The Family Constellations are back at the center of discussion following the premiere of the third season of My Other Self, the series that brought this practice to a broad audience and sparked questions about bonds, family histories, and patterns that many people feel repeat themselves throughout life.
While some find in this method a new way of examining their personal conflicts, others raise questions about its scope and its place within the field of mental health.
In conversation with Para Ti, Jazmín Gulí, licensed psychologist (M.N. 13175) and specialist in Family Constellations, explains how this tool works, what happens during a session, and why she considers it important to move away from the idea of magical solutions.
“We live in an era where new ways of understanding the human experience are emerging”
-The third season of My Other Self rekindled interest in Family Constellations. What exactly are they, and why do you think more and more people are turning to this tool?
-The Family Constellations method is a tool rooted in systemic psychology in its approach. It posits that the original family is a binded system in which everyone who was part of it belongs and is interwoven.
This system has its own laws; it is a shared soul—the family soul—that in turn participates in the Great Soul that contains all of humanity and is not far from the collective unconscious described by Carl Gustav Jung.
I believe that the strong interest it sparks in people comes from a synergy of factors. Among them, that psychoanalysis is not effective for the average person because it requires a lot of time, money, and commitment to this kind of practice. I still find it wonderful and an essential foundation for those of us who practice, but the relationship with time has changed a lot in this era.
We are also living in a time when new ways of understanding the human experience are appearing, and many people seek tools that allow them to view their conflicts from a different perspective.
“The method was created to be worked on in a group format”
-Many people arrive seeking answers about relationships, blocks, or recurring situations. What kinds of questions do you typically work with, and what is a session like for someone who has never participated?
-The common inquiries usually relate to the essential themes that human beings go through: love, achievement, family, illness, fears, and, lately, the repetition of patterns.
Originally, the method was designed to be practiced in groups. I still consider it the best environment for its true potential to unfold, although I also acknowledge that an individual session from this perspective can be effective.
Group sessions tend to be unique, with no commitment to ongoing participation, and can last from four to eight hours, or even be intensive full-day sessions. Describing the procedure without omitting the essential parts is difficult, because there is something about the experience that is only understood by living it.
In my approach, I ask that anyone who came with the intention to constellate raise their hand, without asking what the topic is. I choose someone at random and, after a brief interview, I deduce which people in the person’s environment should be represented.
Then the client selects the representatives from the audience. They move freely through the space until they find a position, shaping a first scene that the facilitator observes and interprets. All of this unfolding, along with the phrases that emerge, tends to touch the client, the audience, and often the representatives on a deep level.
“Another common shift is the emergence of a sense of relief”
-What changes do people who undergo a family constellation typically experience, and where does this method fit within a broader therapeutic process?
-The immediate and fundamental change is a broadening of the perspective on the problem, which is then contextualized. Another frequent change is the appearance of a sense of relief.
I often say that the “space in the heart expands”, since many times people have excluded individuals who make up or have made up the system, and after constellating, we can include them.
Some conflicts are resolved right away, but this is occasional. Unfortunately, that has fostered the widespread illusion of miracle resolutions, sometimes even inspired by inexperienced facilitators. I am a psychologist and have been practicing for 43 years. I know that addressing the problems that affect humans requires sustained processes.
Family Constellations represent a novel approach that broadens the therapist’s view and considers variables that were previously overlooked, such as the binding laws within the family system and the transmission of information. People who constellate and are also undergoing therapy can continue to work on what arises in that private space, which makes the experience even richer.
“A widely held and mistaken idea is that the method is quasi-magical: ‘abracadabra and everything is resolved’.”
-Family Constellations generate as much interest as controversy. What myths or misunderstandings would you like to dispel about this practice?
-From its inception, it has sparked debate, and I find that natural, since it offers a revolutionary perspective that decentralizes the human being, just as the Copernican revolution did with the Earth.
On the other hand, the growth in the number of facilitators, many of whom lack prior clinical experience or personal psychological work, has given rise to reductive or erroneous statements. A widely held and mistaken idea is that the method is quasi-magical: “abracadabra and everything is resolved”.
I also think it’s important to emphasize that training in a technique alone is not enough. Guiding human processes requires responsibility, experience, and ethics.
The difficulty for clients is choosing who will guide that process, because a title does not guarantee ethics and good conduct, nor is it true that someone without a title is necessarily a poor therapist. That is why it is essential to research and carefully choose the person who accompanies a process.
Jazmín Gulí is a licensed psychologist, M.N. 13175. Family Constellations. @jazminguli
