Family Constellations
Bert Hellinger of Germany devised a family systems therapy known as Family Constellations. Its aim was to interrupt the transmission of guilt, pain and suffering to successive generations. Hellinger took his experience from extensive work with families all over the world, where he noticed that within a family system there are certain “orders” or hidden dynamics that need to be respected and put into place before tensions and “entanglements” (dysfunction, co[1]dependency) can be resolved.
Family constellation therapy is a short-term group intervention that helps clients discover and address patterns and conflicts within their family groups. In family constellation therapy, people unrelated to the client take on the roles of various family members and act out dynamics related to the client’s concerns. It’s a form of expressive therapy intended to help the client work through a concern or develop insight into a conflict.
Since its inception this therapeutic approach has expanded into the realms of organisational, educational and environmental constellations.