Constellations Work

What is Family Constellations?

Family Constellations, also known as Systemic Constellations, is a therapeutic method for resolving deeply rooted personal and relational issues. Unlike traditional approaches that focus solely on individual experiences, Family Constellations reveal how many challenges are often connected to unseen entanglements within family systems. These hidden dynamics can stem from events such as the early death of a child, a child being quietly given up for adoption, a miscarriage or abortion that was never acknowledged, a family member's suicide that was kept secret, the trauma of war where many family members were lost, or a parent who couldn't marry their first love because they came from a different religion or social class.

These events can affect later generations and be unconsciously repeated, even if we don't know the full history of our family. Family Constellations bring these hidden dynamics to the surface, allowing us to understand how unresolved issues from the past continue to shape our present lives. By revealing these influences, Family Constellations offer a pathway to healing and breaking free from the patterns that no longer serve us.

How does Family Constellations work?

Family Constellations can be experienced in two different ways: through group workshops or private sessions. Both approaches aim to bring hidden family dynamics to the surface.

In group workshops, Family Constellations involve the participation of others to represent family members, significant relationships, or parts of yourself. As the one 'setting up' the constellation, you select people from the group to represent these positions, intuitively placing them based on your felt sense of the dynamics. The participants, called representatives, begin to resonate with the emotions, body sensations, or impulses connected to the roles they are representing. They do not imagine or try to think about how a family member might have felt in a particular situation; instead, they express an instinctive awareness of the position they are embodying. This phenomenon, known as the 'knowing field', is central to Family Constellations.

The knowing field refers to a field of information that allows representatives in Family Constellations to access insights beyond their conscious understanding. Often linked to Rupert Sheldrake's theory of morphic resonance, it suggests that living beings are influenced by fields of information that shape behaviours and development patterns. Bert Hellinger discovered that, during Family Constellations, participants could connect with this knowing field to gain a deeper understanding of unresolved family issues.

What's fascinating is that even without knowing anything about the person or situation, those chosen to represent family members start feeling emotions and sensations that reflect the hidden dynamics within the family. This process brings hidden patterns, unresolved traumas, and ancestral influences to the surface, allowing them to be seen and addressed.

Though we may not fully understand how it works, its impact is undeniable. By tapping into this field, Family Constellations reveal truths that are often buried in the unconscious, facilitating the release of long-held trauma and entanglements. This creates a powerful opportunity for deep healing, resolution, and transformation.

In private sessions, the process is similar in principle, but instead of group representatives, we use floor markers to represent family members, significant relationships, or different aspects of yourself. You and I will physically stand on the markers to resonate with these different positions, much like how representatives resonate with roles in group constellations. By standing in these positions, we access the emotions, sensations, and insights that reflect the underlying dynamics of the challenge or situation being explored. This external representation allows us to uncover the hidden dynamics within your family system or inner world.

As we move between the markers, unconscious patterns are brought to light, providing clarity and understanding. This allows for the integration of previously hidden dynamics, leading to profound emotional shifts and healing, similar to what occurs in group workshops.

In Episode 5 of the Netflix series GOOP, Family Constellations was featured, offering a glimpse into this transformative practice. Watch a short clip below.

How does this help?

Family Constellations are a solution-focused approach that reveals systemic influences affecting well-being. They help individuals and couples with issues such as:

Relationship conflicts

Unresolved childhood trauma

Separation or divorce

Depression or illness

Grief, loss, or bereavement

Family secrets or ruptures

Addiction or obsessions

Feelings of stuckness or powerlessness

Constellations also support decision-making at life's crossroads by allowing participants to see how choices might unfold through external representation, offering clarity and insight.

History of Family Constellations

While elements of systemic thinking and family dynamics existed before, Bert Hellinger significantly shaped and developed Family Constellations into the method we know today. His unique approach was influenced by his time with the Zulu people in South Africa, where he observed their deep connection to ancestors, and by his decades of work in family therapy. Building on existing therapeutic models, Hellinger introduced a phenomenological approach to reveal the hidden dynamics within family systems, allowing individuals to address unresolved patterns and traumas across generations.

Hellinger's work is built on several key principles:

The Family Soul: Every family system is connected by a collective conscience, ensuring that all members, even those excluded, belong. Disruptions in this balance can create systemic issues that carry through generations.

Orders of Love: Hellinger identified natural laws within family systems, such as the need for belonging, maintaining hierarchy, and balancing give and take in relationships. Disruptions to these orders lead to dysfunction.

Systemic Entanglements: Family members may unconsciously take on unresolved burdens from previous generations, leading to repeating patterns of behaviour or emotional struggles. Family Constellations help bring these hidden dynamics to light.

Acknowledging What Is: Healing begins by accepting reality as it is. Facing the truth of what has occurred within the family allows for reconciliation and resolution.

Hellinger's approach has influenced systemic work worldwide, offering a powerful way to understand and resolve the hidden forces that shape our lives.

Professor Franz Ruppert further expanded this work with his focus on trauma and its impact on personal identity, leading to the development of Identity-Oriented Psychotrauma Therapy (IoPT).

Trauma Constellations developed by Professor Dr. Franz Ruppert

Building on Hellinger's foundational work, Professor Dr. Franz Ruppert introduced a new dimension with his focus on trauma and its profound impact on personal identity. His pioneering method, Identity-Oriented Psychotrauma Therapy (IoPT), explores how trauma leads to psychological splits, fracturing our ability to form healthy connections with ourselves and others. Central to his approach is the Sentence of Intention, a tool that guides clients in uncovering and integrating deeply buried trauma, including pre-verbal and even pre-birth experiences. Through this process, individuals can gain insight into unresolved trauma that shapes their identity, fostering deeper self-awareness and healing

Ruppert's work delves into the following key areas:

Understanding trauma and the psychological splitting it causes

Exploring how trauma shapes identity and attachment

Examining the effects of pre-verbal, pre-birth, and inherited trauma

Key Foundations of IoPT are:

Clear definition of trauma and its effects on identity

How trauma leads to psychological splitting

The role of pre-birth, pre-verbal, and inherited trauma in our lives

The trauma of identity that occurs when we sacrifice our true self for connection

Concepts of autonomy and symbiosis in daily life

Trauma, especially from early life or passed down through generations, can remain hidden within the psyche, influencing us without conscious awareness. Ruppert's work emphasises that healing comes from accessing these deeply buried parts and integrating them into our conscious self.