Psychotherapists find value in Family and Systemic Constellations
Family Constellations originated with Bert Hellinger, a German psychotherapist who worked for years with some of the most intractable emotional struggles that people face – high levels of anxiety and depression, eating disorders, addiction and other struggles.
He identified that so much of what we have learned to call “mental illnesses” often results from inter-generational trauma that has been unresolved or unidentified.
Today, psychologists, social workers, licensed professional counselors, addiction counselors and other psychotherapists are using Family Constellations to address everything from autism and addiction to phobias and depression.
Hellinger’s creation draws from many converging approaches, starting with the indigenous healing traditions of the Zulus of Africa, with which he became acquainted as a Roman Catholic priest and missionary in South Africa.
He incorporated the family systems theory of Murray Bowen and Virginia Satir, the sociometry and psychodrama of Dr. J.L. Moreno; the family loyalty observations of Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, and the hypnotic trance inductions pioneered by Milton Erickson, along with elements of Transactional Analysis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
All of these modalities merge to present a multi-dimensional method of problem solving. This method can be used experientially with individual clients, couples and families, as well as therapist-to-therapist clinical supervision.
The client or the “identified patient” is observed in the context of his or her familial, social, ethnic and geographical background. War, genocide, divorce, miscarriages, still births, abortions, and early parental loss are subjects that come into the therapeutic container. Despite social, political and religious biases, all of these topics refer to human attachment and trauma.
He identified that so much of what we have learned to call “mental illnesses” often results from inter-generational trauma that has been unresolved or unidentified.
Today, psychologists, social workers, licensed professional counselors, addiction counselors and other psychotherapists are using Family Constellations to address everything from autism and addiction to phobias and depression.
Hellinger’s creation draws from many converging approaches, starting with the indigenous healing traditions of the Zulus of Africa, with which he became acquainted as a Roman Catholic priest and missionary in South Africa.
He incorporated the family systems theory of Murray Bowen and Virginia Satir, the sociometry and psychodrama of Dr. J.L. Moreno; the family loyalty observations of Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, and the hypnotic trance inductions pioneered by Milton Erickson, along with elements of Transactional Analysis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
All of these modalities merge to present a multi-dimensional method of problem solving. This method can be used experientially with individual clients, couples and families, as well as therapist-to-therapist clinical supervision.
The client or the “identified patient” is observed in the context of his or her familial, social, ethnic and geographical background. War, genocide, divorce, miscarriages, still births, abortions, and early parental loss are subjects that come into the therapeutic container. Despite social, political and religious biases, all of these topics refer to human attachment and trauma.
