220
Subtle Agroecologies
specifcally with a male rep standing about 2 m behind her. She had never met the man being the
rep before, nor did she know which family member he was representing. Intensely surprised by the
strength of the anger, as well as the fact that she was feeling it, she reported it to the Constellator. He
told her that this was the kind of information they were looking for, then the client revealed that the
man the author was angry with was representing her father and ‘my sister hates my father’.
Hellinger had discovered that reps, who had no previous knowledge of the client or of his/her
family, reported information which was accurate for the member of the family they were representing. He could not explain this phenomenon, called ‘representative perception’, but he observed that
it took place consistently.
The initial positioning of the reps was found to refect the current dynamics between the family
members. The Constellator would then facilitate a process during which reps moved or spoke. The
other reps reported how these actions impacted them and, over a long period of experimentation,
what emerged were repeating patterns in the experiences of the reps. From these, as well as family therapeutic understanding, interventions were developed to support the healthier functioning of
family systems. Through these, the clients’ issues would be resolved.
This frst form of Constellations emerging in the 1990s became known as ‘Family Constellations’.
It identifed two foundational elements on which all subsequent evolutions of Systemic Constellations
(the generic term) are based. The frst is the use of representative perception as a consistent and
valid way to access information. The second is the understanding that individuals are profoundly
infuenced by the systems of which they are a part. Individuals inevitably belong within their family
systems, but they are also part of the organisational systems where they work, the social and cultural
systems within which they live and the natural systems which sustain them.
By the mid 1990s, the Constellations methodology was being applied to organisational systems
(Organisational Constellations). Workshops took the same format with clients, a Constellator and a
group, but the issues were professional and the reps took roles not only as other people, but also as
internal teams, the whole organisation, its customers or even abstract concepts such as ‘purpose’. As
before, reps would experience sensations in their bodies and feelings about the other reps. Crucially,
their experiences made sense in the context and led to insights and solutions. Organisational
Constellators identifed interventions that supported organisational systems to thrive and the method
proved successful for companies such as Daimler-Chrysler, IBM and BMW (Horn and Brick, 2009).
In 2004, the International Forum for System Constellations in Organisations (infosyon) was
founded in Germany, developing quality standards, training standards and a code of conduct. Along
with certifying facilitators and training courses, the Forum supports ongoing interdisciplinary
research and development into the method. Some of the many theses written about Organisational
Constellations can be found on its website 1 and it has links to a group of professors and lecturers
who are researching and using the method within European universities. The Forum’s most recent
bi-annual conference in 2018 attracted participants from 18 countries. 2
Beyond family and organisational systems, Constellators have been developing the method for
use in a range of felds including politics, drug rehabilitation, education and prisons. Many academic papers and books now exist on these topics; Constellations conferences have taken place
throughout Europe, in North and South America, Australia and South Africa; and there are trainings and professional bodies in a number of countries.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATURE CONSTELLATIONS
In 2003, the author, an environmentalist by background, witnessed an Organisational Constellation
which indicated that the methodology might be able to help with environmental questions. She
trained in Organisational and Family Constellations and then held a post researching the application
1 www.infosyon.com.
2 Personal communication with Katrina Barry, Chairperson of infosyon, November 2019.
Subtle Agroecologies
specifcally with a male rep standing about 2 m behind her. She had never met the man being the
rep before, nor did she know which family member he was representing. Intensely surprised by the
strength of the anger, as well as the fact that she was feeling it, she reported it to the Constellator. He
told her that this was the kind of information they were looking for, then the client revealed that the
man the author was angry with was representing her father and ‘my sister hates my father’.
Hellinger had discovered that reps, who had no previous knowledge of the client or of his/her
family, reported information which was accurate for the member of the family they were representing. He could not explain this phenomenon, called ‘representative perception’, but he observed that
it took place consistently.
The initial positioning of the reps was found to refect the current dynamics between the family
members. The Constellator would then facilitate a process during which reps moved or spoke. The
other reps reported how these actions impacted them and, over a long period of experimentation,
what emerged were repeating patterns in the experiences of the reps. From these, as well as family therapeutic understanding, interventions were developed to support the healthier functioning of
family systems. Through these, the clients’ issues would be resolved.
This frst form of Constellations emerging in the 1990s became known as ‘Family Constellations’.
It identifed two foundational elements on which all subsequent evolutions of Systemic Constellations
(the generic term) are based. The frst is the use of representative perception as a consistent and
valid way to access information. The second is the understanding that individuals are profoundly
infuenced by the systems of which they are a part. Individuals inevitably belong within their family
systems, but they are also part of the organisational systems where they work, the social and cultural
systems within which they live and the natural systems which sustain them.
By the mid 1990s, the Constellations methodology was being applied to organisational systems
(Organisational Constellations). Workshops took the same format with clients, a Constellator and a
group, but the issues were professional and the reps took roles not only as other people, but also as
internal teams, the whole organisation, its customers or even abstract concepts such as ‘purpose’. As
before, reps would experience sensations in their bodies and feelings about the other reps. Crucially,
their experiences made sense in the context and led to insights and solutions. Organisational
Constellators identifed interventions that supported organisational systems to thrive and the method
proved successful for companies such as Daimler-Chrysler, IBM and BMW (Horn and Brick, 2009).
In 2004, the International Forum for System Constellations in Organisations (infosyon) was
founded in Germany, developing quality standards, training standards and a code of conduct. Along
with certifying facilitators and training courses, the Forum supports ongoing interdisciplinary
research and development into the method. Some of the many theses written about Organisational
Constellations can be found on its website 1 and it has links to a group of professors and lecturers
who are researching and using the method within European universities. The Forum’s most recent
bi-annual conference in 2018 attracted participants from 18 countries. 2
Beyond family and organisational systems, Constellators have been developing the method for
use in a range of felds including politics, drug rehabilitation, education and prisons. Many academic papers and books now exist on these topics; Constellations conferences have taken place
throughout Europe, in North and South America, Australia and South Africa; and there are trainings and professional bodies in a number of countries.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATURE CONSTELLATIONS
In 2003, the author, an environmentalist by background, witnessed an Organisational Constellation
which indicated that the methodology might be able to help with environmental questions. She
trained in Organisational and Family Constellations and then held a post researching the application
1 www.infosyon.com.
2 Personal communication with Katrina Barry, Chairperson of infosyon, November 2019.