At present, no one will deny the fact that the actions and motives of a person are controlled not only by his individual will and mind. It is known that the behavior of a person is influenced, among other things, by various unconscious generic scenarios. The method of systemic family constellations allows recognize these scenarios and work through them to get out of those dead ends and traps that our ancestors could not get out of at one time.
family theater
The history of the method of systemic constellations is rooted in both transactional analysis Eric Burn, and in the primary therapy of Arthur Yanov. It is known that while still a priest, the creator of the method, Bert Hellinger, first thought about the amazing phenomenology of intrapsychic nature. Asking the question as to what is more important, ideals or people, he soon resigned his religious rank and decided to devote his life to the study of the mysteries of the human soul.
Shortly after finishing his course at the Vienna Association for Psychoanalysis, he turned to research in family psychotherapy. They convincingly demonstrated that the person cannot be considered as a unit - but only as component of a system that is greater than the sum of its parts. Hellinger soon became convinced that all members of the same family (whether fathers and children, brothers and sisters, now living or dead) are interconnected by invisible bonds. These connections are built according to three basic laws, which Hellinger called the Orders of Love.
The first of these laws, called ownership law, says that every member of the family system has the right to belong to it and to be accepted in it. The second law is called hierarchy law, is due to the unconditional priority that the new family system (young family) has over the old one (parental family). Finally, the third law balance law, states that there must be balance in the relationship of giving and taking.
Family technologies
Under the conditions of the normal functioning of the family system, in accordance with the laws described above, the living give to their children the love that once given by their parents. However, the lack and lack of love can lead to such "failures" in the system as parentification - a phenomenon that describes the situation when children are forced to become "parents" for their own fathers and mothers.
Or, for example, a violation of the law of belonging can lead to the fact that a person throughout his life is forced to feel as if he fulfills other people's requests and reproduces other people's feelings. Fortunately, systemic family constellations allow shedding light on the family situation and transforming the existing intrapersonal context of the family relationship system.
Placement steps include request, selection of "deputies" of family roles, direct placement of participants according to this or that scenario, as well as cathartic processing of the experience gained. The phenomenon, due to which significant personal changes occur within the framework of systemic family constellations, is called " morphic field". It is this that influences the fact that the substitutes within the constellations feel the same as their prototypes previously felt - which leads to significant changes in the therapy.
Despite the fact that Bert Hellinger's method has not received scientific justification, it amazing efficiency contributes to attracting more and more people to the ranks of fans of system constellations. No wonder: after all, this dramatic action impresses all those who crave visual and emotionally accessible solutions to their family problems.
In Russia, the name "Constellation"® is a registered trademark for psychological services, seminars and trainings. The copyright holder is the Institute for Consulting and System Solutions (IKSR). And the phrase "System Spreads"® is a registered trademark for any printed matter. Copyright holder - Psychological Foundation "IMAGO".
Hellinger family constellations have received many accolades. People who have tried the constellations on themselves report a burst of energy, a new look at the problem, which allows them to solve it. Tension subsides, fears, anxiety go away. It becomes calmer and easier. Or there is a deterioration in the state, emotional disorders are growing. How the Hellinger family constellation method works and why it doesn't work, read this article.
Popularity of Family Constellations by Bert Hellinger
In Russia, the demand for psychotherapy is greater than anywhere else. People live in fear, uncertainty about the future.
The struggle to survive in a confused society after the collapse of the Soviet Union led to chronic stress and psychosomatic illness. Many fail to find their place in life, relationships with loved ones do not add up, work is hated. Russian people are waiting for a miracle, magic, hoping for a chance. On this basis, coupled with the general relaxation of the mind, many esoteric teachings easily fall. System constellations according to Hellinger have found their followers in Russia as well.
They do not solve problems for the simple reason that the real mechanism for getting out of negative situations is completely different. Why there is a subjectively positive effect from family constellations according to the method of Bert Hellinger and how people fall into the trap of their own fears, read on.
Who attends Hellinger family constellations
Systemic family constellations according to Hellinger attract people with negative life scenarios, tired of their personal problems, dysfunctional relationships, illnesses. There are those among them who seek to comprehend the causes of their failures, conflicts and conflicting thoughts. What unites them is great suffering, constant internal discomfort.
Let's consider the features of the psyche of people who are interested in constellations according to Bert Hellinger with the help of Yuri Burlan's System-Vector Psychology.
- People with visual vector
Bad things happen to everyone. But there are people who see this as the influence of some forces from outside.
Negative energies, bad thoughts of others, evil eye, corruption and predictions - all this poisons their life. Family constellations according to Bert Hellinger fit perfectly into their perception. How does it happen that some people are greatly influenced by the karma of the family, curses, while the rest live and do not think about it? And what kind of family debt is this?
A tendency to superstition and mysticism occurs in people with a visual vector. In unfavorable conditions, they fall on the hook of system-family constellations according to Hellinger. Scientists, doctors - people with high intelligence in the visual vector. Actors, singers, artists are people with developed sensuality. If the intellect and innate sensibility are not applied in society, then it is easier to believe in the "bond of the genus" than to try to see how things are in real life.
What happens in fact - the responsibility for one's life is shifted to another, to a deceased relative, for example. "Now everything will be fine." Tension subsides, the fear of the future goes away - though not for long. By the same principle, people with a visual vector visit fortune-tellers. Even intellectuals do this during times of stress, when fears are so great that they cannot be dealt with in any other way.
It is vital for a person with a visual vector to create emotional connections with other people, he seeks to experience strong feelings. When the emotional amplitude is realized in love and empathy for other people, in helping them, then the person feels happy. In a state of superstress or when there is not enough skill in showing feelings for others, the unexploited emotional energy goes into winding oneself up. There are fears, phobias, anxiety, panic attacks. Then the psyche at least experiences emotions in this way. Let them be negative.
The method of family constellations according to Hellinger involves extracting the causes of the client's problem from the general information field through deputies - significant people playing the role. The presence of this "field" is not justified, and no reasons are clarified. But during the Hellinger family constellation, all participants experience strong feelings. At first glance, they really arise from interaction with external energies, fields.
In an emotionally charged environment, this is enough to experience a huge range of feelings. Sharing feelings with other participants and their openness to the group gives a person the fulfillment of his visual vector, which does not happen in ordinary life. Tears are flowing.
There is incredible relief. This is the subjective positive effect of family constellations according to Bert Hellinger.
Some time after the systemic arrangement according to Hellinger, internal tension, fear, and anxiety reappear. A person who has not been taught to correctly realize the potential of the visual vector continues to react in the usual way. Problems accumulate until relief comes again at the next session. A person becomes emotionally dependent on the Hellinger family constellation method. He returns to the group to feel united with it again. In solving his problems, he marks time, temporarily getting rid of discomfort during the sessions.
It is no coincidence that Bert Hellinger's family constellation sessions are like theatrical performances. Acting is one of the ways to implement the visual vector. The actor conveys to the audience the states of love, compassion, when they come from within him. Participants in system-family constellations according to Hellinger carry negative emotions inside and broadcast them to each other. It must be remembered that substitutes have sensations in the body due to the suggestibility and self-suggestibility of the visual vector.
All this is connected with high emotionality, suspiciousness and non-realization of sensual potential. With the refusal to change oneself, shifting the responsibility to the great-grandmother who once had an abortion, to the suicidal relative, the unborn child, and so on.
- People with sound vector
Search for oneself, self-development, spiritual growth - the goal of a person with a sound vector. His area of interest is intangible categories. An attempt to understand the world order with the help of family constellations according to Bert Hellinger by a person with high abstract intelligence in the sound vector often ends with a refusal to deal with them. At first, he gets a sense of the system, cause-and-effect relationships. When he tries to understand this structure, the thought may arise that here is one more constellation - and I will find the meaning.
There are many postulates in the method of constellations according to Bert Hellinger that I would like to reveal. However, everything is presented blurry, there is no clear structure of the universe. Hellinger himself does not explain the origins of his knowledge.
The people described above with a visual vector tend to take everything on faith, but a person with an inquisitive mind in a sound vector does not.
Not finding answers to his questions, a person with a sound vector moves on. An exception happens if it is held by fears in the visual vector and dispersal of the mind, when there is a request, but there is no skill to go further through cognition. With the help of the method of family constellations according to Hellinger, a certain model of the world order with an esoteric bias is obtained, which temporarily calms the itching question about the purpose of existence. This does not relieve depression and a sense of the meaninglessness of life, because a person does not receive true knowledge about himself and the world.
The feeling of inner loneliness and depression arises in the sound vector due to the loss of connection with other people and immersion in one's thoughts. During a family constellation session according to Bert Hellinger, a person with a sound vector temporarily concentrates his mind on other members of the group. Improvement of the state occurs due to a shift in the focus of attention from oneself to another. This skill does not become permanent, so after a while the symptoms return.
System-family constellations according to Hellinger do not change the perception of reality, which is what a person with a sound vector strives for so much. When using this method, obsession with their problems can increase if a person begins to delve into himself. He is looking in the wrong place and gets into a dead end. It is impossible to know oneself from the inside, because knowledge occurs by observing the differences between oneself and other people. The Hellinger family constellation method does not provide a distinction system that would allow this. The question "Why do I live?" remains open.
- People with anal vector
The arrangement method according to Bert Hellinger also attracts a person with an anal vector. Family, respect, duty, memory of ancestors are the values of the anal vector. Such people gravitate towards the past. A sense of duty and guilt arise due to an internal distortion of the psyche if a person gave less than he received. When it's the other way around, it's a feeling of resentment. Resentment against parents and loved ones does not allow to live in full force. This happens even when a person is not aware of this - somehow life is not very good. The resentment and tears suddenly revealed during the Hellinger family constellation session give the impression of relief. But does it get rid of the most resentment and resentment?
You cannot force yourself to stop feeling hurt if the very perception of the situation remains the same.
It is impossible to show respect for the offender by an effort of will. To repay him a debt when there is an unconscious conviction that it is he who owes me is all the more impossible.
Liberation from resentment occurs through awareness of the causes of the offender's behavior. When the understanding comes that he could not act differently because he was in a certain mental state, then the resentment goes away. Family constellations according to Bert Hellinger can exacerbate resentment towards parents and loved ones due to emotional fixation on her.
Memory is given to a person with an anal vector to study the past and pass on experience and knowledge to younger generations. Fixation on the past negative experience does not give anything. Nature does not go back, development only goes forward. When a person is mentally turned to the past, he renounces life in senses.
Who uses the Hellinger constellation method in their work
The constellation method according to Bert Hellinger, in fact, deprives a person of the opportunity to change his life on his own for his own money. But it gives a feeling of relief from the removal of responsibility for your life. Preserves a person in his own fears and false ideas. Fortunetellers and psychics do the same.
For the vast majority of psychotherapeutic trainings and groups, it is characteristic that the work is carried out only with the participation of a psychotherapist. Systemic family constellations according to Hellinger are no exception. The Hellinger family constellation method is used only with the leader and deputies.
They are necessary as guides, without them the client cannot do anything. Only the leader owns the instrument, which he does not give into the hands of the client. Partly because the postulates of the doctrine are not formulated, not verifiable in life, and people are invited to take their word for it. Partly because this is a condition for the commercial work of the group: a person must need the help of a constellator, preferably for a long time.
The creator of family constellations Bert Hellinger and his followers are people with a sound vector, confident in the ideas of the teaching. They live by them, believe in themselves, have no doubts and are convincing for this reason.
Such a person gathers around him clients, most of whom have a visual vector in emotional disorders. The group rests on sensual unification, on blind faith in the constellator. If a person’s critical mind does not work, if fear is stronger, he is drawn like a magnet to family constellations according to Hellinger.
Hellinger family constellation method - no need
Problem solving occurs through a deep awareness of the cause-and-effect relationships that led to them. The root of which is hidden in the unconscious. Comprehension of the hidden changes the perception of the situation. When a part of the unconscious is realized, it becomes a part of consciousness and ceases to control a person. His behavior changes effortlessly, naturally. This is the psychoanalytic effect of Yuri Burlan's Systemic Vector Psychology training.
Knowledge must be passed from teacher to student and become part of his thinking. The knowledge of the peculiarities of the psyche allows you to understand yourself and other people and change the worldview - to see the world as it is, in all its variety of manifestations. Understanding what is happening becomes independent, it is a skill that is acquired once and for all. A person receives a tool to improve his life.
We live in a society and can be both happy and deeply unhappy in the same conditions. The question is to understand the real causes of the problems, and therefore, to get all the opportunities to actually change your life for the better.
Acquiring the skill of focusing on other people gives a feeling of being part of a whole, getting rid of loneliness, joy and interest in life.
“... All rubbish, all sorts of esoteric troubles, false information, which now I can easily determine right away, all sorts of superstitions, have disappeared from me, I stopped wasting a lot of time in search of something, some kind of knowledge, now I understand why this search took place, why I had this emptiness ... "
“... Now, when I remember what happened to me before the training, I understand that my life was some kind of strange moment, passed me by, and I still didn’t understand what I was doing, what I was going to and what Is there any meaning to my life. For me, the meaning of what I do or think has been and remains my highest value. And, what is most beautiful, it will not return again, remaining just a starting point in my memories, until the beginning of a complete revolution in understanding the human psyche ... "
“... There was not even a doubt that system-vector psychology was what I was looking for. I searched in a variety of philosophies and psychologies - understanding oneself and the mysterious Other, comprehension of the soul and Spirit, awareness of the place of man in the world and the world in man ... This is a harmonious system of knowledge based on revealing the deep roots of the mental, which gives a powerful and stable awareness to people who receive these knowledge. And therefore, of course, it is effective. I clearly understood that I had found MY ONE!!”
“... System-vector psychology is a very accessible knowledge. All words, concepts heard at the training, especially at the introductory ones, are simple and understandable. There is no such thing that only those who have studied five years at the Faculty of Psychology, and then spent ten years in practice as a psychologist, can understand this. Yuri Burlan's system-vector psychoanalysis is knowledge for everyone. But I assure you, you cannot even imagine what is behind this ... "
“... As a general result, in addition to numerous deliverances from unnecessary negative things, I came to a complete understanding of everything that happens in my life and an awareness of all the reasons for certain of my actions, decisions, motives, desires, reactions to something or someone. In my life there are no more doubts, indecision, difficulty of choice, resentment, jealousy, anxiety ... it looks fantastic, but it is available to anyone who wishes ... "
“... Only systems thinking filled in ALL the blank spots regarding human behavior, which did not allow me to make numerous directions in psychology and not only in it, which I was interested in at different periods of my life ...”
“... You don’t even notice how all the extra husk of your ideas, imposed by some inexpressible and cunningly confusing way of persuading, flies out. You don’t even have to sit and meditate in the lotus position on the top of some Mount Kailash, you don’t need to fast for weeks, you don’t need to read mantras, you don’t need to go on a raw food diet, you don’t need to eat only watermelon to “remove toxins” or whatever, you don’t need to kill yourself by observing the strict discipline of vipasana silence and isolation.
You can list an infinite number of things that you absolutely do not need to do in order to gain access to yourself. What you need - most likely certain qualities, the volume of emptiness and the consent to turn your ears.
Probably still to some extent hopelessness ... like that patient who has nothing left but to substitute a known injection site ... "
Ekaterina Krestnikova, doctor - psychiatrist-narcologist
Editor Ekaterina Korotkikh, psychologist
Proofreader Zif Akhatova
The article was written using the materials of Yuri Burlan's online training "System-Vector Psychology"
Chapter:
About ten years ago, I first saw an advertisement for Hellinger constellations in the Russian information space. Since at that time I was aware of the content of this new phenomenon for our country, I decided that quite quickly this practice would naturally move into the world of “occult services”. A year later, having discovered the price list of several fairly large psychological centers that do not associate themselves with magic in any way, I decided to go there and see what exactly they are doing there and how professional psychologists explain to themselves the legitimacy of using this practice.
The opportunity appeared by itself and very quickly: I came across an advertisement for the search for so-called "deputies" - important participants in the most common type of constellation. My husband and I signed up as “deputies”, naturally, without telling us about our motivation or professional affiliation (in fairness: no one asked us about this). I’ll make a reservation right away: the formats for conducting constellations may differ, but they are substantively based on the same idea. And they can be called differently: systemic family constellations, just systemic constellations, and many more variations on the theme. The case below serves to illustrate the "work" of the method, as well as material for the critique that follows.
So, the arrangement was carried out for a young man. He, under the guidance of a psychologist leading the arrangement, assigned each of the deputies the role of one of the members of his family (so far only living ones) and placed us around the room. Several constellators were left without roles. And then a phantasmagoria began: “experienced deputies” (from among the employees of the center) began to report “heaviness in the heart”, “tickling in the heel” and other mysterious sensations from standing next to someone or, on the contrary, due to the remoteness of someone then. And only we stood in our places and felt nothing but curiosity.
Then, in some way incomprehensible to me, one of the “deputies” (who felt an acute desire to pour out love and regret to the client) “turned out” to be an aborted child of the client, several more people “turned out” to be long-dead relatives ... a seance began. Then something like a psychodrama with a mystical twist happened. And all this ended with a harsh instruction from the constellator from the category of “get up and go!”.
Naturally, I lingered, told the constellator my professional affiliation and asked what it was, where he studied and how he was not ashamed. In response, I received a stream of consciousness “there is a lot in the world, friend Horatio ...” on the topic of the existence of phenomena still unknown to science and certain fields that need to be connected to in order to gain knowledge.
I decided then that with this level of delusion, this service would serve clients well: it would help them to distinguish really professional psychologists from charlatans who had nothing to do with scientific knowledge.
It seemed obvious to me that a reasonable person, before giving his money for any service, would google about it. When searching for information about Hellinger constellations, one almost immediately finds, perhaps, the most systematized brief description of the technique in the Russian-speaking segment: Veselago E.V. System constellations according to Bert Hellinger: history, philosophy, technology. // Psychotherapy. No. 7, 2010. No. 1, 2011. : [Electronic resource].
Reading this article, in my opinion, is enough to understand that this technique has nothing to do with psychology as a science in any "reincarnation". And the paragraph below (ibid., p. 14) makes it clear that the concept of the norm in any sense of the arrangement has the same relation as to science: “ Hellinger says his work is not psychotherapy, it's a practical philosophy. I would like to add: "And also practical theology." And in this practice, we sometimes reach the limits: frightening, unacceptable, wrong, “immoral” movements (events, stories). After all, if there is neither bad nor good, and everything moves as it moves, then what about, for example, situations of incest? Violence, murder, abortion? Fascism, genocide? Many times, witnesses to Hellinger's constellation work encountered the unacceptable: for example,in a constellation, a daughter who is in a sexual relationship with her father says to her mother, "Mom, I'm glad to do this for you." Through this phrase, uttered in the constellation, the spirit of “sighted” love and reconciliation comes, the connection reveals its meaning and ceases to be necessary. But at the same time, a wave of indignation rises from the defenders of victims of violence and abuse, from women, from men, from social workers and many others, in whose understanding the idea of protecting the victim from the rapist and appropriate punishment for him is correct.».
But, judging by the prevalence of constellations, the almost complete absence of criticism in the Russian-language segment of the Web and scientific sources, the penetration of methods into the system of public education and science, this issue is in dire need of discussion.
So, the method of systemic family constellations by Bert Hellinger became widespread in the second half of the last century as a helping psychological practice. It is believed that the basic principles of the method correspond to the systemic and phenomenological approach, but their interpretation is carried out by the author in an extremely unorthodox way. Based on systemic premises, Hellinger proposes to consider in therapy the whole complex of family relationships in their relationship and hierarchy, including intergenerational ones (including between living and already deceased relatives). The phenomenology of the method implies the priority of the direct subjective experience and sensations of the participants in the constellations.
According to the supporters of the method, the relationships, experiences and sensations of the members of the family system are in a certain “field”, and, being placed in the appropriate roles, completely outsiders seem to be included in this field and begin to reproduce the characteristic sensations of its members, without even having any prior experience. information about them. By interacting with these “deputies”, the participant gets the opportunity to work out their personal problems and issues of relationships with relatives, work colleagues, and even abstract concepts.
In my opinion, what has already been listed should be enough to understand the unscientific and useless "method" of constellations, however, in case the reader still has doubts, let's dwell a little more on the most odious provisions (I will try to do without highly specialized terms) .
Firstly, the “mechanics” of the constellations are based on the so-called phenomenon of substitutive perception, when the substitute begins not only to imagine, but to feel and experience what his real living or long-dead prototype feels and experiences, drawing information directly from the “information field” . The mechanism of this substitutive perception and the method of transferring information between its carrier and its substitute, however, is not formalized and explained in any way - but it cannot be verified and refuted.
Secondly, the basically sound idea that an individual does not live in a vacuum and that he is influenced by family members (by the way, not only they, but also a lot of other social subjects and agents of socialization), is brought here to absurdity and a person turns out to be not just connected, but closely intertwined (and this is not about genetics!) in his fate with the fate of his ancestors - even those that he does not know about and could never know in principle. As a result, it is argued that he may not live his own destiny and fulfill his own tasks, since a psychological problem arose some generations ago, which has not yet been solved. Neither modern psychology nor neurophysiology has scientific explanations for such a phenomenon, and there are no ways to check whether the client is really tormented for the sins of the great-grandmother, either.
If we remove the philosophical and mystical component, then the constellation technique itself, in fact, is an attempt to project the client's conscious and unconscious ideas about the structure and nature of interpersonal relationships within the family - and this could have limited practical application, but similar techniques already exist (for example , psychodrama), so that novelty, obviously, can only be achieved through mystification and operating with quasi-scientific concepts like "psychic energy", "information field", "replacing perception" and others. But maybe there is nothing wrong with that, and let the clients of the “constellations” pay a kind of “ignorance tax”? ..
Not at all. The method is not "ethically neutral" and contains several elements that are very dangerous for the client.
First, the simplest objection is that using the "crooked" method leads you astray and the conviction that the root of the problems must be sought "down the family tree", listening to the sensations caused in you by strangers, on who are assigned the roles of all sorts of relatives, will prevent you from seeing the real problem. This is at best. At worst, you will be strengthened in your delusions and distorted perception.
Secondly, a non-formalizable method with unverifiable results leaves too wide scope for the work of the "arranger" - and places extremely high demands on his professionalism, ethics and ability for critical reflection. Something tells me that people who practice (often commercially) an unscientific method with vague semi-esoteric premises may have serious problems with these qualities. Moreover, for people in borderline states, the experience of constellations (in any role) can be dangerous as a provocation for the development of full-fledged psychiatry.
Third, at its core, Hellinger's ideas about "orders of love" reproduce patriarchal models of gender and intergenerational relations, in fact prescribing certain (and rather rigid) principles of perception and behavior to clients. Hellinger's sensational interpretation of incest as a mother's fault for not satisfying her husband's sexual interests sufficiently, resulting in him having sex with his daughter, not only sets the stage for cultivating a sense of guilt in the mother (which, perhaps, logically separated from her husband for reasons), but also forces the victim of incest to “accept with respect” the act of violence against herself. Not to mention the fact that for the rapist himself, such an interpretation does not give any chance to realize his responsibility for what he did and work out the reasons that led to this act.
I admit that those psychologists and educators who refer to Hellinger's ideas and implement them in their practice and curricula do not accept all the provisions of "systemic family" therapy, but then this indicates either their ignorance or scientific incompetence. Everything that “works” in the constellations is not the specific features of the constellations, but is completely exhausted by other, completely scientific methods. And what is unique in them is neither psychology specifically nor science in general, and therefore does not work and cannot work.
Nevertheless, there are also those who “passed through” and who “helped”. Why did it “work” in their case?
It is much easier for many people to live, believing that they are not to blame for anything. The “family field” is to blame, which forced, for example, to repeat the fate of an exiled relative. Guilt is one of the most common problems people seek help with.
Since the constellations use elements from points 2-4, there are lucky ones who have been helped by the constellations and may not even have been hurt much. Although the harm in the form of mythologization of consciousness is definitely caused to them! The same harm is done to the "substitutes". It is not worth talking about the confirmed effectiveness of this method at all, because there is not a single study in this area.
For a number of contradictory statements and methods, Hellinger was expelled from the German Association of Systemic Constellations by his former followers, but at the same time they continued to engage in constellations, removing the name of Bert Hellinger and morally controversial installations. In fairness, it should be noted that there were those specialists who, although they recognize the potential in this eclectic method, consider it unsafe for patients.
Unfortunately, constellations are now becoming more and more widespread as a service. But the worst thing is that they begin to occupy an indecently large space among professionals, are included in educational programs and practices, and are included in publications indexed by the RSCI.
Recently, I discovered constellations in the curricula of some state universities, constellation courses conducted in the ANO on the basis of state (sic!) psychiatric institutions and allowing you to get a state-recognized certificate!
In their attempts to legitimize the constellation method, supporters of the approach do not disdain falsifications: for example, the article on systemic family psychotherapy in the Russian-language Wikipedia was written by adherents of this technique. The bold statement that "about 80 randomized and controlled trials have been able to confirm that systemic and family therapy is an effective and economical method of psychotherapy with a very good long-term effect" refers to one Bernard Schorn and his "work" called "Scientific research proves efficiency and long-term success. A search in the Russian-language and English-language segments of the Internet did not help me uncover the mysterious identity of this man. Well, of course, I also did not find the corresponding work.
And finally, I inform you that the alignments for business systems, the alignments for the exchange rate and other economic issues are now becoming more widespread. What personally causes mixed feelings in me: funny, of course, but ... if business people and bankers begin to rely on the results of occult practices in making decisions, then what will we expect in the future?
Sometimes people face issues that seem to be passed down through the family from generation to generation. And even academic psychology is powerless in their solution. If you are faced with something similar, then turning to grandmothers or fortune tellers is not at all necessary.
A well-known German philosopher, psychotherapist Bert Hellinger (b. 1925) conducted a scientific study of such problems. As a result of his research, he developed a method with which to solve complex problems that go beyond one human life. This method is called system constellations.
The term coined by Bert Hellinger is familien-stellen, translated from German as "family constellation". Sometimes this method is also called systemic or organizational constellations.
Often the Hellinger method is presented as a sprawling family tree because it deals with unfinished tasks that have roots in family history. These processes from the past involve the living members of the family in what was a long time ago. Descendants are intertwined with the fate of all previous generations.
The main position of this method is that a person goes far back into history with his roots. We cannot refuse the experience that our ancestors accumulated and passed on to each other. It is too valuable, it is thanks to this experience that our kind has survived. This experience is passed from parents to children, and with it unresolved problems, intra-family conflicts and some strange behaviors that are difficult to explain, because they have already lost their context, are often transferred.
The family constellation method is concerned with restoring this context in order to better understand the situation and the problem the person is facing. And most importantly, to find a solution to this problem.
The constellations are based on the method of psychodrama, supplemented by the method of substitutes, people who help restore the lost context. They may play the roles of missing or deceased family members. This method was used in her work by the psychotherapist Virginia Satir.
Hellinger significantly enriched it by adding a phenomenological approach to it. This approach means the value of the subjective perception of reality over reality itself. That is, if a person is worried that his mother left him at home alone in childhood, then work will be carried out on this situation, although in fact she may have left him alone once for 5 minutes, thinking that he was sleeping . But the feelings of the constellation participant are more important than what actually happened. The work is carried out precisely with feelings, although the real context of the situation is also restored.
When can the method of system constellations help?
Constellations work with family weaves. But what is family weaving? These are complex, confusing life situations that sometimes cannot be explained from the point of view of reality. If the situation that is happening to a person has no real logical explanation, then this can be considered family interweaving. Here are some examples of such situations:
1) a person works hard and hard, but his work brings little money;
2) an attractive and smart girl cannot get married;
3) despite a healthy diet and proper lifestyle, for inexplicable reasons, serious illnesses appear;
4) a person feels that he should help children left without parents, unfortunate, homeless, or feels some kind of duty to other people, although in fact he personally did not take anything from them.
Often the feelings we experience are not true, for example:
1) inexplicable fear, fear of attack, although you have never been attacked in your life;
2) constant anxiety, without obvious reasons and reasons;
3) jealousy, which has no basis;
4) causeless sadness.
All these situations are not accidental, but weaves that have roots in the fate of our ancestors. It was they who did not resolve something in their lives, made mistakes, did not like it. And these feelings, sometimes through words and stories, sometimes non-verbally, at the level of sensations, were transmitted to us from parents or other relatives. As a result, we partially live a life that is not our own, we solve problems that are not our own. But each of us can become happy. To do this, you need to understand and unravel your family weaves and start living your life.
Laws at work in family weaves
The reasons for the appearance of family interweaving can be very different, but there are three orders (laws) according to which the family system develops and lives:
1) balance (equilibrium) between "take and give";
2) hierarchy in the system (senior - junior);
3) belonging to the system.
Any violation of these laws leads to problems in life (tasks that need to be solved). For example, if one of the sisters, growing up, takes responsibility for the whole family, relegating parents to the background, then there is every reason for the emergence of family interweaving.
It may have causes in the past. But it is very likely to affect the future, in the lives of this sister's children, as well as other young members of this family. That is why it is highly desirable to find the causes of such a situation and unravel them as quickly as possible.
What happens in systemic constellation training?
Therapy takes place in groups where there is an agreement to work together and a certain level of trust. At the same time, a person working in constellations can be as frank as he is comfortable.
He sets out the essence of the problem and chooses other people to solve it, who play the roles of his close people, employees at work, and so on. Already at this stage, people begin to get involved in a problem situation and experience some feelings that they can share.
The name itself reflects the essence of the work in the Hellinger method: the assembled participants are placed in a room, in accordance with what place in the mind it occupies in the mind of the main constellation participant. These people are called "deputies", they talk about the feelings and states experienced, which allows the psychotherapist leading the constellation to unravel relationships in emerging conflicts and unresolved situations, to build the correct hierarchy from senior to junior.
Different levels of human perception are being worked out (visual, auditory, spiritual (mental), emotional). Participants - deputies move in the arrangement field, new people are included in the process. The driver uses various psychological techniques, using his experience and intuition.
The exchange of feelings and thoughts in the process of constellations, which occurs under the guidance of the facilitator, very often in itself helps to unravel the knot in relationships from the past or present.
A person lives situations in an arrangement in a new way, in a safe space, as a result, he acquires a new perception and a different positive behavior model. If, based on the results of work for this system, the constellator made the right decision, then this is reflected in the state of the participants - they experience even, calm feelings.
This method uses the concept of "knowing field", which is not found in any other psychological technique. It means that the substitutes are somehow connected to the feelings and knowledge of those people instead of whom they participate in constellations. In practice, this can look quite incredible.
But if you understand that an agreement on mutual participation and mutual assistance has been concluded between the members of the group, then everything that happens will seem not so incredible. In addition, in the mind of the person for whom the arrangement is being carried out, there are all the departed family members and all the feelings that they experience. And the deputies, being included in the arrangement, one way or another, feel this content of his consciousness.
Occasionally, the leader introduces such a character as death into the arrangement. This must be done in situations where the death of someone close seems incomprehensible, unfair or unexpected, or a person is tormented by a sense of guilt towards the deceased. In such situations, the high professionalism of the leading psychotherapist is required in order to pass accurately and carefully. In some of these cases, at the discretion of the leader, in addition to the deputy of the deceased relative, death is introduced into the arrangement as a fact that took place in life. As you can see, the approach to psychological work is unconventional. And yet, it is very effective. Many who are disillusioned with psychotherapy and psychodrama, it was in the constellations that they were able to find a solution to their problems.
Conclusion
Each arrangement is unique and individual, it depends on a particular person and his requests. It is important that this method does not require long and serious work, as, for example, a psychoanalyst. For one constellation, one serious problem can be solved. If you are afraid to participate in constellations, take part in the role of substitute first. You will get a unique experience that will also help you solve your problems.
In our country, the method of Bert Hellinger is an effective method officially used by psychologists, recognized by the All-Russian Professional Psychotherapeutic League. The volume of use of constellations is large - this is pedagogy, and business, and medicine, and psychotherapy.
The method described above is very young (founded in 1992), is in the process of formation and constant development, showing us a wide variety of creative approaches to each person. In its effectiveness, the professionalism and experience of the leading psychotherapist is of great importance.
