“THE LOST MAY SOMETIMES BE FOUND AGAIN”
“I’d better see what all the fuss is about”……… And so, I booked to attend the first time Bert Hellinger came to the UK, in 1996 – WHAT a transformative roller coaster of a seminar it was!
By the end of the second day I couldn’t sleep a wink and knew I had to work with him (but hadn’t applied to be in his client group). So by skillful pushing, manipulation and seduction I succeeded. I could never have imagined that what came into view in my constellation could have been so moving, profound, and life changing – I tingle now in my very cells as I recall the direct experience at that time.
What was completely discombobulating and fresh for me (and many other therapists there) was that so many “hidden” aspects and dynamics of the family system could carry such importance and ‘weight’, as well as impacting the overall wellbeing of the larger system.
I saw how this way of working also resonated with, was confluent with, the Psychosynthesis model. The facilitator/therapist knows that the client has within themself all the information they need to open to a place of healing and wellbeing, their task is to support them in unlocking their unfolding self.
Both models/maps are transpersonal, and address wholeness and inclusion. Both support reclaiming the lost and forgotten parts of ourselves, and in the Family Systems work this extends to the people, events and circumstances that are cut off, discounted and ‘forgotten’. Both models point to a larger organizing consciousness. The soul level of connection is central to the underlying principles of both.
It was at the end of my constellation that Bert Hellinger said the sentence at the top of this blog to me, and it has stayed in my heart ever since.
Alannah is a senior systemic constellations facilitator and psychosynthesis therapist, supervisor and trainer.