Psychology is a very complex science, which has many different approaches to the perception of a person, to his psyche, to what is happening in his head. There are those methods that are considered to be scientific, since their effectiveness has been confirmed by practice for many years. But new and new approaches are constantly appearing, and some of them supplement the scientific component of psychology (naturally, over time, when they also undergo a peculiar test_. However, many methods remain unofficial - they are not recognized by the scientific community, but they remain relevant In narrow circles, one of the most striking examples is systemic constellations - a psychological approach, which, despite the fact that for many decades it has not been recognized by anyone, still remains relevant and It is used by an impressive number of supporters: what is this method? How are systemic constellations happening? This is what this article will discuss.
What is the essence of the method?
Systemic constellations - this is an unconventional approach in psychology, which is based on the fact that all problems of a person come from the family, and more precisely from the family system. Therefore, the essence of this method is the reproduction of this system in a session in order to understand it and find the true cause of the problem. This reproduction takes place in reality and is called constellation.
Systemic constellations have been practiced for quite some time, but so far they have not received the recognition of the scientific community. But people do not always turn to professionals - sometimes what they want to believe is closer to them, and many people believe in this method. Perhaps the reason is that its creator is not only a psychologist, but also a theologian, spiritual teacher.
Movement founder
Since we are talking about who founded this method, it’s worth lingering on this person. Systemic family constellations are the work of Bert Hellinger, a famous psychologist who was born in Germany in 1925. He was engaged in psychology for a long time, worked as a psychotherapist, however, as mentioned earlier, he was also a theologian. And in the eighties of the last century, Hellinger discovered and put into circulation the method described in this article. That is why it is often called the “Hellinger Systemic Family Constellation”. This variation is primary and most in demand.
Method roots
The method of systemic constellations is an original branch of psychology, but at the same time it also has its own roots. Hellinger created this method based on several psychological movements that were relevant in those days. However, if we single out the most important method that has most affected systemic constellations, this is Eric Berne's script analysis. The essence of this method is to analyze the life situations of each person (this psychologist also believed that all problems come from the family). He believed that each person has his own life scenario, according to which he moves. The scenario is formed in childhood under the influence of parents and the environment and in the future can only be slightly adjusted.
Hellinger acted exactly in accordance with this method, but at a certain moment realized that he had his own shortcomings - as a result, he developed his own approach. Later it was already called systemic constellations and is known to this day under that name. Bert Hellinger's systemic constellations are quite popular in narrow circles. It's time to figure out what exactly this approach is.
Problem situation
So what did Burt Hellinger mean ? Systemic constellations are not just a psychological term; constellations actually take place, and this is how it happens. To begin with, there must be some problematic situation of one of the participants in the psychological session. As a matter of fact, this situation is an element of a certain system, most often a family one. It is with him that the group that participates in the session has to deal with. The method of systemic constellations of Bert Hellinger involves the participation of all people, even those who are not familiar with the person whose problem is being considered, nor with any of his family system.
How is the arrangement?
The focus of the session is the history of the client, his problematic situation. All participants in the session form a large circle, and the problem is presented in a plane in the space between all people. Each element of the system is first imagined, and then its place in the real world is occupied by a person who is called a substitute. During the session, he represents a specific member of the system - thus, the whole system is replenished, and each gets its role. That is exactly what happens. At the same time, all this is done quietly, slowly and intently. Each participant concentrates on his feelings, trying to penetrate the essence of the person whom he replaces in the session.
Substitute perception
As mentioned earlier, deputies may not know either the client or his relatives, including the person whom they replace in the system. And the client does not tell anything about them to the group, so people have to concentrate and try to realize on their own what kind of affiliation they have. This is called substitutional perception - people must, without outside help, become the person they replace. Thus, the lack of information is compensated by precisely this phenomenon of substitute perception, without which the process would simply be impossible. It is likely that this is what repels professional psychologists and psychiatrists from this method - there is a lot of uncertainty in it that cannot be scientifically compensated for in any way to allow calling the system of constellations method professional.
Sourse of information
The main source from which participants receive information about the problem, about the client, and about the system as a whole, is the so-called “field”. That is why people have to concentrate and work in silence - this is how they try to establish a connection with the field in order to get the necessary information about who they are replacing in the system, as well as what kind of “dynamics” their character has with other participants in the system. It is in this way that a systematic arrangement takes place - each participant turns into a substitute, gets used to his image, drawing information from the field, and then all participants try to reproduce the problem and solve it. A psychotherapist, called a constellator, directs the whole process, gives people the most appropriate roles for them, and also tries to help them solve the problem in the placement process.
The main goal of this whole process is to accurately reproduce the situation so that the client can see it live, understand it and accept his problem. Only when he manages to do this is the session considered successful. Then it is believed that he no longer needs to reproduce a specific problem in the context of the arrangement, since he was able to recognize it and can now deal with its solution.
conclusions
According to people who practice this method, it really helps - participants can look at their situation on the other hand, try to evaluate what is happening impartially, without associating all actions with their relatives and friends, which makes it impossible to think rationally. And when a person sees a situation performed by strangers in real life, he can understand that this is really his problem - and then he can begin to look for a solution to it. Often, the client alone is not able to not only solve his problem, but even to see it - this is exactly what the arrangement is used for. The client looks at the situation with a prying eyes and gets a chance to see the problem in it at all, and then recognize his own in it.