FAMILY CONSTELLATION 

Family Constellation is an experiential approach that explores the relationships, patterns and dynamics that exist within our family system — including influences that may reach across generations.The approach was developed by German psychotherapist Bert Hellinger, who observed that people can sometimes become entangled in unresolved experiences, loyalties and relationship patterns within their wider family system. His work developed into what became known as Family Constellations or Systemic Constellations.

The process offers a different way of looking at what may be happening in your life — not only through your individual experience, but through the larger family system to which you belong.

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WHAT WE CARRY

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Every family has a story.

There is love and belonging, but there can also be loss, separation, conflict, exclusion, grief and experiences that were never fully acknowledged. Sometimes we may find ourselves repeating patterns without really understanding why. We might experience similar relationship difficulties, feel responsible for others, struggle to find our place, carry emotions that seem larger than the situation in front of us, or simply have a sense that something is holding us back. Family Constellation creates a space to gently explore these patterns and see them from a different perspective.

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SEEING WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN

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During a constellation, people or objects may be used as representatives for members of your family or for other important elements connected with the issue you would like to explore. Their placement in the space creates a visual representation of the system. Rather than analysing everything intellectually, we slow the process down and observe what emerges — relationships, distances, movements, emotions and patterns that may not have been obvious before. I gently guide the constellation as it unfolds, allowing space for what needs to be acknowledged while supporting movement towards greater order, connection and resolution.

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INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS OR GROUP WORKSHOPS

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Family Constellation can be experienced privately in an individual session or within a group workshop. In an individual session, I use floor markers to create and explore your constellation privately. In a group workshop, other participants are invited to stand as representatives for people or elements within your constellation. You don't need to know the people representing your family, and they don't need to know your family history. One of the fascinating aspects of group constellation work is that representatives are often drawn to roles that somehow resonate with something in their own lives. While they are there to represent a part of someone else's constellation, the experience can also bring insight, awareness or movement around something meaningful for them personally. Because of this, being a representative can be just as valuable an experience as having your own constellation explored. You don't need to have your own constellation done to attend a workshop. In fact, starting as a representative is a wonderful way to experience Family Constellation for the first time. It allows you to see how the process unfolds, experience the work from within the group, and become familiar with it before deciding whether you would like to explore your own constellation.

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FAMILY CONSTELLATION MAY HELP YOU EXPLORE:

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• Repeating family or relationship patterns
• Difficult relationships with parents, partners or children
• Feelings of not belonging or not knowing your place
• Grief, separation and significant family events
• Patterns that appear to continue across generations
• Difficulties with boundaries or taking responsibility for others
• Recurring experiences in relationships, work or life
• Questions around identity, direction and belonging
• A desire to understand your family story from a different perspective

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YOUR SESSION

We begin by talking about what is currently happening in your life and what you would like to explore. You don't need to arrive knowing your entire family history, and you don't need to have everything figured out beforehand. Together, we identify the issue and begin creating the constellation. From there, I guide you through the process gently and without forcing an outcome. We pay attention to what emerges and allow the constellation to reveal a different view of the relationships and dynamics within the system. At the end, we allow time for the experience to settle and integrate.

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YOU DON'T HAVE TO CARRY EVERYTHING THAT CAME BEFORE YOU.

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Family Constellation isn't about blaming our parents or changing the past. It is about seeing what belongs where, acknowledging what has been, and recognising that we can honour our family story without needing to repeat every part of it. Sometimes seeing the system differently allows us to find a different place within it. A place with more understanding. 
More freedom.
And more room to live our own life.