Family Constellations, also known as Systemic Constellations and Systemic Family Constellations, is an alternative therapeutic method which draws on elements of family systems therapy, existential phenomenology and Zulu attitudes to family. Family Constellations diverges significantly from conventional forms of cognitive, behavior and psychodynamic psychotherapy.Family Constellations, also known as Systemic Constellations and Systemic Family Constellations, is an alternative therapeutic method which draws on elements of family systems therapy, existential phenomenology and Zulu attitudes to family. Family Constellations diverges significantly from conventional forms of cognitive, behavior and psychodynamic psychotherapy.
The method has been described by physicists as 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.
Family constellations is a therapeutic approach designed to help reveal the hidden dynamics in a family or relationship in order to address any stressors impacting these relationships and heal them. A family constellations session typically takes place in a workshop made up of a group of individuals who are not related.
Members of the group stand in for family members of the person or couple presenting a difficulty or concern. The person seeking resolution of an issue, who is referred to as the seeker, or the group facilitator chooses these representatives and places them into position as members of the individual’s family, also choosing one person to take the place of the seeker in order to complete the family dynamic.
The use of other individuals to represent the family is believed to illuminate the disharmony within the family, and the individuals standing in as members of the family are believed to be able to feel and experience the emotions of the person whose role they have taken on. Hellinger, the developer of family constellations, calls this sense of connectedness, which is said to be felt telepathically by members of the group, the morph genic field. It may be used as a potential therapy method for people who:
- Are seeking to address negative or harmful relationship patterns
- Want to be in a romantic relationship
- Are attempting to resolve family entanglements
- Want to overcome inner turmoil
- Have experienced significant trauma or loss, are you in search of personal and professional success