[A video of Bert Hellinger treating people with the Family Constellations Methodology]
Family Constellations Therapy was developed by Bert Hellinger, a German psychotherapist in the 1990’s. The approach is based on the premise that our experience of life and behaviour is deeply connected to and a result of our relationship to the system we are a part of.
He began to formulate this method when he was sent to South Africa as a missionary. While in South Africa he encountered and become familiar with the indigenous Zulu people of South Africa. In their culture, physical and mental illness, suffering and other misfortunes are often understood as being due to one’s lack of respect and acknowledgment for the ancestors. Ancestors are viewed as still interacting with and affecting the living. Therefore much of their indigenous treatment of these issues revolves around appeasing the ancestors.
Based on this Zulu cultural perspective and his background in traditional Psychotherapy, Bert Hellinger developed the family constellations method.
A traditional constellation consists of a facilitator, patient/client and a group of people who don’t necessarily share any relationship. The client will explain to the facilitator the issues that they are facing and give a brief history of the dynamics within the relationship and their family system. The facilitator will then ask the client to pick members of the group to represent various elements in the narrative and place them however the client feels appropriate in the centre of the group.
What happens next is a phenomenological process. The representatives, who have no former knowledge of the client, their family or history begin to experience the emotions of the people or elements that they are representing. They may make certain movements to express these feelings, feel overwhelming emotions and may even feel physiological symptoms. This is what Bert Hellinger called the morphogenic field. The family system of the client starts to manifest within the group of representatives.
From these movements, the facilitator can gain deeper insight into the original wounds that are being carried by the person holding the issue. The facilitator will then try to create some kind of resolution. Many have had tremendous breakthroughs from these resolutions such as falling pregnant after having tried for many years, or finding a partner after years of struggling, healing from an illness which they suffered from for many years and getting over feelings of anxiety or depression.
Even though Constellations are usually done in groups they can also be done for individuals. In the sessions the facilitator will help the individual explore family and systematic dynamics and help the client resolve any unhealthy or unbalanced relationships the individual has with the family or system.
How does it work?
The constellation method is a great mystery. It is not clear exactly what makes it work. Bert Hellinger suggested that we are all entangled in systems. If we feel excluded from that system or there is an imbalance in the system it will possibly show up in our personal lives spiritually, psychologically or even physiologically. Perhaps another reason is that whether we like or not our systems and families are an intrinsic and deep part of who we are. If we reject them and fail to respect them appropriately then in essence we are rejecting and failing to respect ourselves. This is bound to create issues for us.
Who is it for?
Family constellations has been known to help people deal with all kinds of issues. However, it has been known to be especially effective for issues which traditional therapy has failed to treat and issues related to family and relationships.
Another reason why many people choose this mode of treatment is because it is affordable and usually yields results faster than ordinary therapy.
Janet and Constellations
For the last 20 years Constellations has been an integral part of Janet’s life, her own personal healing and her work. She has had the opportunity to learn from some of the most famous and renowned constellations therapists known, such as Dr. Albrecht Mahr and Stephan Hausner and many more. Janet has helped countless people have breakthroughs in their creative, professional, family and personal lives. This includes being instrumental in helping people fall pregnant, develop their careers, find life partners and heal from physical and mental illness.
What People Have Said About Janet’s Constellations
“After taking part in a few constellations for others I decided to have my own. It’s truly amazing how the universe puts us all together with people for a reason. It was fascinating that Janet made the connection with my late grandmother who suffered terribly because of the loss of her family members due to the Holocaust. After battling chronic migraines (as my grandmother did) and fatigue and generally feeling unwell for a long time, I’m happy to say that I’m back to my old self and able to move forward. What’s amazing is that even just observing other’s constellations, it so often correlates to our own lives and issues. Another amazing thing that happened on the day of the constellation was another observer saw some of my art work and placed an order with me! One just never knows the synchronicities waiting to play out! Janet is one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing”. Gulnar Vaswani, Chief culture officer at Leadership Reimagined.
“Miracle. A remarkable event or development that brings a very welcome consequences. Being in countless constellations, it’s an extraordinary”
Experience to behold both as a participant or as a nonparticipant, both a very unique experience yet nevertheless psychologically, emotionally and spiritually beneficial. Enriching people from all races and ages, some with serious physical ailments, psychological blocks, emotional trauma and yet in under an hour the challenge at hand does not only reveal itself, the root, the cause (in some situations it goes back generations) is brought to light and it is in this light that the healing, shift , MIRACLE occurs. Highly recommend the experience as a participant, meaning doing your own constellation or nonparticipant where your holding space for the client . Miracles , I’m telling you”. Henri Slier, Professional actor and model.
You can contact Janet using the link below to book a session or find out when the next group session is.