Family Constellations;
healing families from the roots
BRISBANE FAMILY / SYSTEMIC CONSTELLATIONS WORKSHOP
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 provides an understanding of the issue, and a peaceful resolution can result. Leaving the client free to live without being entangled with an ancestor. (a burden that an ancestor has unconsciously carried)
Family Constellation workshop is when a group of people come together to be clients or representatives within the constellation.
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 can heal generations of suffering quickly and effectively.
Bert Hellinger is the founder of this work; he has studied and treated families through this work for more than 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 his or her 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 result in relationship difficulties between 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 deeply in a powerful, 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 current generations’ emotional and behavioural patterns.
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 recognizing 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.
‘ORDERS OF LOVE’
Negative effects caused by early death, war, divorce, suicide, previous intimate relationships, exclusion, adoption, forced to leave the homeland, reasons for guilt, abuse and neglect have the ability to linger within a family for generations. Family constellations give us the opportunity, in a safe environment, to look deeply into issues and restore the balance to our family of origin and our current family system. This work is done with the utmost respect for all family members, present or not, alive or deceased.
How Family Constellations Works:
The Constellation Process: In a typical Family Constellations session, participants work in a group setting, and a trained therapist usually facilitates the process. The client (the “focus person”) presents an issue or concern, such as relationship difficulties or emotional struggles, that they want to address. They may not know how this issue relates to their family system at the start of the process.
Setting up the “Constellation”: The facilitator asks the focus person to select group members to represent various family members or significant figures (such as parents, grandparents, or even abstract concepts like “love” or “fate”). These representatives are placed in the room with one another, often without the focus person knowing the relationships between the representatives. The positions and interactions between the representatives symbolize the hidden family dynamics that the focus person may be carrying.
Revealing Hidden Dynamics: Guided by their intuition, the representatives begin to express emotions, thoughts, or physical sensations related to their positions in the constellation. The facilitator helps uncover the family system’s unconscious dynamics and hidden loyalties. For example, a representative may feel sadness or anger related to the focus person’s family history, revealing a deeper emotional entanglement.
Resolution and Healing: Once the hidden family dynamics are identified, the facilitator works with the group to find new positions or actions for healing. This might involve members of the constellation saying specific words or adopting new positions that express acceptance, forgiveness, or reconciliation. This helps the focus person (and sometimes the family system) release negative patterns and restore balance.
Integration: The therapeutic process doesn’t end when the constellation is complete. The insights gained during the session may lead to lasting changes in the client’s life. The individual is encouraged to reflect on the constellation and how they can apply the insights to their personal situation. This integration phase often leads to perceptions, relationships, and emotional health shifts.
Diane uses the modality of working with family constellations in individual counselling, marriage counselling and within a workshop setting.
Workshops are held for one day and will be held in smaller groups.
“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 WORKSHOP / Wynnum
One-day Workshop Details: Small groups only
TO EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST IN THE WORKSHOP PLEASE CONTACT Diane’s contact form.
Diane Rooker will lead the workshop and assist Alexandra Chuc. Both are qualified Family constellation instructors
