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{{POV|date=March 2018}}
{{short description|form of pseudotherapy}}
{{Paranormal}}
{{Paranormal}}
[[File:Konst1014.jpg|thumb|Family Constellations]]
[[File:Konst1014.jpg|thumb|Family Constellations session]]
'''Family Constellations''', also known as '''Systemic Constellations''' and '''Systemic Family Constellations''', is an [[alternative medicine|alternative]] therapeutic method which draws on elements of family systems therapy, [[existential phenomenology]] and [[Zulu people|Zulu]] attitudes to family.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1177/1066480706287279|title="Family Constellations": An Innovative Systemic Phenomenological Group Process from Germany|year=2006|last1=Cohen|first1=D. B.|journal=The Family Journal|volume=14|issue=3|pages=226}}</ref> In a single session, a Family Constellation attempts to reveal a supposedly unrecognized systemic dynamic that spans multiple generations in a given family and to resolve the deleterious effects of that dynamic by encouraging the subject to encounter representatives of the past and accept the factual reality of the past.
'''Family Constellations''', also known as '''Systemic Constellations''' and '''Systemic Family Constellations''', is an Innovative Systemic Phenomenological Group Process from Germany|year=2006|last1=Cohen|first1=D. B.|journal=The Family Journal|volume=14|issue=3|pages=226–233|s2cid=145474250}}</ref> In a single session, a Family Constellation attempts to reveal an unrecognized dynamic that spans multiple generations in a given family and to resolve the deleterious effects of that dynamic by encouraging the subject, through representatives, to encounter and accept the factual reality of the past.


Family Constellations diverges significantly from conventional forms of [[Cognitive psychology|cognitive]], [[Behaviour therapy|behaviour]] and [[psychodynamic psychotherapy]]. The method has been described by physicists as [[quantum mysticism|quantum quackery]], and its founder [[Bert Hellinger]] incorporates the [[pseudoscientific]] idea of [[morphic resonance]] into his explanation of it. Positive outcomes from the therapy have been attributed to conventional explanations such as [[suggestion]] and [[empathy]].<ref name=carroll>{{cite web |author=Carroll, Robert T. |title=Bert Hellinger and family constellations |url=http://www.skepdic.com/hellinger.html |publisher=skepdic.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=First Person Jewish |first1=Alisa |last1=Lebow |publisher=U of Minnesota Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8166-4354-7 |page=81 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SET9W5JTOUMC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Psychology Gone Wrong: The Dark Sides of Science and Therapy |edition=illustrated |first1=Tomasz |last1=Witkowski |publisher=Universal-Publishers |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-62734-528-6 |page=261 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ruaRCgAAQBAJ}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=ruaRCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA261 Extract of page 261]</ref>
Family Constellations diverges significantly from conventional forms of [[Cognitive psychology|cognitive]], [[Behaviour therapy|behaviour]] and [[psychodynamic psychotherapy]]. The method has been described by physicists as [[quantum mysticism]], and its founder [[Bert Hellinger]] incorporated the speculative idea of [[morphic resonance]] into his explanation of it. Positive outcomes from the therapy have been attributed to conventional explanations such as [[suggestion]] and [[empathy]].<ref name=carroll>{{cite web |author=Carroll, Robert T. |title=Bert Hellinger and family constellations |url=http://www.skepdic.com/hellinger.html |publisher=skepdic.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=First Person Jewish |first1=Alisa |last1=Lebow |publisher=U of Minnesota Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8166-4354-7 |page=81 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SET9W5JTOUMC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Psychology Gone Wrong: The Dark Sides of Science and Therapy |edition=illustrated |first1=Tomasz |last1=Witkowski |publisher=Universal-Publishers |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-62734-528-6 |page=261 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ruaRCgAAQBAJ}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=ruaRCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA261 Extract of page 261]</ref>


Practitioners claim that present-day problems and difficulties may be influenced by traumas suffered in previous generations of the family, even if those affected now are unaware of the original event in the past. Hellinger referred to the relation between present and past problems that are not caused by direct personal experience as ''Systemic entanglements,'' 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.<ref>Hellinger, B., Weber, G., & Beaumont, H. (1998). ''Love's hidden symmetry: What makes love work in relationships''. Phoenix, AZ: Zeig, Tucker and Theisen.</ref> The psychiatrist [[Iván Böszörményi-Nagy]] referred to this phenomenon as ''Invisible Loyalties''.<ref>Boszormenyi-Nagy, I., & Spark, G. M. (1973). ''Invisible loyalties: Reciprocity in intergenerational family therapy''. Hagerstown, MD: Harper & Row.</ref>
Practitioners claim that present-day problems and difficulties may be influenced by traumas suffered in previous generations of the family, even if those affected are unaware of the original event. Hellinger referred to the relation between present and past problems that are not caused by direct personal experience as ''systemic entanglements,'' 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.<ref>Hellinger, B., Weber, G., & Beaumont, H. (1998). ''Love's hidden symmetry: What makes love work in relationships''. Phoenix, AZ: Zeig, Tucker and Theisen.</ref> The psychiatrist [[Iván Böszörményi-Nagy]] referred to this phenomenon as "invisible loyalties".<ref>Boszormenyi-Nagy, I., & Spark, G. M. (1973). ''Invisible loyalties: Reciprocity in intergenerational family therapy''. Hagerstown, MD: Harper & Row.</ref>


==Conceptual basis==
==Conceptual basis==
The philosophical orientation of Family Constellations were derived through an integration of [[existential phenomenology]] family systems therapy and elements of indigenous spiritual mysticism.
The philosophical orientation of Family Constellations were derived through an integration of [[existential phenomenology]], family systems therapy, and elements of indigenous mysticism.


The phenomenological lineage can be traced through philosophers [[Franz Brentano]], [[Edmund Husserl]] and [[Martin Heidegger]]. This perspective stands in contrast to the [[positivist]] [[reductionist]] orientation of the scientific psychology. Rather than understanding mind, emotion and consciousness in terms of its constituent parts, existential phenomenology opens perception to the full panorama of human experience and seeks to grasp a sense of meaning.<ref name=Cohen>Cohen, D. B. (2006). "Family Constellations": An innovative systemic phenomenological group process from Germany. ''The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families'', 14, 226-233.</ref>
The phenomenological lineage can be traced through philosophers [[Franz Brentano]], [[Edmund Husserl]] and [[Martin Heidegger]]. This perspective stands in contrast to the [[positivist]] [[reductionist]] orientation of scientific psychology. Rather than understanding mind, emotion and consciousness in terms of its constituent parts, existential phenomenology opens perception to the full panorama of human experience and seeks to grasp a sense of meaning.<ref name=Cohen>Cohen, D. B. (2006). "Family Constellations": An innovative systemic phenomenological group process from Germany. ''The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families'', 14, 226-233.</ref>


Family Constellations take their form from family systems psychology. Leading figures in this movement whose influence can be recognized include [[Jacob Moreno]], the founder of [[psychodrama]]; [[Iván Böszörményi-Nagy]], the pioneer of transgenerational systemic thinking; [[Milton Erickson]], a pioneer of brief therapy and hypnotherapy; [[Eric Berne]] who conceived the concept of ''life scripts''; and [[Virginia Satir]], who developed family sculpture, the precursor of Systemic Constellations.<ref name=Cohen /> In the past decade, further advancements in the use of the process have been innovated by practitioners throughout the world.
Family Constellations take their form from [[Family therapy|family systems psychology]]. Influential figures in this movement include [[Jacob Moreno]], the founder of [[psychodrama]]; [[Iván Böszörményi-Nagy]], the pioneer of transgenerational systemic thinking; [[Milton Erickson]], a pioneer of brief therapy and hypnotherapy; [[Eric Berne]] who conceived the concept of ''life scripts''; and [[Virginia Satir]], who developed family sculpture, the precursor of Systemic Constellations.<ref name=Cohen /> In the past decade, further advancements in the use of the process have been innovated by practitioners throughout the world.


The process draws from indigenous spiritual mysticism to contribute towards releasing tensions, lightening emotional burdens, and resolving real-world problems. Hellinger lived as a [[Roman Catholic]] priest in [[South Africa]] for 16 years in the 1950s and 1960s. During these years, he became fluent in the [[Zulu people|Zulu]] language, participated in their rituals, and gained an appreciation for their distinct worldview.<ref name=Cohen />
The process draws from indigenous spiritual mysticism to contribute towards releasing tensions, lightening emotional burdens, and resolving real-world problems. Hellinger lived as a [[Roman Catholic]] priest in [[South Africa]] for 16 years in the 1950s and 1960s. During these years, he became fluent in the [[Zulu people|Zulu]] language, participated in Zulu rituals, and gained an appreciation for the Zulu worldview.<ref name=Cohen />


Of particular importance is the difference between traditional [[Zulu people|Zulu]] attitudes toward parents and ancestors and those typically held by Europeans. [[Heidegger]] postulated that to be human is to find oneself thrown into a world with no clear logical, ontological, or moral structure.<ref>Heidegger, M. (1962). ''Being and time'' (J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson, translators). New York: Harper & Row (original work published 1927).</ref> In Zulu culture, Hellinger found a certitude and equanimity that were the hallmarks of Heidegger's elusive authentic Self. The traditional Zulu people lived and acted in a religious world in which the ancestors were the central focal point. The ancestors were regarded as positive, constructive, and creative presences.<ref>Lawson, E. T. (1985). ''Religions of Africa''. New York: Harper and Row.</ref> The connection with ancestors is a central feature of the Constellation process.
Of particular importance is the difference between traditional Zulu attitudes toward parents and ancestors and those typically held by Europeans. Heidegger postulated that to be human is to find oneself thrown into a world with no clear logical, ontological, or moral structure.<ref>Heidegger, M. (1962). ''Being and time'' (J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson, translators). New York: Harper & Row (original work published 1927).</ref> In Zulu culture, Hellinger found a certitude and equanimity that were the hallmarks of Heidegger's elusive authentic Self. The traditional Zulu people lived and acted in a religious world in which the central focal point was the ancestors. They are regarded as positive, constructive, and creative presences.<ref>Lawson, E. T. (1985). ''Religions of Africa''. New York: Harper and Row.</ref> The connection with ancestors is a central feature of the Constellation process.


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.
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.
One premise of the work is that one can inherit trauma. Recent research in animals has indicated trauma can be passed down the generations. Brian Dias at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and his team, have provided some of the best evidence yet for the inheritance of memories or traits across generations. <ref> Nature Neuroscience, DOI: 10.1038/nn.3594.</ref> <ref>
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24677-fear-of-a-smell-can-be-passed-down-several-generations/#ixzz7Bv24EjqX.</ref>. The mechanism through which this is done is theorised to be [[epigenetics]], after the Greek 'epi' (beyond) and genetics. This school of thoughts claims there are markers on genes that can be switched on and off depending on what is happening in the environment, a process which is called [[methylation]]. Findings of changes in [[DNA]] of Canadian '[[ice storm]] babies' have corroborated this mechanism, 13 years after their then pregnant mothers were in significant distress due to the 45-day electricity cut and extreme cold in 1998. Scientists from the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and McGill University are continuing to study the after effects on the now teenagers.<ref>
DNA Methylation Signatures Triggered by Prenatal Maternal Stress Exposure to a Natural Disaster: Project Ice Storm
Lei Cao-Lei, Renaud Massart, Matthew J. Suderman, Ziv Machnes, Guillaume Elgbeili, David P. Laplante, Moshe Szyf, Suzanne King
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107653https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107653 </ref> <ref>Cao-Lei, L., Elgbeili, G., Massart, R. et al. Pregnant women’s cognitive appraisal of a natural disaster affects DNA methylation in their children 13 years later: Project Ice Storm. Transl Psychiatry 5, e515 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2015.13</ref>.


==The method==
==The method==
{{refimprove section|date=July 2013}}
{{more citations needed section|date=July 2013}}
[[Image:Family constellation.jpg|thumb|right|320px|Family Constellations]]
[[Image:Family constellation.jpg|thumb|right|320px|Family Constellations]]
This description is the prototype group Family Constellation as developed by Bert Hellinger in the 1990s.<ref name=Cohen /> Many practitioners have blended Constellation work with psychological aspects of healing. Others have kept the classic form as taught by Bert Hellinger, such as the Constellation Approach.<ref>[http://www.constellationapproach.com/the-approach.html "The Constellation Approach"]</ref> The Constellation Approach merges concepts of Family Constellations, energy medicine, and consciousness studies to complement the understanding of classic Constellation methodology.
This description is the prototype group Family Constellation as developed by [[Bert Hellinger]] in the 1990s.<ref name=Cohen /> Many practitioners have blended Constellation work with psychological aspects of healing. Others have kept the classic form as taught by Hellinger, such as the Constellation Approach.<ref>[http://www.constellationapproach.com/the-approach.html "The Constellation Approach"]</ref> The Constellation Approach merges concepts of Family Constellations, energy medicine, and [[consciousness studies]] to complement the understanding of classic Constellation methodology.


* A group (workshop) 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.
* A group (workshop) 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.
* 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 stand in the Constellation as representatives. He or she arranges the representatives according to what feels right in the moment. The seeker then sits down and observes.
* The person presenting the issue (seeker or client) asks people from the group to stand in the Constellation as 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. Initially, unlike [[psychodrama]], the representatives do not act, pose, dialogue or role play.
* Several minutes elapse with the representatives standing still and silent. Initially, unlike [[psychodrama]], the representatives do not act, pose, dialogue or role-play.
* Emphasis is placed on perceptive intuition in placing the representatives and in subsequent steps of the procedure. The aim is supposedly to tune into what the psychiatrist Albrecht Mahr describes as the ''Knowing Field''<ref>Mahr, A. (1999). "Das wissende feld: Familienaufstellung als geistig energetisches heilen" ["The knowing field: Family constellations as mental and energetic healing"]. In ''Geistiges heilen für eine neue zeit'' [''Intellectual cures for a new time'']. Heidelberg, Germany: Kösel Verlag.</ref> and former biologist [[Rupert Sheldrake]] has suggested is [[morphic resonance]].<ref>Sheldrake, R. (1988). The presence of the past: Morphic resonance and the habits of nature. Rochester, VT: Park Street.</ref> 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; however, ''representative perception'' ([[morphic resonance]]) is not a concept with any scientific basis. The representatives have little or no factual knowledge about those they represent. Nevertheless, the representatives usually experience feelings or physical sensations that are thought to inform the process.
* Emphasis is placed on perceptive intuition in placing the representatives and in subsequent steps of the procedure. The aim is supposedly to tune into what the psychiatrist Albrecht Mahr describes as the ''Knowing Field''<ref>Mahr, A. (1999). "Das wissende feld: Familienaufstellung als geistig energetisches heilen" ["The knowing field: Family constellations as mental and energetic healing"]. In ''Geistiges heilen für eine neue zeit'' [''Intellectual cures for a new time'']. Heidelberg, Germany: Kösel Verlag.</ref> and former biologist [[Rupert Sheldrake]] has suggested is [[morphic resonance]].<ref>Sheldrake, R. (1988). The presence of the past: Morphic resonance and the habits of nature. Rochester, VT: Park Street.</ref> 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; however, ''representative perception'' ([[morphic resonance]]) is not a concept with any scientific basis. The representatives have little or no factual knowledge about those they represent. Nevertheless, the representatives usually experience feelings or physical sensations that are thought to inform the process.
* The facilitator may ask each representative to briefly report how they feel being placed in relation to the others. The facilitator, seeker, and group members may believe they perceive an underlying dynamic in the spatial arrangement and feelings held by the representatives that influence the presenting personal issue. Often, configuring multiple generations in a family is thought to reveal that severe traumas continue to unconsciously affect the living long after the original victims or perpetrators have died.
* The facilitator may ask each representative to briefly report how they feel being placed in relation to the others. The facilitator, seeker, and group members may believe they perceive an underlying dynamic in the spatial arrangement and feelings held by the representatives that influence the pertinent personal issue. Often, configuring multiple generations in a family is thought to reveal that traumas continue to unconsciously affect the living long after the original victims or perpetrators have died.
* A healing resolution for the issue generally is supposedly achieved after re-positioning the representatives and adding key members of the system who have been forgotten or written out of the family history. When every representative feels right in his or her place and the other representatives agree, the facilitator may suggest one or two sentences to be spoken aloud. If the representatives do not feel at peace with their new position or sentences, they can move again or try a different sentence. This is claimed, in an abstract way, to represent a possible resolution of the issues faced by the seeker. Sometimes the process concludes without a full resolution being achieved.
* A healing resolution for the issue generally is supposedly achieved after repositioning the representatives and adding key members of the system who have been forgotten or written out of the family history. When every representative feels right in his or her place and the other representatives agree, the facilitator may suggest one or two sentences to be spoken aloud. If the representatives do not feel at peace with their new position or sentences, they can move again or try a different sentence. This is claimed, in an abstract way, to represent a possible resolution of the issues faced by the seeker. Sometimes the process concludes without a full resolution being achieved.
*When the facilitator feels that the healing resolution has taken hold among the representatives, the seeker is invited to "replace his/her representative in the Constellation". This supposedly allows the seeker to perceive how it feels to be part of a reconfigured system. When everyone feels comfortable in their place, the Constellation concludes.
*When the facilitator feels that the healing resolution has taken hold among the representatives, the seeker is invited to "replace his/her representative in the Constellation". This supposedly allows the seeker to perceive how it feels to be part of a reconfigured system. When everyone feels comfortable in their place, the Constellation concludes.


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{Reflist|2}}


==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* {{cite book | last=Boszormenyi-Nagy| first=Ivan| last2=Spark | first2=G. M.
* {{cite book | last1=Boszormenyi-Nagy| first1=Ivan| last2=Spark | first2=G. M.
   | year=1973
   | year=1973
   | title=Invisible loyalties: Reciprocity in intergenerational family therapy
   | title=Invisible loyalties: Reciprocity in intergenerational family therapy
   | publisher=Harper & Row}}
   | publisher=Harper & Row}}
* {{cite book | last=Cohen| first=Dan Booth
* {{cite book | last1=Singer | last2=Lalich | first2=Janja
  | title= I Carry Your Heart in My Heart: Family Constellations in Prison
   | title= [[Crazy Therapies]] | publisher=Jossey-Bass | year=1996 }}
  | publisher=Carl Auer-Systeme Verlag International| year=2009 }}
* {{cite book | last=Cohen| first=Dan Booth
  | chapter= Begin with the work: Constellations in large group systems
  | editor=E. J. Lynch & S. Tucker
  | title= Messengers of healing: The family constellations of Bert Hellinger through the eyes of a new generation of practitioners
  | publisher=Zeig, Tucker & Theisen| year=2005 }}
* {{cite book | last=Franke | first=Ursula  | year= 2003
  | title= The river never looks back: Historical and practical foundations of Bert Hellinger's family constellations
  | publisher=Carl-Auer-Systeme Verlag }}
* {{cite book | last=Lynch | first=Ed | last2=Tucker | first2=Suzi
  | title= Messengers of healing: The family constellations of Bert Hellinger through the eyes of a new generation of practitioners
  | publisher=Zeig, Tucker & Theisen | year=2005 }}
* {{cite book | last=Mahr | first=Albrecht | year=1999
  | chapter= Das wissende Feld: Familienaufstellung als geistig energetisches Heilen (The knowing field: Family constellations as mental and energetic healing)
  | title=Geistiges heilen für eine neue Zeit | publisher=Kösel Verlag }}
* {{cite web | last=Mahr | first=Albrecht | year=2004
  | title=Family Constellations – Failure, Evil, and Guilt as Sources for Loving Dedication and Compassionate Strength
  | url=http://www.byronevents.net/familyconstellation/mahr.html
  | publisher=Family Constellations Albrecht Mahr}}
{{cite book | last=Nauen| first=Rafe
  | title= Family Constellations: Unravelling the mystery of your ancestral timeline
  | publisher=CreateSpace| year=2014 }}
* {{cite book | last=Payne | first=John L.
  | title= The Healing of Individuals, Families and Nations: Trans-generational healing & family constellations
  | publisher=Findhorn Press| year=2005 }}
* {{cite book | last=Payne | first=John L.
  | title= The Language of the Soul: Trans-Generational Healing & Family Constellations
  | publisher=Findhorn Press| year=2006 }}
* {{cite book | last=Singer | last2=Lalich | first2=Janja
   | title= Crazy Therapies | publisher=Jossey-Bass | year=1996 }}


{{Alternative medicine}}
{{Alternative medicine}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Family therapy]]
[[Category:Family therapy]]

Revision as of 11:27, 5 August 2024

Template:Short description Template:Paranormal

File:Konst1014.jpg
Family Constellations session

Family Constellations, also known as Systemic Constellations and Systemic Family Constellations, is an Innovative Systemic Phenomenological Group Process from Germany|year=2006|last1=Cohen|first1=D. B.|journal=The Family Journal|volume=14|issue=3|pages=226–233|s2cid=145474250}}</ref> In a single session, a Family Constellation attempts to reveal an unrecognized dynamic that spans multiple generations in a given family and to resolve the deleterious effects of that dynamic by encouraging the subject, through representatives, to encounter and accept the factual reality of the past.

Family Constellations diverges significantly from conventional forms of cognitive, behaviour and psychodynamic psychotherapy. The method has been described by physicists as quantum mysticism, and its founder Bert Hellinger incorporated the speculative idea of morphic resonance into his explanation of it. Positive outcomes from the therapy have been attributed to conventional explanations such as suggestion and empathy.[1][2][3]

Practitioners claim that present-day problems and difficulties may be influenced by traumas suffered in previous generations of the family, even if those affected are unaware of the original event. Hellinger referred to the relation between present and past problems that are not caused by direct personal experience as systemic entanglements, 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.[4] The psychiatrist Iván Böszörményi-Nagy referred to this phenomenon as "invisible loyalties".[5]

Conceptual basis

The philosophical orientation of Family Constellations were derived through an integration of existential phenomenology, family systems therapy, and elements of indigenous mysticism.

The phenomenological lineage can be traced through philosophers Franz Brentano, Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. This perspective stands in contrast to the positivist reductionist orientation of scientific psychology. Rather than understanding mind, emotion and consciousness in terms of its constituent parts, existential phenomenology opens perception to the full panorama of human experience and seeks to grasp a sense of meaning.[6]

Family Constellations take their form from family systems psychology. Influential figures in this movement include Jacob Moreno, the founder of psychodrama; Iván Böszörményi-Nagy, the pioneer of transgenerational systemic thinking; Milton Erickson, a pioneer of brief therapy and hypnotherapy; Eric Berne who conceived the concept of life scripts; and Virginia Satir, who developed family sculpture, the precursor of Systemic Constellations.[6] In the past decade, further advancements in the use of the process have been innovated by practitioners throughout the world.

The process draws from indigenous spiritual mysticism to contribute towards releasing tensions, lightening emotional burdens, and resolving real-world problems. Hellinger lived as a Roman Catholic priest in South Africa for 16 years in the 1950s and 1960s. During these years, he became fluent in the Zulu language, participated in Zulu rituals, and gained an appreciation for the Zulu worldview.[6]

Of particular importance is the difference between traditional Zulu attitudes toward parents and ancestors and those typically held by Europeans. Heidegger postulated that to be human is to find oneself thrown into a world with no clear logical, ontological, or moral structure.[7] In Zulu culture, Hellinger found a certitude and equanimity that were the hallmarks of Heidegger's elusive authentic Self. The traditional Zulu people lived and acted in a religious world in which the central focal point was the ancestors. They are regarded as positive, constructive, and creative presences.[8] The connection with ancestors is a central feature of the Constellation process.

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.

One premise of the work is that one can inherit trauma. Recent research in animals has indicated trauma can be passed down the generations. Brian Dias at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and his team, have provided some of the best evidence yet for the inheritance of memories or traits across generations. [9] [10]. The mechanism through which this is done is theorised to be epigenetics, after the Greek 'epi' (beyond) and genetics. This school of thoughts claims there are markers on genes that can be switched on and off depending on what is happening in the environment, a process which is called methylation. Findings of changes in DNA of Canadian 'ice storm babies' have corroborated this mechanism, 13 years after their then pregnant mothers were in significant distress due to the 45-day electricity cut and extreme cold in 1998. Scientists from the Douglas Mental Health University Institute and McGill University are continuing to study the after effects on the now teenagers.[11] [12].


The method

Template:More citations needed section

File:Family constellation.jpg
Family Constellations

This description is the prototype group Family Constellation as developed by Bert Hellinger in the 1990s.[6] Many practitioners have blended Constellation work with psychological aspects of healing. Others have kept the classic form as taught by Hellinger, such as the Constellation Approach.[13] The Constellation Approach merges concepts of Family Constellations, energy medicine, and consciousness studies to complement the understanding of classic Constellation methodology.

  • A group (workshop) 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 stand in the Constellation as 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. Initially, unlike psychodrama, the representatives do not act, pose, dialogue or role-play.
  • Emphasis is placed on perceptive intuition in placing the representatives and in subsequent steps of the procedure. The aim is supposedly to tune into what the psychiatrist Albrecht Mahr describes as the Knowing Field[14] and former biologist Rupert Sheldrake has suggested is morphic resonance.[15] 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; however, representative perception (morphic resonance) is not a concept with any scientific basis. The representatives have little or no factual knowledge about those they represent. Nevertheless, the representatives usually experience feelings or physical sensations that are thought to inform the process.
  • The facilitator may ask each representative to briefly report how they feel being placed in relation to the others. The facilitator, seeker, and group members may believe they perceive an underlying dynamic in the spatial arrangement and feelings held by the representatives that influence the pertinent personal issue. Often, configuring multiple generations in a family is thought to reveal that traumas continue to unconsciously affect the living long after the original victims or perpetrators have died.
  • A healing resolution for the issue generally is supposedly achieved after repositioning the representatives and adding key members of the system who have been forgotten or written out of the family history. When every representative feels right in his or her place and the other representatives agree, the facilitator may suggest one or two sentences to be spoken aloud. If the representatives do not feel at peace with their new position or sentences, they can move again or try a different sentence. This is claimed, in an abstract way, to represent a possible resolution of the issues faced by the seeker. Sometimes the process concludes without a full resolution being achieved.
  • When the facilitator feels that the healing resolution has taken hold among the representatives, the seeker is invited to "replace his/her representative in the Constellation". This supposedly allows the seeker to perceive how it feels to be part of a reconfigured system. When everyone feels comfortable in their place, the Constellation concludes.

References

  1. ↑ Carroll, Robert T.. "Bert Hellinger and family constellations". skepdic.com. http://www.skepdic.com/hellinger.html. 
  2. ↑ Lebow, Alisa (2008). First Person Jewish. U of Minnesota Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-8166-4354-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=SET9W5JTOUMC. 
  3. ↑ Witkowski, Tomasz (2015). Psychology Gone Wrong: The Dark Sides of Science and Therapy (illustrated ed.). Universal-Publishers. p. 261. ISBN 978-1-62734-528-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=ruaRCgAAQBAJ.  Extract of page 261
  4. ↑ Hellinger, B., Weber, G., & Beaumont, H. (1998). Love's hidden symmetry: What makes love work in relationships. Phoenix, AZ: Zeig, Tucker and Theisen.
  5. ↑ Boszormenyi-Nagy, I., & Spark, G. M. (1973). Invisible loyalties: Reciprocity in intergenerational family therapy. Hagerstown, MD: Harper & Row.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Cohen, D. B. (2006). "Family Constellations": An innovative systemic phenomenological group process from Germany. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 14, 226-233.
  7. ↑ Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and time (J. Macquarrie & E. Robinson, translators). New York: Harper & Row (original work published 1927).
  8. ↑ Lawson, E. T. (1985). Religions of Africa. New York: Harper and Row.
  9. ↑ Nature Neuroscience, DOI: 10.1038/nn.3594.
  10. ↑ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24677-fear-of-a-smell-can-be-passed-down-several-generations/#ixzz7Bv24EjqX.
  11. ↑ DNA Methylation Signatures Triggered by Prenatal Maternal Stress Exposure to a Natural Disaster: Project Ice Storm Lei Cao-Lei, Renaud Massart, Matthew J. Suderman, Ziv Machnes, Guillaume Elgbeili, David P. Laplante, Moshe Szyf, Suzanne King https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107653https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107653
  12. ↑ Cao-Lei, L., Elgbeili, G., Massart, R. et al. Pregnant women’s cognitive appraisal of a natural disaster affects DNA methylation in their children 13 years later: Project Ice Storm. Transl Psychiatry 5, e515 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2015.13
  13. ↑ "The Constellation Approach"
  14. ↑ Mahr, A. (1999). "Das wissende feld: Familienaufstellung als geistig energetisches heilen" ["The knowing field: Family constellations as mental and energetic healing"]. In Geistiges heilen für eine neue zeit [Intellectual cures for a new time]. Heidelberg, Germany: Kösel Verlag.
  15. ↑ Sheldrake, R. (1988). The presence of the past: Morphic resonance and the habits of nature. Rochester, VT: Park Street.

Further reading

  • Boszormenyi-Nagy, Ivan; Spark, G. M. (1973). Invisible loyalties: Reciprocity in intergenerational family therapy. Harper & Row. 
  • Singer; Lalich, Janja (1996). Crazy Therapies. Jossey-Bass. 

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