Systemic Family Constellations
Recognizing the systemic and ancestral origins of health and well being.
About Systemic Family Constellations
What is Systemic Family Constellations?
We inherit not only our physical characteristics, such as our eye and hair color, from our ancestors, but also their unresolved emotional and traumatic experiences. Family Constellations is a therapeutic modality that delves into the intricate dynamics of family systems. Originating from the work of Bert Hellinger, it explores how unresolved issues or traumas from past generations can affect individuals in the present.
Family Constellations offer a way to uncover hidden dynamics, unresolved conflicts, and systemic patterns that are contributing to current personal challenges. By gaining insights into these dynamics, one can move towards understanding and resolving issues regarding relationships, work, finances, health, death, etc.
Is Systemic Family Constellations right for you?
Physical, emotional, psychological, relational, financial, or spiritual issues and repeating patterns often have their origins within the family system and prior generations. Family Constellations field work over the last 30 years, backed by the latest epigenetic research, shows that our ancestors' unresolved traumas and emotional experiences are passed down to current generations and often cannot be effectively resolved without taking this connection into consideration in the healing process.
If you or someone you love is struggling with any of the following issues, Family Constellations therapy may be right for you:
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Relationship Problems: conflict or dysfunction, difficulty forming or maintaining intimate relationships, struggles with family dynamics
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Emotional Distress: persistent feelings of sadness or depression, anxiety, chronic stress, fears, unresolved grief or loss, feelings of guilt and shame
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Trauma: experiences of personal trauma, childhood trauma, intergenerational trauma passed down through family line
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Identity Issues: struggles with self-identity or self-worth, difficulty understanding one’s place in the family or community, conflicts related to cultural or ethnic identity
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Behavioral Patterns: repetitive negative behaviors or habits, addiction or substance abuse issues, unexplained phobias or irrational fears, eating disorders
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Health Problems: chronic physical illnesses or conditions, issues related to fertility or reproductive health
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Life Transitions: difficulty coping with major life changes (e.g., divorce, job loss), challenges related to aging or significant life milestones, struggles with career direction or purpose
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Family History: unresolved family conflicts or secrets, patterns of dysfunction or estrangement in the family, effects of historical events (e.g., war, migration) on the family
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Parental Issues: challenges in parenting or understanding one's children, issues stemming from one’s own relationship with their parents, coping with the loss of a parent or child
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Financial Problems: patterns of financial instability or hardship, difficulty managing money or achieving financial goals, anxiety related to financial security
Process & Set-Up
How does it work?
Systemic Family Constellations can be done in a group setting or in individual 1:1 sessions and both ways provide a visual and experiential approach to understanding and bringing resolution to your issue. Here I describe the individual sessions that can happen online or in person.
During a session, we start by getting very clear about the issue you want to explore and the intention for the session. You will then be guided in setting up a "constellation." This involves selecting objects to represent the various people or elements that we have chosen to be a part of constellating your issue. You will then position them in relation to each other according to what feels right to you.
This spatial setting out of the people or elements that belong to your issue offers an immediate visual mapping out of the relationships between yourself and the people and elements that are involved. This supports an uncovering of what has been unseen and therefore new understandings and opportunities to move from disharmony towards order.
The "Knowing Field" is a concept central to the practice of Systemic Family Constellations. It is the invisible field of energy which is understood to hold the collective memory and consciousness of a family system. This field allows both the client and the facilitator to access insights into hidden dynamics and information that are not consciously known but are essential for healing and resolution.
Through guided interventions, the facilitator supports flow and harmony in these dynamics based on guiding systemic principles. This might involve repositioning the representatives, using specific phrases that bring awareness and resolution, or recognizing unspoken family loyalties and bonds.
By addressing the root causes of disharmony within the family system this therapy can promote lasting change and a deeper sense of connection and well-being.