The CONSTELLATIONS METHOD
The Constellations method is a form of short-term therapy (possibility of making a change in one's life rapidly), with a systemic approach (the person is taken into consideration in their life context) and phenomenological (each person experiences life according to their own reality).
This method of Constellations uses the two main components of SPACE (setting up of elements in space to represent a situation) and TIME (taking into account the history of the situation)
The method was originally developed by Bert HELLINGER as Family Constellations. He drew his inspiration from several existing therapeutic sources (Family Therapy, Gestalt, Hypnosis, Primal Scream, etc...) and integrated the aspect of transgenerational transmission (Anne ANCELIN-SCHÜTZENBERGER was the pioneer of Psychogenealogy in France, see Bibliography). The original method of Family Constellations was then modified and diversified by his followers to treat areas other than the family, giving various types of Systemic Constellations (first by Gunthard WEBER, who developed Organisational Constellations). I for my part, wanted to put the Constellations method to the service of domestic animals and thus developed the Animal Constellations.
Here is how a constellation unfolds:
The participant wishing to do their constellation, succinctly presents their problem, and provides factual data on the situation to be treated. In the case of a family constellation, it is important for the participant to provide some basic information about their family history (who is who, who lived where and how, who did what, over at least three generations). For a systemic constellation on the subject of a company or a firm, some knowledge of its historical background is also needed.
Based on this information, the facilitator advises which members of the system (family, professional or other) are useful and necessary to make the constellation. The participant chooses from among the group's participants, representatives for their family members. Then, he / she places them in the space of the room, one by one and in a state of meditation, then he / she leaves the constellation field in order to be able to observe.
By an astonishing and almost unexplained phenomenon (except perhaps by the "morphogenetic fields" of Rupert SHELDRAKE, see Bibliography) each representative feels the emotions, physical symptoms and opinions attributable to the member of the family system that he / she represents, resuming his state of mind. Thanks to the information thus accessible, the animator creates modifications within the constellation field and lets himself be guided towards a solution image.
Symbolic gestures or ritual phrases between certain members of the system are sometimes necessary to restore the balance of the system: to heal wounds or settle moral debts. At the end of constellation work, the family system treated presents a new and healthier order, with favorable repercussions on the life situation of the person who made his constellation and that of the members of his family concerned by the situation treated.
In individual consultation, the client chooses objects to represent family members and places them in the space dedicated to the constellation. The facilitator guides the client towards an awareness of the dynamics in action within the system represented and together they progress step by step towards a solution.
This method of Constellations uses the two main components of SPACE (setting up of elements in space to represent a situation) and TIME (taking into account the history of the situation)
The method was originally developed by Bert HELLINGER as Family Constellations. He drew his inspiration from several existing therapeutic sources (Family Therapy, Gestalt, Hypnosis, Primal Scream, etc...) and integrated the aspect of transgenerational transmission (Anne ANCELIN-SCHÜTZENBERGER was the pioneer of Psychogenealogy in France, see Bibliography). The original method of Family Constellations was then modified and diversified by his followers to treat areas other than the family, giving various types of Systemic Constellations (first by Gunthard WEBER, who developed Organisational Constellations). I for my part, wanted to put the Constellations method to the service of domestic animals and thus developed the Animal Constellations.
Here is how a constellation unfolds:
The participant wishing to do their constellation, succinctly presents their problem, and provides factual data on the situation to be treated. In the case of a family constellation, it is important for the participant to provide some basic information about their family history (who is who, who lived where and how, who did what, over at least three generations). For a systemic constellation on the subject of a company or a firm, some knowledge of its historical background is also needed.
Based on this information, the facilitator advises which members of the system (family, professional or other) are useful and necessary to make the constellation. The participant chooses from among the group's participants, representatives for their family members. Then, he / she places them in the space of the room, one by one and in a state of meditation, then he / she leaves the constellation field in order to be able to observe.
By an astonishing and almost unexplained phenomenon (except perhaps by the "morphogenetic fields" of Rupert SHELDRAKE, see Bibliography) each representative feels the emotions, physical symptoms and opinions attributable to the member of the family system that he / she represents, resuming his state of mind. Thanks to the information thus accessible, the animator creates modifications within the constellation field and lets himself be guided towards a solution image.
Symbolic gestures or ritual phrases between certain members of the system are sometimes necessary to restore the balance of the system: to heal wounds or settle moral debts. At the end of constellation work, the family system treated presents a new and healthier order, with favorable repercussions on the life situation of the person who made his constellation and that of the members of his family concerned by the situation treated.
In individual consultation, the client chooses objects to represent family members and places them in the space dedicated to the constellation. The facilitator guides the client towards an awareness of the dynamics in action within the system represented and together they progress step by step towards a solution.