1/ What is it ?
It is a method which takes place most of the time in the form of “group process” which lasts for 2 days and it can also be individual session..
It consists of solving and understanding blockages or patterns which we have in the present but which are in fact a result of past events or inherited family trauma that we reproduce without even noticing.. Many of us unconsciously “take on” destructive familial patterns of anxiety, depression, anger, guilt, aloneness, alcoholism and even illness as a way of “belonging” in our families..Family constellations help us to become aware of all this.. It allow us to break these destructive patterns and to expose the root causes behind many of the emotions, behaviors, fears and reactive patterns that keep us mired in our daily lives.. And we can finally get rid of some “bags” that we seem to carry with us constantly and that have been carried unconsciously over several generations in our family.. The result can be life -changing.
=>> This is merely a general example of what family constellations are and how they help people. But every person, every history, and every lineage being unique, there are so many different things which can be resolved, I am just giving you the general idea…
2/ Who ? where, what, how?
Of course, this kind of therapy, and especially the person who organizes it must be carefully chosen.. We do not just do that with the first person who comes along, especially that in the personnel development circle, we find a lot of people pretending to be therapists etc.. It is best to compare several people who do this professionally before making an informed decision and choosing the person who feels just right…
=>>As for me, I experienced this several times with the same person, that my mother has known for years, and whom I trust implicitly.. Confidence and trust is important because it is necessary to be able to let go and allow the therapist who is going to guide us and to help us during this experience, take over.. Mine, Michelle ( Duhamel) is a woman whom I simply love, who is also an astrologer (a big help in preparing for the constellations interestingly) and she has studied shamanism, and the Amerindians technique of communication with the ancestors.. This also is a bonus for this kind of “therapy”.
Once again, the choice of therapist is very important.. He must be anchored in reality, to being able to manage and channel the group, the feelings and the energy which are sometimes intense during a family constellations .. Since this work often takes place in “collaboration” with the ancestors and the lineage, the role of the therapist is a major one. He must know how to work with the ancestors, like a real shaman, by remaining well anchored and calm. The purpose is only to understand and to break patterns, to solve blockages, to leave conflicts, to cure the past and to be able to move forward peacefully.
3/ What does it consist of ?
Before every course of constellations, Michelle makes us fill out a very precise questionnaire on our genealogy and on our personal history. It is also her who forms the group which is going to work together during the course (we are generally between 8 and 12 participants).
Before beginning every session, we do a small relaxation to help us feeling more comfortable. And after that, everyone has their turn, is going to go into the middle to exchange with Michelle and start working on our history. We are then going to appoint people in the group to take our place and that of our relatives in the family plan, which we are going to reconstruct just like a theater play.. We then become like a spectator of our own history.. And that is quite strange…
=>>During this “workshop” we alternate between solving our own patterns in our own family portrait, and playing a role in the family plan of the others in the group.
In any case, that helps us enormously because of course we are never chosen at random, we always have common points or something to be indentified with in the role which we play, and that always impressed me!!! I had “roles” of strong grandmothers, mothers, and even dead sister, and every time, I felt intense things even though I had never seen or met these people or ancestors. In fact, we see it from their perspective in the family plan and i know it will probably sounds strange, but we do feel the weight of their life, their feelings and how it was to be in their life..
During all this process, Michelle asks us some questions and places us according to how we feel.. Gradually we find the root cause which can be a tragic event or an indecisive conflict between 2 people, families, ancestors, it can be also a problem of place, exclusion, jealousy, or numerous deaths and diseases and so on.. We feel immediately relieved when the conflict is solved whatever role we are playing, because the energy calms down, the body feels relieved, and we feel serene … After a small break, we move on to the next participant and start working on his family patterns ..
4/ What’s next ..
Afterwards, the experience really depends on each person.. If I speak about my own experience, I had immediate consequences after every constellation.. A relative with whom I have been in conflict with for years contacted me (peacefully) right after my first workshop.. or situations which were blocked for a long time suddenly felt free.. In short, I experienced small signs and big improvements in my life which made me smile because they were happy “coincidences”; and they were rather numerous that came to me days and months following the course and always in relation with the specific problem solved during the therapy.
The family constellations are a real tool which allow us to work through our problems effectively.. According to how we feel, it can be a one-time therapeutic intervention or we can make several workshops during our lives to solve a new problem, or continue to work on the same issues .. But during each session, the goal will be to solve the thing that worries us the most at that particular time and moment in our life…
Voilà, I hope that this post has helped you;-) Do not hesitate to ask any questions in comments and pm, or share you own experiences if you have already participated in one or more family constellations 😉
For those of you who want to know more, meet Michelle or participate in a workshop (group or individual sessions), here is her website.
xoxo
