by The Mind Faculty
Family constellation is an effective form of therapy that can help you uncover the underlying dynamics in which you are involved in. It is an alternative therapeutic method that has a systemic approach to restore balance and peace in the family system through acknowledgement and acceptance. It can also be used within a corporate context. It helps you to look into the possible blockages with your different relationships to release them and help you reach your full potential.
Using representatives, the therapy enables us to ‘see’ the dynamics in a particular issue. In an individual session, these representatives are in the form of tokens or dolls.
The type of token the client chooses, and the way in which the client arranges the token in relation to themselves and the other tokens offers insight into the systemic relationships present in their life. In group therapy, the representative will be the other participants in the group.
We talk to Dyani Thiruchelvam, our speech therapist and Family Constellation counsellor about this groundbreaking new therapy:
Family Constellation is based on the concept ‘Seeing is Freeing’. Would you be able to clarify what that means? Quite often, we can be faced with problems that we do not want to face. We may not be able to see the truth because we are blinded by distractions or what we think is normal based on societal norms.
When the client sets up a constellation, they can ‘see’ the relationships between the parties involved or the issues faced. By acknowledging what is and allowing oneself to ‘see’ the situation as it is, the path to resolution begins.
What is your favourite part about Family Constellation? My favourite part would be the final step in the constellation when everything has been resolved. I love seeing my client feels the ‘peace’, ‘lightness’ and ‘relief’ from working through the issue.
One of the best things about the constellation is that it enables us to express what we need to without actually having to ‘say’ things to the other people involved. That is why the use of tokens and representatives is such a crucial part of the process. It is also another reason why family constellation is so versatile and be used in almost any setting.
How would the family constellation work in a business setting? In a business setting, people may want to look at the organisational structure to see what the relationships are like and if there are any blockages within the team that may be affecting the business’ success. For example, if there are financial / cash flow problems, the constellation allows us to look into the relationships surrounding this issue – whether there are conflicts within the team or if the division of labour is not working. There are many aspects that we could look into.
Business constellations are set up similar to family constellations. We need to identify the issue and things connected to the issue. Then, I facilitate the process for the client to set up the constellation and we examine this together to identify any potential breakdowns in order to find a resolution.
Does Family Constellation work well in conjunction with other therapies? FC can work well with many modalities. However, if you have done a constellation with one issue, you would not work on that same issue again with another modality.
Upon saying that, if the constellation brought to light some other issues that may require further release, other modalities such as (but not restricted to) EMDR and EFT could work.
It is also important for the client to allow themselves time to process what they have experienced after the constellation and to not do too many constellations all at once. I would say that clients prefer to do one constellation a month. In between, they may work on other issues using different modalities.
Does the client have to have a particular issue in mind or can the constellation reveal blockages that they were not aware of? It is always best to work on a particular issue. However, it is also very possible to just look at oneself in a constellation to see if everything is in balance.
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