Family Constellations;
Healing families from the roots
BRISBANE FAMILY / SYSTEMIC CONSTELLATIONS
Family constellations use a systemic approach to healing. It can bring to awareness the current family dynamics and unhealthy unconscious patterns. Patterns are present from the current family system or an older generation. These patterns work unconsciously, trying to bring forth and see the unresolved problem. These patterns can be behavioural, emotional, or cognitive and can also create disease within the body. A family constellation can offer insight into the issue, and a peaceful resolution may be achieved. Leaving the client free to live without being entangled with an ancestor. (a burden that an ancestor has unconsciously carried)
This work can heal issues with relationships, health problems, both physical and emotional, difficulties with success, release old trauma, and stop unhealthy patterns.
Family Constellation seeks to heal generations of suffering quickly and effectively.
Bert Hellinger is the founder of this work, having studied and treated families through it for over 50 years. Hellinger found that each family member holds a special place and has an equal right to belong to the family system. This applies equally to stillborn and aborted babies, as well as to the failures and perpetrators in our family who may have been rejected for reasons of immorality, criminal misconduct or abuse. If any family member is disrespected, forgotten, excluded, or disregarded in some way, someone in a later generation may repeat their fate by sharing a similar misfortune. Only when we acknowledge and honour the difficult fates of those who’ve preceded us can the “Orders of Love” be re-established, and the chains of tragic destinies be broken.
We all grow up in different family systems, where we develop our patterns of relating to ourselves and one another. These patterns often create dysfunctional relationships in the future. We want to change, yet we don’t know where to start, where to look, or what to do.
Entanglements in family dynamics can lead to relationship difficulties among partners, parents, children, and siblings.
Working with family constellations allows us to examine the entanglements of our family of origin and our current family system in a powerful yet safe setting.
It takes one family member to change the fate of future generations.
Core Concepts of Family Constellations:
Family System: Family Constellations theory views the family as a system in which each member plays a role that impacts others. The relationships and experiences within the family system, even those of ancestors, can influence the emotional and behavioural patterns of current generations.
Hidden Dynamics: Often, unresolved trauma, secrets, or emotional conflicts from earlier generations remain unconscious and unspoken. These hidden dynamics can subtly influence family members, causing patterns of behaviour, such as repeated relationship issues or emotional struggles, to continue across generations.
Orders of Love: Hellinger identified “Orders of Love,” which are fundamental principles that govern healthy family systems. These include:
- Belonging: Everyone in the family system, including ancestors, has a right to belong.
- Hierarchy: There is an order in the family system, where parents precede children, and previous generations hold a place of respect.
- Balance of giving and taking: Healthy families balance giving and receiving between family members.
Trauma and Loyalty: Family Constellations asserts that when trauma occurs in a family (such as the loss of a family member, abuse, or a disruptive event), there can be a subconscious desire to “carry” the unresolved pain of previous generations. This sense of loyalty can create patterns where individuals unconsciously repeat the trauma or take on roles that are not their own in an attempt to “heal” or “fix” the family history.
Transgenerational Healing: The method suggests that healing in the present can also heal past generations. By recognising and acknowledging these family dynamics, individuals can release the inherited burdens and free themselves from the cycle of trauma. Family Constellations aims to provide insight into these dynamics and help individuals resolve emotional issues.
What can disrupt the ‘ORDERS OF LOVE’
Adverse effects caused by early death, war, divorce, suicide, previous intimate relationships, exclusion, adoption, being forced to leave the homeland, reasons for guilt, abuse and neglect can linger within a family for generations. Family constellations provide us with the opportunity, in a safe environment, to explore deeply into issues and restore balance to our family of origin and our current family system. This work is conducted with the utmost respect for all family members, past and present, living and deceased.
How Individual Family Constellation Sessions Work
- The Constellation Process:
In a one-on-one Family Constellation session, the client discusses an issue they want to explore—this could relate to relationships, emotional challenges, recurring life patterns, or inner conflicts. Often, the client may not initially see how the problem is linked to their family system or ancestral background. My role as the facilitator is to gently guide them into exploring these unseen dynamics.
- Setting Up the Constellation:
I primarily work with Family Constellations within the framework of RCH Rapid Core Healing. And depending on each client, I also use objects, figures, cushions, or visualisations to represent family members or key elements within the client’s system—such as parents, siblings, ancestors, or even abstract energies like “grief” or “success.” It’s not about how this process is done so much as stepping into the knowing field, then the work seems to take on its own path. The client is encouraged to intuitively place these representations in physical space (or visualise them if working verbally or online), revealing relational dynamics and emotional distances that may not be conscious.
- Revealing Hidden Dynamics:
Here, we can see a clear picture of what family dynamic is at play. Through this spatial arrangement, patterns often start to surface. We can notice how the family members look at each other. Are they turning away? Are they in the incorrect family position? I assist the client in identifying what each position evokes emotionally or physically—sometimes by asking questions, encouraging them to imagine themselves as different elements, or observing their bodily reactions. These cues help reveal unconscious loyalties, unresolved traumas, or intergenerational entanglements that may affect the client’s current life.
- Resolution and Healing:
As the underlying dynamics come into view, I guide the client through healing movements—this may involve imagined dialogues, embodied shifts, or symbolic actions that support resolution and healing. Sometimes it’s as simple as acknowledging a truth that was previously hidden, or recognising someone’s rightful place in the system. These moments can bring profound relief, understanding, and a deep sense of peace.
- Integration:
The insights and changes from the session continue to unfold in the client’s life over time. I often encourage clients to reflect on what was revealed, stay present with any emotions that surface, and remain open to subtle shifts in their thoughts, behaviours, or relationships. Integration is a gentle process and can lead to lasting transformation as the client realigns with the strength and clarity of their family system. The work is then carried out for seven generations forward and backward. We unconsciously carry ancestral trauma out of love, but when it has been seen and healed, it can dissolve out of the system permanently.
Diane uses the modality of working with family constellations in individual and Couple work.
“Children seldom or never dare to live a happier or more fulfilling life than their parents. Unconsciously, they remain loyal to unspoken family traditions that work invisibly. Family Constellations are a way of discovering underlying family bonds and forces carried unconsciously over several generations.”
Bertold Ulsamer
“A person’s greatness makes him/her equal to others.”
Bert Hellinger
BRISBANE BAYSIDE FAMILY / SYSTEMIC CONSTELLATIONS / Wynnum
