ABOUT FAMILY CONSTELLATIONS
Family Constellation work was developed by a psychotherapist Bert Hellinger. Hellinger noted that there are trans-generational family bonds that entangle us in fates that do not belong to us, fates dating back over two, three or even more generations. We are reminded of the influence of our forebears going back seven generations. When we acknowledge this influence we often discover the reasons behind patterns with which we struggle in our own lives. We find our place in the family and recognise the strength, love and support that are available to us in our families. The method
• A group (workshop participants) 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, HIV, drugs, death, life, or your future self.
• The person presenting the issue (seeker or client) asks people from the group to be 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. Unlike psychodrama the representatives do not act, pose or role play.
• Emphasis is placed on intuition in placing the representatives and in subsequent steps of the process. The aim is to tap into what the psychiatrist Albrecht Mahr describes as the Knowing Field ( Mahr 1999) . The Knowing Field is claimed to guide participants to sense and articulate the feelings of the real family members they represent. This is inexplicable because the representatives have never met these people, have been told little or nothing about them and those family members may no longer be living. Nevertheless, the representatives usually experience feelings or physical sensations which inform the process.
