Family Constellations: The Invisible Ties that Bind Us

A Family Constellation is a three-dimensional group process that has the power to shift generations of suffering and unhappiness. Bert Hellinger, the founder of this work, who studied and treated families for more than 50 years, observed that many of us unconsciously "take on" destructive familial patterns of anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, loneliness, alcoholism and even illness as a way of "belonging" in our families. Bonded by a deep love, a child will often sacrifice his own best interests in a vain attempt to ease the suffering of a parent or other family member.

Family Constellations allow us to break these patterns so that we can live healthier, happier, more fulfilled lives. In a moment of insight, a new life course can be set in motion. The results can be life-changing. 

A family constellation session usually takes place in a one day workshop, with a group of people or as a private session. In a group workshop, the therapist chooses other participants to represent the people involved in his issue. Participants take turns to represent people involved in each other’s issues. The group is contracted to confidentiality and respect for all members. Though a session seems to be similar to a Psychodrama, it is completely different as it does not look at particular events in the client’s life to replay them; it simply looks at the energy in each of all the participating representatives with no sense of drama and very little information of the issue or the lives of the people concerned. In a session, the person with the issue seldom participates, so that he can observe the process, but more so because his involvement could influence the true flow of the Constellation.