What is Family Constellations?
Family Constellations work is a form of brief therapy with an orientation towards resolution. This work quickly and precisely reveals dynamics that bind a person to his or her relationship system in a dysfunctional way, and that constrain coping strategies and personal development, thereby preventing the person from structuring his or her life in a positive way.
The methods of constellation work incorporate techniques, procedures and experiences from other psychotherapeutic approaches including hypnotherapy, behaviour therapy, gestalt therapy and systemic therapy.
Family Constellations in groups, as well as individual sessions, are applicable in psychosomatic clinics, counselling, schools, in mediation, in organizational consulting, and in human resources development.
They help to clarify the dynamics of the context, to gain understanding of the family connections, and to find a position of inner strength and helpful inner images for the client.
WORKSHOPS/ GROUP SESSIONS
In a group session, a client identifies an issue, a problem, or symptoms, and describes what he or she is seeking as a resolution. The therapist collects information about the important people and events in the client’s life, and in the lives of the parents and grandparents. Based on the facts and feelings, the therapist develops a hypothesis about the family dynamics involved, and tests this hypothesis in a constellation.
Clients choose representatives from the group participants to represent important family members, (sometimes) including a representative for themselves, and set them in a spacial relationship to one another, according to their inner image. The therapist asks each representative for feedback about physical sensations, feelings and awareness. These statements confirm or change the original hypothesis. The therapist broadens his or her picture of the dynamic and resolutions and begins to experiment with changes in the constellations placements. Often, additional representatives are added for people who have an impact on the dynamics of the system. When all the representatives have found a “good” place, the client takes the place of his or her representative in the constellation. The therapist may ask the representatives to utter certain sentences, or complete certain rituals in order to help the client move towards a resolution. Many constellations lead to insights about inter-psychic dynamics or relationships that are having an effect on the health and well-being of the client. Some lead to an image of resolution that brings physical and emotional relief, and that continues to have an effect over a long period of time.
Family Constellations in groups, as well as individual sessions, are applicable in psychosomatic clinics, counselling, schools, in mediation, in organizational consulting, and in human resources development.
They help to clarify the dynamics of the context, to gain understanding of the family connections, and to find a position of inner strength and helpful inner images for the client.
INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS
In individual sessions only the client and the therapist are present.
Constellations in this setting can be just as effective as a constellation in a group.
A constellation can be visualized in our imagination and all the movements and rituals can be completed in the mind’s eye.
Alternatively, using figures, dolls, or blocks to represent the family members allows the client and the therapist to look at the constellation together from the outside. Constellations using markers consisting of felt pieces or sheets of paper are also effective. The client or therapist can stand in the various marked positions, thereby gaining additional information about the dynamics in the family system through bodily sensations and any changes following interventions.
All of these methods can provide experiences of high intensity and awareness and serve well to test out hypotheses, develop resolutions, and create effective images of resolution.
ONLINE SESSIONS
In online sessions the work can be done in individual setting, which means only the client and the therapist are present or in small groups.
The advantage of this method is that the client and the therapist can have a session remotely while being in different countries, cities, or even in different points of the same city.
The work can be done by visualizations, in the mind’s eye or using a virtual field where we can set the constellation using virtual figures as representatives or abstract object provided by the same application. For this the therapist sends a link to the client to access the virtual field where the session will take place.
The link can only be accessed by the client and the therapist and remains confidential. No written data will be stored unless the client asks for it. The client also has the opportunity to receive the final snapshot of the session to be able to come back to the image of resolution whenever it feels necessary.
All Family Constellations sessions in Brussels are facilitated by Cecilia Altieri. During her therapy sessions she combines the use of Presence as a resource, the genogram (Family tree), Client-Centered Therapy, Trauma Therapy, body awareness and Systemic Family Constellations.
For more information or to book an online session or fill in the form at the end of this page.
For those willing to learn more about the method of Family Constellations I recommend the following books:
- The river never looks back: Historical and practical foundations of Bert Hellinger’s Family Constellations.
Ursula Franke. Published by: Carl-Auer. - In my mind’s eye: Family Constellations in individual therapy and counselling.
Ursula Franke. Published by: Carl-Auer.
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