What is Family Constellation Therapy?

Our family systems are powerful forces in our lives. Hidden dynamics working across generations can leave us an inheritance of habits and entanglements that stop us from moving forward.

Family Constellation* Therapy is a hands-on, interactive, practical therapy, first pioneered by Bert Hellinger (German psychotherapist), that seeks to release these entanglements and create new possibilities for movement and change. It has its roots in family systems therapy, phenomenology, and the ancestor reverence of South African tribal tradition.

*“Constellation” comes from the German word “Aufstellung” meaning arrangement or set-up.

Constellations beyond families

Although it has historically been used in family contexts, constellation work is also a powerful tool in companies and organisations. Hidden dynamics in any social system can block it from achieving its purpose; constellation work can help to shift the blockages.

How does it work?

Constellation therapy works with physical representations of a client’s family members or colleagues and explores hidden dynamics in those relationships.

These representations can be other people, in a group setting, or physical objects in individual work.

The process of setting up and contemplating the constellation under the guidance of a skilled facilitator, reveals hidden relationships and patterns. This makes it possible to create healing images or solutions that can release entanglements and leave the client free from systemic burden.

Although it appears simple, this is a powerful technique that can uncover and heal traumas going back through generations. A constellation may, for example, reveal an ignored or excluded family member such as a child who died in infancy or a relative who was institutionalised. Acknowledging these excluded members can restore balance and order to the family system.

Who can benefit?

• Individuals needing to cope with traumatic life events
• Anybody facing difficult decisions
• Organisations and businesses experiencing internal conflict
• Couples or families who want to improve their relationships
• People who seek understanding of themselves and their life patterns

Constellation therapy is usually workshop-based, but longer-term work is also possible.

Constellation work can also be a valuable adjunct to existing long-term psychotherapy.