Family Constellations
Encyclopedia
Family Constellations is an experiential process that aims to release and resolve profound tensions within and between people. The development of the process can be traced through a lineage of philosophers and therapists including Edmund Husserl
, the father of phenomenology; Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy
, the pioneer of transgenerational systemic thinking; Virginia Satir
, who developed family sculpture, the precursor of Systemic Constellations; and Bert Hellinger
. In the past decade, further advancements in the use of the process have been innovated by practitioners throughout the world. These include psychiatrists (Gunthard Weber and Albrecht Mahr, Germany; Chris Walsh, Australia), and psychologists (Hunter Beaumont, Germany; Marta Thorsheim, Norway; Edward Lynch and Dan Booth Cohen, USA; Judith Hemming, UK;, as well as many alternative care providers.
The term "Family Constellations" was first used by Alfred Adler
in a somewhat different context to refer to the phenomenon that each individual belongs to and is bonded in relationship to other members of his or her family system.
A healing resolution is achieved when every representative feels right in his or her place and the other representatives agree. This is claimed to represent, in an abstract way, a possible resolution of the issues faced by the subject of the session.
Along the way to finding this healing resolution, particular attention is paid by the practitioner to configurations of the group that do not feel right or which generate negative feelings or physical sensations. It is claimed that such configurations may represent systemic entanglements between the seeker's family members. Systemic entanglements are said to occur when unresolved trauma has afflicted a family through an event such as murder, suicide, death of a mother in childbirth, early death of a parent or sibling, war, natural disaster, emigration, or abuse. Proponents claim that the negative legacy from such events can be passed down to succeeding generations, even if those affected now are unaware of the original event in the past. The psychiatrist Iván Böszörményi-Nagy
referred to this phenomenon as Invisible Loyalties
, behavioral, and Psychodynamic psychotherapy
.
Edmund Husserl
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic...
, the father of phenomenology; Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy
Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy
Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy was a Hungarian-American psychiatrist and one of the founders of the field of family therapy. He emigrated from Hungary to the United States in 1950....
, the pioneer of transgenerational systemic thinking; Virginia Satir
Virginia Satir
Virginia Satir was an American author and psychotherapist, known especially for her approach to family therapy and her work with Systemic Constellations...
, who developed family sculpture, the precursor of Systemic Constellations; and Bert Hellinger
Bert Hellinger
The German psychotherapist Bert Hellinger is associated with a therapeutic method best known as Family Constellations and Systemic Constellations. In recent years, his work has evolved beyond these formats into what he now calls Movements of the Spirit-Mind...
. In the past decade, further advancements in the use of the process have been innovated by practitioners throughout the world. These include psychiatrists (Gunthard Weber and Albrecht Mahr, Germany; Chris Walsh, Australia), and psychologists (Hunter Beaumont, Germany; Marta Thorsheim, Norway; Edward Lynch and Dan Booth Cohen, USA; Judith Hemming, UK;, as well as many alternative care providers.
The term "Family Constellations" was first used by Alfred Adler
Alfred Adler
Alfred Adler was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. In collaboration with Sigmund Freud and a small group of Freud's colleagues, Adler was among the co-founders of the psychoanalytic movement as a core member of the Vienna...
in a somewhat different context to refer to the phenomenon that each individual belongs to and is bonded in relationship to other members of his or her family system.
The method
- A group (workshop participants) is led by a facilitator. In turn, members of the group can explore an urgent personal issue. Generally, several members will be given an opportunity to set up a Constellation in each session.
- After a brief interview, the facilitator suggests who will be represented in the Constellation. These are usually a representative for the seeker, one or more family members, and sometimes abstract concepts such as "depression" or a country.
- The person presenting the issue (seeker or client) asks people from the group to be representatives. He or she arranges the representatives according to what feels right in the moment. The seeker then sits down and observes.
- Several minutes elapse with the representatives standing still and silent in their places. Unlike psychodramaPsychodramaPsychodrama is a method of psychotherapy in which clients utilize spontaneous dramatization, role playing and dramatic self-presentation to investigate and gain insight into their lives. Developed by Jacob L. Moreno, M.D. psychodrama includes elements of theater, often conducted on a stage where...
the representatives do not act, pose or role play. - Emphasis is placed on intuition in placing the representatives and in subsequent steps of the procedure. The aim is to tap into what the psychiatrist Albrecht Mahr describes as the Knowing Field . The Knowing Field is claimed to guide participants to perceive and articulate feelings and sensation that mirror those of the real family members they represent. The mechanisms behind this representative perception is not fully understood. The representatives have little or no factual knowledge about those they represent. Nevertheless, the representatives usually experience feelings or physical sensations which inform the process.
- The facilitator may ask each representative to describe how it feels to be placed in relation to the others. At this point, the facilitator, seeker, and group members may perceive something in the spacial relationships and feelings held by the representatives that is informative regarding an underlying dynamic that relates to the presenting personal issue.
- A healing resolution for the issue generally involves the repositioning the representatives and for the facilitator to suggest one or two sentences to be spoken aloud. If the representatives do not feel better in their new position or sentence, they can move again or try a different sentence. Sometimes the process ends before a full resolution is achieved.
- In some groups, when the facilitator feels the climax of the constellation, the client or seeker is placed where his/her representative to truly perceive what his/her representative was feeling and give resolution him/herself to the initial problem by expressing fisically and/or verbally. When everything feels alright, they proceed to end the constellation
A healing resolution is achieved when every representative feels right in his or her place and the other representatives agree. This is claimed to represent, in an abstract way, a possible resolution of the issues faced by the subject of the session.
Along the way to finding this healing resolution, particular attention is paid by the practitioner to configurations of the group that do not feel right or which generate negative feelings or physical sensations. It is claimed that such configurations may represent systemic entanglements between the seeker's family members. Systemic entanglements are said to occur when unresolved trauma has afflicted a family through an event such as murder, suicide, death of a mother in childbirth, early death of a parent or sibling, war, natural disaster, emigration, or abuse. Proponents claim that the negative legacy from such events can be passed down to succeeding generations, even if those affected now are unaware of the original event in the past. The psychiatrist Iván Böszörményi-Nagy
Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy
Ivan Böszörményi-Nagy was a Hungarian-American psychiatrist and one of the founders of the field of family therapy. He emigrated from Hungary to the United States in 1950....
referred to this phenomenon as Invisible Loyalties
Criticisms
While participants in Family Constellations sessions report positive outcomes , the approach explicitly diverges from much of mainstream cognitiveCognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology exploring internal mental processes.It is the study of how people perceive, remember, think, speak, and solve problems.Cognitive psychology differs from previous psychological approaches in two key ways....
, behavioral, and Psychodynamic psychotherapy
Psychodynamic psychotherapy
Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a form of depth psychology, the primary focus of which is to reveal the unconscious content of a client's psyche in an effort to alleviate psychic tension. In this way, it is similar to psychoanalysis. It also relies on the interpersonal relationship between client...
.
- As the Family Constellation method does not lend itself to being empirically validated by scientific research methods, it can only be defended from a phenomenological approach.
- There are national accrediting associations for Family Constellations in many countries, however not all practitioners are properly trained and accredited.