Family Constellations/Systemic Constellations

Family Constellation Therapy is a relatively recent method developed in the 1990’s by the German therapist Bert Hellinger. Family Constellations are predominantly practiced in groups. The person whose constellation is being presented chooses among the group people to represent members of his or her family, and then places them physically in the room according to an inner feeling, which is dictated by the person’s image of their own family.

The group leader then moves about the room and questions the representatives about the sensation, emotions or thoughts that come up for them. This is not role-playing, the representatives describe only what they feel in the place they have been accorded. This process can reveal many aspects of the family dynamic, conflicts, traumas, members excluded or forgotten, and identify the possible sources or causes of these difficulties. Following the identification of the dynamic a process of reconciliation and harmonization can take place. In the course of the constellation solutions are proposed to enable each member of the 'family' to find his or her appropriate place in which that person feels well. This new image of the family can have a powerful impact on the person whose constellation has been placed. The effects of this new image can continue to generate change for many months following this experience.

A possible reason why this method is so effective is that it works simultaneously on the essential components that can generate transformation and personal development - the emotion, the intellectual comprehension, the sensory experience and the energetic field. All these factors are united to create a powerful live experience that can be a catalyser for real change in the lives of people. A central dimension of this work is the favouring of the opening of the heart, which is a key factor for a harmonious existence.

In recent years the application of this method has been expanding beyond the use in the family situation to include all systems, companies, associations, any group of people, or different spheres of an individual’s life (work situation, affective ties, finding one’s place in life, etc.). These constellations have proven to be just as effective as family constellations, so that many practitioners now prefer the term Systemic Constellation, to better describe their work.

Mike Berold was born in South Africa, grew up in Israel and initially studied film and psychology at university in the USA. After years of working in the film industry he took up the study of homeopathy which he later practiced and taught. Interested since his late teens in psychology and personal development he has personal experiences with different methods such as Primal Therapy, Gestalt and Holotropic Breathing. After participating in two workshops of Family Constellation he decided to undertake the practitioner’s training course with Liens Psy in France, and since completing his training he has been leading groups in the south of France.