Trauma & Family Constellations

What is Family Constellations?

Family Constellations, also known as Systemic Constellations, offer a powerful way to uncover and resolve deeply rooted issues. These issues may affect our personal lives, relationships, or even the various systems and groups we are part of. Unlike traditional approaches that focus on individual experiences, Family Constellations reveal how many personal challenges are often connected to hidden entanglements within our family systems. These entanglements can stem from events such as a family member's suicide that was never spoken about, a miscarriage or abortion that was kept secret, a child being given up for adoption, the trauma of war where a family member did not survive, or a parent who couldn't marry their first love because they came from a different religion or social class. These events can affect later generations, often unconsciously repeating themselves. Since these connections are typically hidden from our awareness, they can be challenging to resolve without tapping into a broader, systemic perspective.

How does Family Constellations work?

Family Constellations can be experienced in two different ways: through private sessions or group workshops. Both approaches aim to bring hidden family dynamics to the surface, providing deep healing and resolution for personal, relational, or systemic issues.

In private sessions, we use floor markers or figurines to represent family members, significant relationships or different aspects of yourself. As the client, you intuitively place these markers or figures in the space to represent the dynamics at play. This external representation of your internal world allows us to identify and explore the underlying causes of emotional or psychological difficulties. As we move through the session, you gain clarity, and previously unconscious patterns are revealed and integrated, leading to profound shifts and healing.

In group workshops, the process involves a similar dynamic, but with other participants representing family members or parts of yourself. The client selects individuals from the group to step into these roles and positions them according to their intuitive sense of the issue at hand. This setup creates a living picture of the client's internal experience, where participants often feel strong emotions or sensations that resonate with the client's situation. Through this powerful process, hidden truths surface, allowing trauma and long-held family patterns to be released and healed.

Whether in a private session or a group workshop, Family Constellations provide a safe space to access and resolve deep-seated issues, leading to transformative personal growth and emotional freedom.

Why is Family Constellations effective?

Family Constellations is a solution-focused method that uncovers systemic influences impacting our well-being. It is ideal for individuals or couples seeking help with various issues, such as:

- Relationship conflicts between partners, parents, or children

- Unresolved childhood trauma

- Concerns about children or siblings

- Divorce, separation, or loss

- Depression, illness, or accidents

- Bereavement, suicide, or other forms of loss

- Adoption, abortion, or miscarriage

- Abuse, incest, violence, or addiction

- Family secrets or ruptures

- Feelings of stuckness, powerlessness, or financial issues

This method is also highly beneficial when facing difficult life choices. By seeing these decisions play out through representatives, you gain unique clarity and insight, helping you make better-informed choices at critical crossroads.

The History of Family Constellations

Family Constellations was developed by Bert Hellinger, who was deeply influenced by his experience living among the Zulu people of South Africa, where he learned about their reverence for ancestors. His work evolved from decades of experience in group and family therapy, resulting in a phenomenological approach that taps into hidden family dynamics. Today, the method has spread globally, with many practitioners developing their own interpretations, including Franz Ruppert, who focused on trauma and its effects on personal identity.

Trauma Constellations by Professor Dr. Franz Ruppert

Building on Hellinger's work, Professor Dr. Franz Ruppert has developed Identity-oriented Psychotrauma Therapy (IoPT). His theory explores how trauma causes psychological splits and prevents us from forming a healthy connection with ourselves and others. Through his innovative method, "The Sentence of Intention", Ruppert helps clients uncover and integrate deeply buried trauma, even from the pre-verbal and pre-birth stages of life.

Ruppert's work delves into:

  • Understanding trauma and the psychological splitting it causes
  • Exploring trauma's role in identity formation and attachment
  • The effects of pre-verbal, pre-birth, and inherited trauma
  • How trauma from previous generations affects our well-being today

Trauma is often stored in our unconscious and may stem from early life experiences that we cannot remember or were passed down from our ancestors. The effects of this trauma are held within our bodies, and everything we need for healing is already within us, waiting to be accessed when the time is right.

Below is an insightful interview with Professor Ruppert, where he discusses the profound importance of understanding our own childhood traumas and how they shape our emotional and psychological well-being.


Appointments and Fees

If you would like to book a private family constellation session, please use the online booking form below or contact me by phone or text: Katherina Kavungu +353 (0) 861957734.

Sessions are available from Monday to Saturday, either online or in person. The fee is €150 for the first session and €100 for each session thereafter.

I hold a diploma in Identity-oriented Psychotrauma Therapy (IoPT) from Prof. Dr. Franz Ruppert (Germany), in Regression Therapy from the Regression Academy (UK), and in Hypnotherapy from the TherMedius-Institut (Germany).


Book Your Appointment Online or Call Directly: 086 1957734