AN INTRODUCTION TO FAMILY CONSTELLATIONS

Here is some information about Constellations for those coming to the Constellations Workshop that I am facilitating on Sunday 10th November at 525, Jalan 17/13, Petaling Jaya.

What are Family or Business Constellations?

We are all part of human systems, whether in a family (including many generations back), a love relationship or a system of people who work together. These systems have very strong influence on our current behavior and feelings, either consciously and unconsciously.

Family Constellations is an energy and emotional healing modality that was started in the 1970s by Bert Hellinger, a German psychotherapist and former priest, while working with families as a family therapist.

Constellations have been found effective in working on all kinds of relationship issues, for example issues amongst family members, between romantic partners or in a business. It can also be used to explore the relationship that oneself has with issues such as health, money, addictions, unexplained anxiety or depression or fear of success. A helpful method to find a direction or make an important personal or professional decision, it is also very effective in assisting in physical healing process. 

Whether the issue is emotional, physical or practical in nature, Constellations can effectively bring insight and a feeling of resolution to the client, and even to their family, sometimes over multiple generations. Constellations must always be done with the positive intention of finding resolution for the client and not with the motivation of changing anyone else.

At the heart of the approach is the identification of hidden dynamics; how deep forces in the systems we belong to can influence our thoughts, behaviors and emotional experiences. In a Family or Business Constellation the underlying dynamics can be experienced visually and experientially,  so that existing energy can be transformed where necessary and imbalance in the system is released or reduced.

What is the Constellation Process?

The Constellation process uses body sensing to follow the trail of senses left by the entanglements between the people in the system. Entanglements cause unconscious restrictions and blockages of energy in the system. These unconscious patterns may lead to us sabotaging our relationships, self esteem and also our potential for success.

The process is experiential. It is not like counselling or coaching. It is not only a matter of understanding or logic. It is a it is a process that unfolds as a whole body experience that encompasses mind and feeling. Few words are necessary as we don't need to tell long stories.
A group of people who often do not know each other prior to the seminar meet in a circle with a facilitator. The client has a short discussion with the facilitator about the issue that they would like to look at. The facilitator will decide on the roles that will be represented in the constellation and invites the client to select representatives from amongst the people present to act the roles. The client then places the representatives in spacial relationship to each other according to his or her view of how the situation is.

The client sits back in the circle as the constellation unfolds and is guided by the Family Constellation facilitator. Those who represent family members begin to feel the emotions, fears and desires of the persons concerned.The facilitator works sensitively with the representatives to unravel the dynamics of the situation. Through this method disharmony comes to light. In a very remarkable and astounding way, the true story of the family is expressed and clearly seen for the first time.

The facilitator works with the those who are “playing” the roles until everyone in the constellation is more comfortable and the client is able to experience a new perspective on the situation. Once a resolution is found through the representatives, this causes a real shift in the client emotionally and also at a deep soul level, so that the real situation also becomes more comfortable and harmonious. The resolution filters to those people in the issue that are not present. This is not psychodrama as the participants are not acting but they are responding to the energy of the Constellation.

How does it work?

Once the client’s situation is physically represented, an energy field develops that the representatives can feel and respond to, which Hellinger terms as the “knowing field”. We all have a basic “knowing” of the natural order in any system, and are sensitive to the disruptions of that order. The knowing field becomes a guiding force for unfolding the issue and also reveals possible solutions.


The Family Constellation view is that each person in a family or any group are connected by group energy, or a “collective consciousness”, which Hellinger calls soul energy. This means that each member within a family group has an effect on the other members in the group, via the genetic trail or soul energy by which we are linked. Newer members can be greatly affected by what has gone before them in previous generations. Some event or situation may have taken place several generations before your birth, that was perhaps not accepted or acknowledged by the family in general. This will usually manifest as guilt or shame by the “greater soul” or life force of the family group and taken on by individuals in later generations. This is done in an unconscious attempt to relieve the burden from the rest of the family and may result in such things as a range of mental and physical illnesses, depression, or addiction or disturbed relationships patterns. 

Family Constellations seeks to allow the present generations to be free of these past influences by acknowledging their existence and uncovering the love connections. This is done in an intuitive, sensitive and gentle way.

Consider all of the particles of water in a pond as individual souls in a family network. When a ripple flows through the pond it flows through to each drop. In a family system, if all of the members are acknowledged in their rightful place and take full responsibility for their decisions and actions in life, then love will be able to flow freely throughout the system and the later generations will feel loved and connected and free.

In family constellations, once some fundamental principles are acknowledged such as :

·       The natural order of the system allowed to be re-established

·       The individuals, that have been excluded are acknowledged

Working on many levels for deep healing.

The Family Constellation process works on many levels simultaneously, going much deeper than

counselling or hypnotherapy. For the client and the representatives who ‘play’ the roles of others, the family constellation is a deep experience. Irrespective of our age, each of us is a child, and what a child wants more than anything else is to find harmony within the family.

Constellations work:

Intellectually- understanding root causes of an issue
Visually - seeing the spatial arrangements and movements of the representatives Physically- representatives can experience physical sensations and shifts
Emotionally- through the feelings of the representatives and yourself.
Unconscious - patterns are seen and felt

Soul- we become more aware of the natural inclinations and movements of the soul

During a Constellation it is common for people to have insight into themselves, their family and the issues that they are exploring. Sometimes the results are not so plain or visible and it may take time to manifest and develop. These changes happen slowly as the soul moves slowly.

As we are all connected, doing a Constellation for yourself, standing in as a Representative or even just observing a Constellation is usually moving: it can touch places in us that need and are open for healing, and that is what we receive.