement is forgotten, and how this forgetting becomes an additional wound. She compared it with how other atrocities are formally remembered, and then asked:

“But who remembers us Black folks?”

The room felt attentive, steady. I was aware of my own internal oppressor, the part that becomes anxious in predominantly white-bodied spaces, yet something in me felt soothed by the warmth and genuine engagement in the room.

Generational Trauma and Black Identity Wounding

Aileen emphasised that to understand generational trauma within Black communities, we cannot bypass the history of enslavement. It created a psychic rupture that continues to echo through shame, silence, detachment, over-attachment, anxiety and anger.

She spoke about the emotional inheritance passed through:

• family dynamics

• scripts around survival and achievement

• the world’s ongoing forgetfulness

Her definition of Black identity wounding highlights how invisibility and misrecognition perpetuate harm. This felt deeply resonant , both personally and professionally.

Intergenerational, Transgenerational and Intersectional Trauma

Aileen clarified the difference between:

• Intergenerational trauma: passed through families, biologically and socially

• Transgenerational trauma: rooted in historical events such as colonisation, slavery and genocide

She also spoke about intersectionality, introducing the idea of the hidden white minority - groups who may be read as white but hold histories of being othered (Jewish communities, Roma, Travellers, Eastern Europeans, mixed-heritage people who “pass”).

This broadened the conversation without diluting its focus.

How Trauma Is Passed On

Aileen described how inherited trauma shows up in everyday family life:

• emotionally absent or harsh parenting

• father absence

• internalised beliefs around worth

• inherited scripts, such as:
  “You have to work twice as hard as your white counterparts.”

I was given that same script during my master’s degree, told I would need to overperform as a South Asian woman of colour. That message shaped me. Hearing Aileen speak about these scripts with compassion felt validating and restorative.

The Internal Oppressor

The Doll Test video brought the entire room into contact with the pain of early internalisation. Watching children describe the white doll as “good” and the Black doll as “bad” was heartbreaking. The moment they were asked which doll looked like them was almost unbearable.

Aileen clarified:

• The internal oppressor is an internal part, an inner enemy shaped by cultural messages.

• It is distinct from internalised oppression.

• It often manifests as shame.

• It takes root early and becomes woven into identity.

This reminder felt central to the work we do in EMDR and embodied trauma practice.

Practical Guidance for EMDR and Intercultural Work

Aileen closed with grounded guidance for therapists:

Micro-skills:

• Bracketing: hold back assumptions

• Horizontalisation: observe before interpreting

• Descriptive focus: stay with what the client brings

• Curiosity: cultivate open, spacious inquiry

Curiosity felt like the thread running through the entire presentation. On her drive to the conference, Aileen saw a van with the words:

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

A reminder that curiosity is not avoidance, it’s a gateway into deeper, more honest work.

She also offered reflective questions for both clients and therapists:

• What scripts did you inherit?

• Where is shame alive in your family history?

• What beliefs were handed down that no longer serve you?

These questions help us move gently toward insight rather than bypassing complexity.

What Stayed With Me

What stayed with me most was the reminder that history is always present , in the room, in the nervous system, and in the therapeutic relationship. EMDR therapists need to know the history of the British Empire and the legacy of enslavement because our clients carry these stories in their bodies, often without language.

Russell Hurn closed with a line that felt both honest and hopeful:

“We’re all part of a system that historically has divided us - but we can be part of bringing something different.”

This is the work.
Staying curious.
Naming what has been internalised.
Supporting clients to find their own language for healing.