What is Family Constellation and How is it Done?
Are you curious about the family constellation therapy method, an approach adopted within the scope of relationship and marriage therapies? Did you come across this site while looking for an answer to the question of what is a family constellation?
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What is Family Constellation?
Family constellation is used as a treatment method that is especially useful in marriages and couple therapies. It is an approach used on the dynamics in the family system.
What is family constellation? When using the family constellation therapy approach, the therapist has people who are not related to the client assume the roles of various family members to activate dynamics related to the client’s concerns.
This technique is considered a form of expressive therapy, and the goal is to help the client overcome an anxiety or better understand a conflict. It is a therapeutic approach designed to help uncover hidden dynamics within a marriage or relationship in order to address stressors affecting relationships and heal them.
It is a type of therapy based on the idea that problems filter through generations, through generations, to cause stress in the here and now. When we examine our emotions and perceptions in a “knowing space,” we can break free from familial patterns that cause pain.
Working on your alignment with exercises of this approach will help you find the cause of your problems and solve them.
The Origin of the Family Constellation
What is family constellation therapy? is a therapeutic intervention that a therapist can use to gain insight and knowledge about a client’s family history, dynamics, and possible dysfunctional patterns.
German psychotherapist Bert Hellinger developed his intervention in family constellation therapy based on components of Gestalt therapy, psychodynamic therapy and other eclectic influences. Although Bert Hellinger does not claim to have created family constellation therapy, his work is the cornerstone of this specific treatment as it is known today.
How is Family Constellation Therapy Done?
A session of family constellation therapy, coined by Bert Hellinger, typically takes place in a workshop with a group of individuals who are not family members. Members of the group represent family members of the person or couple presenting a challenge or concern.
The person seeking the solution to the problem, called the caller or group manager, selects these representatives and positions them as a family members of the individual, also selecting a person who will also replace the caller to complete the task. Thus, the viewer becomes a spectator after the positionings he has made.
The use of other individuals to represent family members is believed to illuminate internal disharmony, and individuals who appear as family members are believed to be able to feel and experience the emotions of the person whose role they take on.
The seeker watches from the outside to gain a new perspective on the situation. None of the constellation members know the seeker or are aware of the underlying issues raised by the seeker. However, they often report awareness of a particular emotion and feeling directly related to the individual’s situation.
Types of Family Constellation Therapy
The traditional practice of family constellation therapy is usually done in a group setting, as it involves people acting as representatives of the seeker’s family members. Group members may take turns being primary seekers and representing each other’s family members.
Thus, we can answer the question of how many people can do family constellation therapy. Family constellation therapy is an approach generally practiced with the patient himself and a group of others. Apart from this, it is possible to examine family constellation therapy in two types.
We have explained these two types for you below:
In a Group Environment
In group therapy, the therapist directs the stance, position, and words of family members represented by group members, but sometimes group therapy involves very little talking. The client can interact directly with the family members in the constellation or stand aside and watch the interactions unfold.
In Individual Environment
Family constellation therapy can also be performed in an individual setting. The client may use toys or figurines to represent various members. He or she may also use a sand tray or other creative therapy technique in family constellation therapy.
Similarly, art therapy techniques can be used to draw family trees and indicate various dynamics within the home.
Traumatic Events That Cause Damage to the Family System
It is normal to have strong emotional or physical reactions following a distressing event. In most cases, these reactions subside as part of the body’s natural healing and healing process.
Family members who experience a common troubling event often become closer and appreciate each other more. A traumatic experience is any event in life that threatens one’s safety and potentially puts one’s life or the lives of others at risk.
If you are experiencing extreme emotional, psychological, or physical distress that temporarily disrupts normal functioning in daily life, you may be experiencing a traumatic event. There may be some traumatic events that may disrupt the dynamics of your relationship, especially in the house where you grew up or lived.
What are the Benefits of Family Constellation Therapy?
By using the family constellation approach, you can experience catharsis after the session. Because it allows you to work through conflict, trauma, and difficult past experiences in a safe environment.
The family constellation therapy method draws your attention to patterns and dynamics you may not have considered before. So you’re likely to develop improved insight into your behavior. Family constellation can lead to healthier communication and more satisfying relationships.
The family constellation therapy approach also creates a powerful space for you to process traumatic events from your past. It can have many benefits for yourself and the dynamics of your relationships at home.
Moreover, as mentioned before, its positive effects in these areas are too great to be ignored.
What is its purpose?
The main purpose of the therapy approach is to increase the client’s sense of empathy through family constellation therapy group activity. Moreover, it has been observed that the dynamics within the home and relationships change and develop after family constellation therapy sessions. Changing this dynamic positively is another goal of therapy.
How Does It Effect?
What is family constellation? How does it affect?
Unfortunately, research on the family constellation approach as an evidence-based treatment for a variety of mental health problems is limited. An analysis of the existing literature reveals that 9 of the 12 studies reviewed showed statistically significant improvement in the outcomes they measured. However, the quality and quantity of evidence may be low.
It can be said that the family constellation approach results in a statistically positive effect. It should also be mentioned that its impact, especially on the relationship dynamics within the home, mostly results in positive feedback.
In Which Disorders Can It Be Used?
Family constellation therapy approach is a method generally applied to correct relationship dynamics. Therefore, there is no disease that is intended to be treated and that can be directly named. However, the family constellation approach can help you in the following situations:
- Dealing with conflicts with your parents and not passing them on to your children,
- Changing your relationship with your partner,
- Find the cause of your anxiety and depression,
- Going further than traditional therapy and being able to continue with it
- Putting your problems into words in a different way than before.
How Does the Therapy Process Shape and Progress?
Constellations usually take place in groups, with some participants playing representatives of family members. If you prefer not to have strangers around, a family board is a better choice for you.
It may make sense to go to family constellation therapy sessions prepared. To do this, you should think in advance about the concrete questions you are looking for answers to or the problems you want to solve.
For example, you may want to inquire about your home’s financial situation or examine a strained relationship with other members. It is especially important to note questions about interpersonal relationships in your home.
Who Should Go to Family Constellation Therapy?
Family constellation therapy approach work is considered most effective in addressing concerns that are systemic in nature. Family constellation therapy method can be used as an ideal method especially for the following people:
- Those who are prone to or engage in negative or harmful relationships
- Those who want to have a romantic relationship
- Those who want to resolve confusion and conflicts at home
- Those who want to overcome inner turmoil
- People who have experienced significant trauma or loss
- People seeking personal and professional success
How Long Does Therapy Last?
A constellation usually takes 20 to 90 minutes, depending on how the process unfolds. Sometimes, for very complex situations, constellations may be recommended on several different days.
So what is family constellation and what happens after its implementation?
My constellation shows you problems in areas of your life that you have not focused on enough before. Now you finally know where the problem really comes from and you can actively work on it.
Of course, this realization will not happen overnight. A constellation usually needs to have an effect for a while. How long this takes varies greatly. Valuable strategies to solve problems can emerge after just a few days, but sometimes it can take several weeks.
Who Applies?
In a constellation, you give your coach deep insights into your personal life and soul. Constellation can have profound effects and significantly alter future behavior. Therefore, family constellation therapy should be performed by an experienced coach.
Basically, anyone can use family constellation therapy. For this reason, you may encounter a coach who has attended a few-day course, but otherwise does not have enough knowledge about family constellation.
Others are psychologists, therapists or even social pedagogues who have completed several months of extra professional training and often engage in systemic coaching.
During a constellation, dynamics can quickly arise that poorly trained coaches cannot handle professionally. Therefore, be aware of the person you have in mind for therapy and start looking for a family constellation specialist knowing what you want.
Ultimately, with family constellation therapy, you want to get the most out of the process and not be even more confused at the end of the day.
What are the features that distinguish it from other therapies?
What is family constellation? What are the differences from psychotherapy?
It is known that traditional psychotherapies generally consist of only the client and the counselor. However, family constellation therapy generally involves a group of people, not just two people.
Apart from this, it is normally necessary to be a trained psychologist to apply psychotherapies. Unlike the family constellation therapy approach, as mentioned in the title above, coaches can provide family constellation services.
In addition, the family constellation therapy method, which is an approach where the client is sometimes expected to observe and talk less, is different from other therapies in this respect.