Family Constellations is a group or individual therapeutic technique, which aims to change suffering and unhappy situations that can last throughout generations. The founder of this technique, Bert Hellinger, a German psychotherapist, studied and healed families for over 50 years. He observed that many of us unconsciously assume the destructive patterns of our family’s anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, loneliness, alcoholism and even diseases. It is a way to “belong” to the family. Connected by a deep love, a child often sacrifices itself trying in vain to relieve the pain of a parent or other family member.

Bert Hellinger made a revolution in the heart and soul of family therapy, enlightening the unconscious and destructive loyalties in families. Even though most of the psychology focuses on exploring childhood conflicts, Hellinger works on family tragedies.

He observed that traumatic events, such as the premature death of a father, brother or son, abandon, crime or suicide can exercise a powerful force that affects future generations.

Entangled among the past unhappiness, the family members perpetuate anxiety patterns, depression, anger, guilt, chronic diseases and failed relationships. It is a regular theme: sad mother, sad daughter… alcoholic father, alcoholic son… the parents’ relationship problems reflected on the children.

The phenomenological therapeutics method is explained by the morphogenetics fields studied by the biologist and scientist Rupert Sheldrake. According to this author, our bodies are surrounded by morphic fields, an invisible extension of our cells. Sheldrake proposes that our minds work through fields that expand beyond our heads up to the world environs, connecting us to other people and to the environment.

Mafalda Jorge