Systemic family constellations is a phenomenological approach developed in the 1980s by the German psychotherapist Bert Hellinger (1925-2019), who discovered the systemic orders and developed a methodology in which representatives provide a living model of the family system in question to reestablish the systemic order and hierarchy in the family system.
This therapeutic process is carried out in group workshops or individual sessions. The family is the starting point from which to discover the origin of our conflicts, worries and pain. It is an effective method to regain order in the family system and orient us towards a solution. It opens up our awareness to a more expanded reality and positions us in the direction of health and wellbeing – our own and that of the other family members, who may be affected positively by the process despite not being present.
This therapeutic process focuses its attention on the family system and all or some of its members without judgment or personal intentions. It is useful to know the significant facts of the person’s biography and family history, but it is not indispensable.
The family constellation, with the support of the group and guidance of the therapist, shows the unconscious dynamic that the family members follow. The therapist looks for the entanglement or blind loyalties that infringe the family system, and then introduces the movements required to restore the systemic order and hierarchy wherever necessary – which is the essence of the work. The result is an image of “resolution”. This image is not a solution but signals the path that would need to be taken in order to gain peace. By gaining reconciliation with our roots, we gain the strength to take this path. A reduction of tension in the family can be felt and all its members gain this strength, which enables them to flourish and face their own path in life.
Going through this process in individual sessions is equally effective. Instead of the group we use figures, for example dolls or pieces of material and/or paper. The client works with each of these elements and visualises the entanglements of the family system until he/she arrives at the “image of resolution”.
Any adult who is open and receptive to the work can do a family constellation. It is recommended for conflict-ridden and draining relationships, traumatic experiences, a process of grieving that has not yet been closed, suffering an illness or the risk of becoming ill, a crisis with one’s partner, feelings of sadness, shame or guilt with or without apparent motive, a feeling of being lost or stuck in life, or without direction, without knowing why. If we are in a therapeutic process in which we feel stuck or at a turning point, a constellation can unblock and reorient it.
Scientific research provides, finally, unquestionable support thanks to the recent discoveries of epigenetic. This new discipline investigates how the environment and history of an individual influences the expression of his/her genes and shows the transgenerational transmission of trauma through the impressions it leaves on DNA.
On a deeper level, our life is a homage to our ancestors.
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