Israeli Psychologists Explore How Parental History Shapes Career Paths and Meaning
Dr. Orna Yaffe-Yanai, a leading Israeli psychologist, first recognized signs of depression in her three young children, a perception others initially dismissed. Reflecting on her own childhood trauma, including the death of her younger brother and the legacy of her Holocaust-survivor parents, she realized how intergenerational wounds influence children’s emotional states and career trajectories. This insight laid the foundation for her and her daughter Goni Yanai-Yitzhaki’s joint work on psychogenetic occupational psychology, which examines how family DNA, fears, desires, and missed opportunities shape career choices.
Orna, now 80 and a Tel Aviv resident, has had a distinguished career pioneering clinical and occupational psychology in Israel. Her daughter Goni, who chose social work over psychology despite growing up in a family of psychologists, became a certified couples and family therapist. Together, they co-authored the new book "Walking the Paths of Meaning" (Kinneret-Zmora-Dvir), a dialogue exploring how childhood wounds and family history impact professional identity and fulfillment. The book follows Orna’s seminal 2000 work that established the field in Israel.
Their clinical practice reveals how family fears and unresolved traumas often block career progress. For example, a young man’s entrepreneurial ambitions were stifled by his mother’s deep-rooted fear of financial ruin, inherited from her family history. Therapy involving both helped break this psychological barrier. They also note that career stagnation is often a defense mechanism protecting individuals until they are emotionally ready to change.
The mother-daughter duo emphasize that modern career success depends on authentic self-knowledge and meaning, especially amid today’s volatile job market shaped by AI, pandemics, and geopolitical instability. They highlight gender differences in coping with career identity, noting women often have multiple social roles to lean on, while men’s identities tend to be more singular and tied to work.
Despite occasional tensions, Orna and Goni maintain a close working relationship, balancing collaboration with personal boundaries. Their shared journey includes a two-year family sabbatical in Asia, which helped Goni overcome her own career impasse. Their work underscores the importance of understanding the deep psychological roots of career choices and the potential for healing intergenerational wounds through awareness and meaning-making.
