These movements are movements of love. Once order is restored, the whole family soul receives new strength.
– Bert Hellinger
What are Family Constellations?
Family Constellations is a therapeutic process assembled by Bert Hellinger. In this work, you can explore a question, issue, or problem that is causing conflict in your life and experience a resolution that broadens your perspective and creates space for new ways of being with yourself, others, and the world.
The question or issue may or may not have to do with your family, but the root of the problem and the resolution almost always take place within the family system.
Family Constellations allow us to connect with parts of ourselves and family members we may have consciously or unconsciously excluded or rejected. In doing so, powerful resources from our family system become accessible. When we experience these resources and feel supported, we are more likely to love and accept ourselves and others exactly as we and they are. We begin to feel as though we got enough and we are enough.
Rather than living life facing the past, with our backs to the future, we gradually disentangle ourselves from the dynamics that are blocking us and clear the path for love, life force energy, and other resources to flow through our ancestors to us. This may inspire us to make a contribution in the world.
The nature of the contribution is not what is important, it may be big or small. What is important is knowing you have something of value to offer. By making a contribution, you are moving your family system forward. Your ancestors live on through you and your contribution.
In essence, this work helps us to turn to our family system and say, "Thank you. I got enough. I am enough. I will do something with what I received." By doing this work, we reorganize the past and bring harmony, ease, and relaxation to ancestors, generations to come, and to the entire systemic nervous system.
How is this done...
Family Constellations is phenomenological or experiential. Constellations can be done in groups or individually.
A client shares a question or an issue he/she would like to explore. This is an opportunity to out-picture the question or problem and internalize resources (inner support) or a resolution.
This work helps us see what shapes us and how we are influenced by images stored in our subconscious mind.
Many of these images are inherited, while others are formed as a result of experiences we have in our lives, especially early on with our parents.
By choosing people to ‘stand in’ a constellation and represent family members or entities such as anxiety, depression, fear, love, and trust, the question or problem is depicted in three-dimensional form. What was previously hidden is now revealed for all involved to witness and work with. Usually the image revealed is no longer aligned with the client's current vision of how he/she would like to live life.
During the constellation, movements are made and healing sentences are exchanged between representatives and the client. What was not expressed or consciously known to the client in the past is revealed. This is the beginning of the formation of a new image, one that has the capability to support the client in new ways.
In constellations, people learn about their family members and experience them in a wider context. In doing so, they realize it is not their place to take on the feelings or fates of family members.
When this happens, our hearts expand and we experience newfound respect and compassion for our family members and ourselves.
Constellations restore natural order so we can see that everyone belongs in their right place no matter what.
At the end of a constellation, a new image is created. This image can take root and support the client’s integration and growth process. Insights, shifts, and transformations can occur during and long after constellations are done.