What is Family Constellation Therapy?

Family Constellation Therapy is a therapeutic approach that looks at hidden patterns and dynamics within your family system. Often, challenges we face—like relationship struggles, repeated life patterns, or emotional blocks—are influenced by unresolved events or loyalties in our family. By bringing these hidden dynamics to light, the therapy helps release unconscious blocks, restore balance, and create freedom to live fully.

Origins of Family Constellation Therapy:

Family Constellation Therapy was developed by Bert Hellinger, a German psychotherapist, in the late 20th century. Drawing from systemic family therapy, psychology, and his observations of family and social dynamics, Hellinger discovered that many personal struggles stem from hidden patterns in the family system—loyalties, unresolved grief, or past traumas passed down across generations.

How a Family Constellation Works:

In a session, you explore a challenge in your family system. The facilitator guides you in placing family members or using symbols to reveal hidden patterns. Through observation, dialogue, and guided movements or phrases, unconscious loyalties and blocks often come to light, helping you gain clarity, release tension, and find a sense of balance.

What Issues Can Family Constellation Therapy Help With?

Family Constellation Therapy can shine light on many hidden patterns and dynamics that hold us back. Here are a few examples of how it may show up:

Anxiety and Loss: A woman loses her mother at age 10 years and grows up caring for her brothers. Out of unconscious loyalty to her mom, she struggles to connect with her stepmother and feels constant guilt and anxiety. In the constellation, she realizes she has been carrying her mother’s role—and finds relief by giving it back with love and respect. She takes her place in the family as a daughter not a rival.

Body Image and Criticism: A client feels “fat” and unworthy after years of criticism from her family. The constellation reveals this harshness as an inherited family pattern, not her truth. By acknowledging its origins, she begins to relate to her body with greater kindness.

Relationship Struggles: A woman marries a narcissistic partner. In the constellation, it becomes clear she is repeating dynamics from childhood of growing up with an alcoholic father and a critical mother. By recognizing her inner child’s need for approval, she begins to break the patterns of dependency on others and open space for healthier love.

Career Blocks: A talented professional feels like an imposter at work. The constellation revealed that she is carrying shame passed down through her the women in her family who all stayed small in their career. Many women in her family had not been offered their rightful place and equal treatment as the men. By giving this shame back to its rightful place, she steps more confidently into her own success.

Loyalty to a Mother’s Sacrifice: A client holds herself back in life because her mother sacrificed her own dreams for the family. Through the constellation, she learns to honor her mother’s love while choosing freedom for herself.

If you recognize yourself in any of these examples—or feel there may be unseen dynamics holding you back—I invite you to come for a session. Together, we can bring clarity, healing, and new possibilities for you and your family system.