Passing your National Licensing Exam
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Passing your National Licensing Exam
Family Constellation Therapy PT1
Ever wonder why some clients carry guilt or grief that doesn’t match their personal history? We take a clear, practical look at family constellation therapy and how hidden orders and loyalties can create entanglements that ripple through generations. Drawing on systemic principles—belonging, honoring those who came before, and balance in giving and taking—we show how symptoms like chronic anxiety, intimacy struggles, and repeating relationship patterns can be the system’s attempt to restore equilibrium.
We walk through the full arc of the work in a way clinicians can use right away. Preparation sets the frame: mapping family structure, pivotal events, and readiness. The constellation phase brings the system into space through representatives or objects, allowing unconscious dynamics to surface as felt experience. Integration then anchors the shifts over time, translating insight into new boundaries, steadier relationships, and a grounded sense of place in the family. Throughout, we keep a phenomenological stance—following what arises in the room rather than imposing a predefined story.
You’ll hear concrete tools you can apply in solo sessions or groups: spatial representations that make the invisible visible, movement interventions that restore closeness or distance, ritual elements that honor the excluded, and language that acknowledges hard truths and clarifies generational lines. We highlight how to assess for disproportionate symptoms, what progress looks like in everyday life, and why systemic resolution—not mere symptom suppression—leads to durable change.
If you’re preparing for a licensing exam or refining your systemic toolbox, this conversation offers a grounded guide to seeing clients in context and supporting change that holds. Subscribe, share with a colleague who loves systemic work, and leave a review with one insight you’re taking into practice.
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So, welcome and thanks for being here. Today we'll be exploring the very interesting, sometimes confusing realm of therapeutic work known as family constellation therapy. The purpose of today's podcast, since you're preparing to take that national licensing exam, is to develop a practical understanding of this systemic approach, how it works, what it looks like, and how it manifests in your clinical practice. In essence, family constellation therapy is a systemic way of viewing family systems, how they operate, and the unconscious dynamics that span generations. Okay, Eric, tell us more.
Eric:One of the most interesting aspects of family constellation therapy is that it is predicated upon the concept that families have hidden orders and loyalties that, when disrupted, produce what are referred to as entanglements. Entanglements are essentially the unacknowledged invisible patterns or burdens that connect family members to the past and force dysfunctional patterns to continue on for generations.
Linton:It's another way of viewing the world. Tell me about the core principles of this model. What are the primary ideas behind this type of work?
Eric:Family constellation therapy is a paradigm shift. Developed by Bert Hellinger, this model centers on identifying the unseen forces within family systems that ultimately produce dysfunctional patterns across generations until they are identified and resolved. This is a systemic view, not a solely clientistic view. Three primary orders exist in family systems. Belonging, every person has a rightful place within the family and no one should be left out. Longing, honoring those who came before you, and balance, finding a middle ground between giving and taking to maintain equilibrium in exchanges between family members. When these orders become disrupted, family members may unconsciously carry the burden of these unresolved issues.
Linton:That's a good description.
Eric:And these can manifest themselves in many ways, such as psychological symptoms, relationship issues, or behavioral issues for the client. You might ask yourself, what would a client look like that might lead me to consider this type of approach? What would be the signals? As a therapist, you'd commonly observe clients presenting with symptoms that appear to be disproportionate to their personal history, or that reflect patterns from previous generations, disproportionate, as in much larger than would be expected based on the client's own history. For example, you may observe chronic, inexplicable depression or anxiety, or repeated relational patterns that mirror those of their parents or grandparents. Additionally, you may encounter clients who have difficulty with intimacy or consistently report feelings of not belonging to their family. What else? More specifically, clients may report chronic feelings of guilt that cannot be explained, or they may experience persistent loyalty conflicts. They may repeatedly fail in their relational efforts and come to therapy seeking assistance, or they may present with physical symptoms that cannot be explained medically. From a family constellation therapy perspective, these symptoms represent manifestations of systemic conscience. Systemic conscience is the phenomenon in which clients unconsciously attempt to rebalance their family system through their symptoms or the choices they make in their lives.
Linton:Your role as a therapist is to identify these family patterns and echoes from the past. How does the actual work occur? What is the process?
Eric:The family constellation therapy approach is a phenomenological approach.
Linton:Phenomenological. Okay. What does that mean in terms of actual practice?
Eric:Phenomenological refers to focusing on what arises, what is revealed in the present moment, that raw immediate experience. The goal of this approach is to assist the client in acknowledging and resolving these systemic entanglements that limit their ability to form healthy relationships and derive personal satisfaction. You assist the client in noticing these hidden dynamics and leading them to discover their proper place within their family system. Furthermore, it emphasizes experiential learning over strictly cognitive learning. Experiential learning occurs through embodied experiences that facilitate the client's awareness of the unconscious patterns, patterns.
Linton:Embodied experiences, feeling it in the body.
Eric:Exactly. The overall objectives of the therapy include restoring disrupted movements of love between family members, honoring those who are excluded, and establishing clear boundaries between generations. The therapy assists the client in developing the capacity to distinguish between their personal responsibility and the inherited systemic burdens they carry, and allowing them to release what does not belong to them while maintaining a respectful connection to their family origins.
Linton:So this is not merely about discussing things, it is about experiencing, feeling it. The ultimate objective of family consolation therapy is to achieve systemic resolution, not to eliminate symptoms.
Eric:Right. You want to achieve systemic resolution, recognizing that the client's healing occurs within the context of the family system's healing. The therapeutic relationship is maintained in a collaborative stance. Both you and the client are receptive to what arises from the family field.
Linton:Okay. And how do you measure progress?
Eric:Progress is often viewed as the client's increasing capacity to establish and sustain intimate relationships, the reduction of symptoms associated with systemic entanglements, and a greater sense of belonging to their family while maintaining their client autonomy.
Linton:Okay. Now I think there are different phases to this process. How do you structure this work with a client?
Eric:Yes, family constellation work generally proceeds through three distinct phases. First, we have the preparation phase. In this phase, the client explores their family history and their current concerns. You will gather information regarding the family structure, significant events, and relationship patterns, and assess the client's readiness to engage in the consultation process. This phase also includes explaining systemic dynamics and establishing safety within the therapeutic relationship.
Linton:Makes sense. You need a base level of understanding, and then comes the actual constellation, I suppose, itself.
Eric:The second phase is the constellation phase. This is the active experiential phase in which the constellation occurs. This can occur in client sessions utilizing floor anchors or objects to represent family members or in a group format with other clients representing family members. This phase involves establishing a spatial representation of the family system. You facilitate the emergence of the systemic dynamics while providing support to the client in observing and experiencing the sensations and movements that arise.
Linton:Observing and experiencing? Okay.
Eric:And then there is the integration phase.
Linton:What happens there?
Eric:This phase focuses on supporting the client in integrating the insights and changes that emerged during the constellation process. This phase may extend over several sessions as the client processes their experiences and begins to recognize changes in their relationships and internal states. You provide ongoing support for the client to maintain systemic resolution while guiding them as they address any possible resistance from family members who may be resistant to changes in established patterns.
Linton:Right, because once one piece is changed, the entire system can shift. You previously discussed setting things up in a space. What are some of the specific tools or actions a therapist would utilize in their approach?
Eric:Primary interventions in family constellation therapy involve creating spatial representations of family systems that allow you and the client to visually see and access the unconscious dynamics within the family system. Creating the spatial representation of the family system is the foundational intervention, regardless of whether you utilize representatives in a group format or symbolic objects and floral positions in a client session.
Linton:So the first step is to make the invisible visible.
Eric:Yes. Movement interventions help restore the interrupted flow of love and respect among family members. Examples of movement interventions include having representatives or clients move toward family members who have been excluded, performing bowing movements to honor the dead, or setting appropriate distances between family members. You direct these movements based on what arises from the systemic field, not on predetermined goals. Yes. Ritual interventions integrate ceremonial elements that support systemic healing.
Linton:Like what types of ceremonial elements?
Eric:Examples of ritual interventions include moments of silence to honor deceased family members, symbolic returns of burdens to their rightful owners, or blessings between parents and children. Language interventions are used to acknowledge difficult truths, express unexpressed emotions, or to establish clear boundaries between generations. These verbal interventions help complete the interrupted bonding processes and facilitate systemic resolution.
