Family Constellations & Ancestral Healing

Family Constellations was developed by Bert Hellinger, a German psychotherapist who spent many years living and working with the Zulu people in South Africa. There, he observed that healing was understood not only at an individual level, but within the wider family and ancestral system.

Among the Zulu, illness and suffering were seen as signs that something in the family order had been disrupted or forgotten, rather than as personal failure. When what had been excluded was acknowledged, balance often returned. Drawing on these insights, along with psychotherapy and systems thinking, Hellinger developed Family Constellations as a way to reveal how love and loyalty move through family systems. The work focuses less on analysis and more on restoring order, which many experience as deeply settling and relieving.

In a private Family Constellations session, the work unfolds gently and experientially rather than through discussion or analysis. After a short conversation to understand what you would like support with, the process moves into a felt, embodied exploration of your family system. This involves the use little paper triangles and guided inner perception to represent key family members or dynamics. What emerges is often information the rational mind could not have reasoned its way toward, but which the nervous system recognises immediately.

You are not asked to relive the past or tell detailed stories. Instead, the focus is on noticing sensations, emotions, and subtle shifts as the system reorganises itself. When something that has been excluded, carried, or held out of place is acknowledged and brought back into its rightful place, there is often a sense of relief, clarity, or quiet settling. Many people describe it as something clicking into order, and it feels deeply natural, safe and supportive.

I offer private Family Constellations sessions in Ubud, Bali, as well as online for clients around the world. Whether in person or online, the work meets you where you are and unfolds at a pace that feels safe, respectful, and deeply compassionate.

In a group Family Constellations workshop, participants come together in a shared space to explore individual constellations within a wider group setting. One person’s issue is worked with at a time, while others are invited to take part as representatives for family members or key elements of the system. This is not role play or acting. Representatives are guided by bodily sensations, emotions, and subtle impulses that often reflect the underlying dynamics of the system with surprising accuracy.

Even when you are not having your own constellation facilitated, being part of the group is typically deeply meaningful and powerful. Many people notice that representing in someone else’s constellation brings insight, emotional release, or a sense of resolution that relates to their own life. There is often a strong feeling of shared humanity and quiet reverence in the room, as if something larger than the individual is being acknowledged.

I offer group Family Constellations workshops in Ubud, Bali, and occasionally online. Each workshop is held with care, clear boundaries, and respect for the depth of the work, creating a safe space where meaningful shifts can occur.

Family Constellations and Rapid Core Healing are most appropriate when someone has a reasonable level of emotional stability and a willingness to meet their inner experience with curiosity and care. This work suits people who feel ready to explore relational and emotional patterns experientially, rather than through analysis alone, and who are open to allowing something deeper to shift without force.

There are, however, times when this work is not appropriate. Active situations of domestic violence require immediate safety and specialised support, not systemic or experiential processes. Likewise, individuals experiencing acute psychiatric conditions, such as active psychosis or severe instability, need structured medical and psychiatric care as a priority. In these situations, this work may be considered later, if and when there is sufficient stability and professional support in place.

My approach is careful and ethically grounded. If I feel this work is not the right fit at a particular time, I will always say so, and where possible, guide you toward more appropriate forms of support.

Family Constellations is not astrology. It is a therapeutic, systems based approach that works with family dynamics, emotional bonds, and ancestral patterns as they live in the subconscious mind and nervous system.

That said, as an Asterian Astrologer, I sometimes use astrology as a supportive lens alongside this work with my regular clients. Astrology is not used to diagnose or predict outcomes, but as a way of offering perspective. It can help people understand where they are in a larger life cycle, recognise their innate strengths and challenges, and make sense of why certain themes may be surfacing at a particular time.

In my couples work, astrology can be especially helpful for understanding compatibility, recurring friction points, and shared growth edges. Looking at transits and relational dynamics often brings compassion and context, allowing couples to meet their challenges with less blame and more curiosity. Astrology, when used this way, acts as an accent to the deeper experiential work of Family Constellations and Rapid Core Healing, rather than a replacement for it.