Healing Through Recovery: Dr. Frank Putnam on Childhood Trauma, Biological Aging, and Hope for Change

What if the very fact that you’re worried about passing on your trauma means you probably won’t?

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Frank Putnam, one of the world’s leading researchers on child maltreatment, dissociation, and intergenerational trauma, for a profound and deeply hopeful conversation about what really happens to the brain and body after childhood abuse… and what actually breaks the cycle.

Dr. Putnam shares insights from his 35+ year longitudinal study following sexually abused girls across generations, along with what he’s learned from decades of clinical work and trauma intervention. We talk about dissociation as a survival response, why trauma accelerates biological aging, and the single most important factor that predicts whether abuse gets passed down.

Yes, trauma leaves marks; psychologically, relationally, even biologically. But no, it does not make harm inevitable. In fact, most survivors do not go on to maltreat their children. And the difference often comes down to one powerful act: acknowledging what happened.

If you’ve ever felt damaged, polluted, afraid you’re doomed to repeat what you lived through, this episode offers science-backed hope.

Topics Covered in This Episode:

1. Why 70% of parents with maltreatment histories do not go on to abuse their children
2. The single most important factor that reduces intergenerational transmission of trauma
3. What dissociation actually is (fight, flight… and freeze) and why it can feel calming
4. When dissociation becomes adaptive and when it starts interfering with life
5. How parenting helps children develop integration between emotional “states”
6. What happens biologically after childhood trauma including accelerated puberty, immune disruption, and epigenetic aging
7. Why trauma survivors often experience autoimmune disorders, chronic illness, or early health decline
8. Whether biological aging from trauma is reversible
9. The role of CBT and TF-CBT in healing trauma
10. Why “self-care is childcare” isn’t cliché; it’s neuroscience

Connect with me on Instagram @dr.koslowitzpsychology and check out my new book Post-Traumatic Parenting: Break the Cycle and Become the Parent You Always Wanted to Be

You can find Dr. Frank Putnam’s book Old Before Their Time wherever books are sold. His earlier work, The Way We Are, explores personality, state transitions, and integration.