Family Constellations enables us to see our family as a whole group. It shows the hidden dynamics within this group that may be affecting our lives.

We might have tried to resolve our issues by various means, but then notice they continue to reappear again. It’s as if there’s something we’re not seeing, something that’s keeping us held back.

Family Constellations is an effective way to view our family and relationships from a wider perspective. From this place we can acknowledge things that we may not have been able to see before, either because they have been too painful to look at or we have been too close to see them properly.

When we see ourselves from this wider perspective, we also see our place as part of the ‘family group’. We notice where we are entangled in the family group, whom we identify with in this entanglement and how it affects our life.

With this deep level of acknowledgment we are able to understand ourselves that much better and find new solutions to move forward.

Bert Hellinger is considered by many to be Europe’s most innovative and provocative psychotherapist. He acknowledges several important influences on his life and work: his parents, whose faith immunized him against accepting Hitler’s National Socialism; his 20 years as a priest, particularly as a missionary to the Zulu.

After leaving the priesthood, he studied psychoanalysis, and eventually developed an interest in Gestalt Therapy and Transactional Analysis. It was in Hellinger’s later training in family therapy that he first encountered Family Constellations that has become the hallmark of his therapeutic work–an approach to which he has added new levels of meaning and possibility.

Hellinger, who lives in Germany, is an immensely popular figure in Europe. His best-selling books and videos, as well as his workshops, have generated a spirited dialogue among members of the international therapy community and have propelled him to the forefront of contemporary family therapy.” – Description taken from Loves Hidden Symmetry-See book list on resources page.

In his work with several thousand families, Bert Hellinger uncovered ‘Orders of Love’ that were deeply embedded in the unconscious of family groups.

Disturbances in these orders and in our sense of belonging that is essential for well-being, cause dysfunctional patterns to reappear generation after generation.

Events that have great influence on family patterns are:

• Early death of one of the parents
• Early death of a child
• Someone excluded in the family
• Serious accidents or traumatic events
• A previous love relationship
• Situations including war and violence
• Divorce
• Guilt, for instance with crime

Sometimes our way of belonging is to suffer like those who came before us. Hellinger attributes this to the ‘blind love’ of a child unconsciously seeking to redress some imbalance from the past. One may become ‘entangled’ in the difficult fate of an ancestor and unconsciously draw unhappiness, failure, addiction or illness into one’s own life.

The purpose of a Family Constellation is to reveal the hidden dynamic of the past and point the way toward resolution.

The main focus of a Constellation is to work towards what your heart truly desires. We look at the issues at hand and start to see where they may reside in your family system.

As we look at your family system, you are encouraged to bring attention to your body’s sensations and your physical experience. This will help you to identify where family issues are held in your body and to feel emotions that may have been stuck for a long time.

This, in itself, is empowering. You start to discover yourself anew… a new sense of strength and health.

This process ultimately resources you so you can move towards what you naturally desire.

The number of sessions you have can be tailored to your wants and needs. During your sessions you will gain new insights and perspectives on your life as a whole.

You may want a number of sessions to look at different aspects of your life and gain insight and direction in areas including career, self-esteem, relationships, finance, health, anxiety and unwanted behavioural patterns.

Whatever your requirements, having support and guidance during this process will consolidate the changes you will inevitably experience.

Health is of course not only bound to the physical realm, but is an emotional, mental and spiritual experience, too.

As we ‘re-member’ our family history and where we come from, a deep breath of acknowledgment occurs within our body and to some extent within our whole family system. This in-breath of life encourages health.

This may at first become apparent on a spiritual level as a deep sense of wellbeing.

Emotionally, we may feel a renewed sense of resilience and a greater pallet of resource in our daily life.

The physical level of health is often experienced last. Stuck emotions and feelings are held in our bodies, often inherited from previous generations, and imprinted in our body’s cells. With a new flow of felt emotions and feelings, stuck cellular imprints are eroded away and we experience a healthy movement of energy in the body, what the Chinese call ‘Chi’.

These physical changes in the body can be felt immediately but the integration of our new awareness into our daily lives can take time and is helped by a good sense of self-awareness.

Constellations are very much regarded as a support to other forms of therapy and health care. In fact, in Germany, it is common practice for doctors to refer patients to a Family Constellation practitioner to support their wellbeing.

It is, however, advisable to inform other health practitioners if you are working with a Family Constellation practitioner.