Stopping Intergenerational Trauma; Counselling Singapore
Transition and Cultural Support
Supporting Adult Children of Addicts (ACOA) on the Path to Freedom
Introduction: The Wounds That Don’t Stay in the Past
Addiction doesn’t just impact the person using—it echoes across generations, leaving children of addicts (COAs) to navigate adult life with invisible scars. The pain, unpredictability, and emotional instability experienced during formative years shape how they trust, love, and connect.
Many adult children of addicts (ACOA) don’t even realise their struggles today—be it perfectionism, fear of abandonment, or difficulty with intimacy—are legacies of a chaotic childhood.
At Listening Ear Counselling & Consultancy Pte. Ltd., we help ACOAs recognise these patterns, reclaim their personal narratives, and consciously break the cycle of intergenerational trauma—so the story ends with them.
How Childhood Addiction Environments Affect ACOAs
Nervous System Imprints
Living in a home marked by instability, anger, or neglect wires the nervous system to constantly anticipate danger. This leads to chronic stress responses, difficulty regulating emotions, and hypersensitivity to perceived threats or rejection.
Dysfunction Becomes Familiar
Behaviours that were once survival mechanisms—people-pleasing, over-responsibility, emotional withdrawal—become default adult patterns, often sabotaging romantic and interpersonal relationships.
Attachment Wounds
Having emotionally unavailable, erratic, or abusive caregivers leaves deep attachment wounds. Adult children may fear closeness, resist vulnerability, or chase affection from emotionally unavailable partners—repeating the cycle they grew up in.
Trauma Passed Down
Without intervention, these unresolved traumas and behaviours are often transmitted to the next generation—not through malice, but because they were never addressed.
ACOA Checklist: Common Traits and Struggles
Many adult children of addicts share a set of emotional and relational patterns. Recognising these can be the first step toward change.
✦ Difficulty trusting others
✦ Fear of abandonment
✦ Overdeveloped sense of responsibility
✦ Difficulty with intimacy
✦ Constantly seeking approval
✦ Poor boundaries
✦ Strong need for control
✦ Suppressed emotions or emotional numbness
✦ Avoidance of conflict or passive-aggressiveness
✦ Perfectionism rooted in fear of criticism
These are not flaws—they’re adaptations. But they no longer serve you. And they don’t have to define you.
Our Therapy Approach to Breaking the Cycle
We use trauma-informed, attachment-focused, and empowerment-based therapies to support adult children of addicts in rewiring patterns, reclaiming identity, and rebuilding healthy relationships.
Our Key Interventions Include:
Trauma-Informed Therapy
We recognise how early trauma affects the brain and behaviour, offering safe spaces for deep emotional work.Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Builds emotional intelligence and helps individuals become more responsive, secure, and open in relationships.Narrative Therapy
Helps clients understand that they are not their past. We guide them in rewriting their story—from survival to resilience.Dynamic Attachment Re-patterning Experience (DARE)
Targets attachment wounds and trauma stored in the body, helping ACOAs feel safe in relationships and within themselves.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Challenges negative self-beliefs (“I’m not good enough,” “I’ll be abandoned”) and builds healthier thought patterns.Family Therapy
Offers space for intergenerational dialogue, closure, or reconciliation when safe and appropriate.Non-Violent Communication (NVC)
Teaches emotional expression and conflict resolution, critical for ACOAs who grew up in homes where feelings weren’t safe.
Trauma-Proofing the Next Generation
We don’t just support individuals—we help protect future generations from inheriting the same pain.
Through therapeutic parenting, boundary work, and emotional literacy, we help adult children of addicts:
✦ Build emotional regulation and resilience
✦ Create secure attachments with their children or partners
✦ Break patterns of silence, guilt, or over-control
✦ Develop emotional presence and vulnerability without fear
Awareness is the first step—action is the second.
Our Counselling Fees in Singapore
| Session Type | Investment | Additional Charges | Cancellation Policy |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-Person Sessions | SGD 250 | – SGD 50 after-hours surcharge -Transportation fees for out-of-office sessions or different venues | Reschedule or cancel with 36+ hours’ notice. Late changes or no-shows incur full session investment. |
| Virtual Sessions (Zoom) | SGD 200 (PayNow) SGD 250 (Other Methods) | – SGD 50 after-hours surcharge | Same as above. |
What Clients say about our Counselling in Singapore
Professionally Trained, Trauma-Informed & Culturally Attuned
Evidence-Based & Grounded in Real Life
Culturally Sensitive & Globally Informed
Respectful of Complex, Delicate Issues
Neutral, Non-Judgemental & Confidential Space
Final Words: You Are Not Your Childhood
You may have grown up in chaos, but you don’t have to carry it forward. At Listening Ear Counselling & Consultancy, we walk beside ACOAs in rediscovering their voice, rewriting their story, and showing up for themselves—and their future families—with intention and care.
📞 Reach out today.
Let’s stop the cycle and build something new—starting with you.