Family Constellations, developed by German psychotherapist Bert Hellinger, is often associated with group workshops where participants physically represent elements of a client’s family system. However, this powerful methodology can be effectively adapted for one-to-one therapeutic settings, integrating seamlessly with both Gestalt therapy and Somatic Experiencing approaches. This article explores how constellation principles can be applied in individual sessions, offering specific exercises and techniques for therapists and those interested in self-exploration.

The Essence of Constellation Work in Individual Settings

While group constellations utilize the phenomenological experiences of multiple representatives, one-to- one constellation work maintains the same core principles while adapting the methodology:

Constellations – Core Principles Maintained in Individual Work

1. Systemic Perspective: Individual symptoms, challenges, and patterns are understood as potentially connected to larger family system dynamics rather than solely personal
2. Phenomenological Approach: Direct experience takes precedence over interpretation. The focus remains on what emerges in the present moment rather than analytical
3. Representative Perception: Though modified without multiple people, the individual client can access representative information through embodied awareness, visualization, or working with objects.
4. Orders of Love: Hellinger’s basic principles regarding belonging, temporal hierarchy, and balance of giving and taking remain central to understanding systemic
5. Resolution Through Acknowledgment: Healing continues to involve seeing what is, acknowledging excluded elements, and finding proper place for each aspect of the

Key Adaptations for One-to-One Work

1. External Representation: Using objects, floor markers, or drawings to represent family members rather than other people.
2. Internal Representation: Utilizing guided visualization to access and work with the internal representation of the family system.
3. Therapist as Witness: The therapist maintains a phenomenological stance, tracking somatic responses and field phenomena even without multiple
4. Client Movement: The client physically moves between positions to embody different perspectives within their system.
5. Temporal Flexibility: Individual work often allows for more gradual unfolding of the constellation process across multiple sessions rather than a single group

One-to-One Constellations Formats

Several effective formats have been developed for applying constellation principles in individual settings:

1. Object Representation Method

This approach uses physical objects to represent family members and other system elements.

Materials typically used include:

Figurines or dolls of different sizes and shapes Stones, crystals, or other natural objects Colored paper or cards

Symbolic objects with personal meaning Small cushions or fabric pieces

Basic process:

1. The therapist creates a containing space, explaining the process and setting clear intentions.
2. The client selects objects to represent family members, including
3. Following intuition rather than cognitive planning, the client places these objects in relation to each other on a table or floor space.
4. Both client and therapist observe the configuration, noting spatial relationships, directions objects face, and overall patterns.
5. The client is invited to describe what they notice and any feelings or sensations that
6. Through dialogue and experimentation, different arrangements may be explored to move toward resolution.
7. Movements that emerge as healing are integrated through ritual statements, physical repositioning, or other symbolic acts.

This method leverages the power of externalization while providing concrete visual representation of often unconscious systemic perceptions.

2. Floor Marker Constellations

This approach uses floor markers (paper, cards, cushions) to create a larger-scale representation that the client can physically enter and move within.

Basic process:

1. The client selects floor markers for each relevant family member or system
2. The client places these markers in the therapy room space, following their intuitive
3. The client stands on their own marker, physically experiencing their position in the
4. With the therapist’s guidance, the client may step onto other markers to experience different perspectives within the
5. Somatic experiences, emotions, thoughts, and impulses are tracked carefully at each
6. The client returns to their own position, integrating insights gained from other
7. Experimental movements toward resolution may be physically enacted in the

This method engages the client’s full body awareness, leveraging the somatic dimensions of constellation work that can be missed in table-top formats.

3. Visualization Constellation

This approach uses guided visualization to access and work with the internal representation of the family system.

Basic process:

1. The client is guided into a relaxed, receptive state through grounding and centering practices.
2. The therapist provides a visualization framework: “Imagine an open space where you can place representations of your family members.”
3. The client is guided to mentally place each family member according to their intuitive
4. The therapist asks specific sensory questions: “How far is your father from you? What direction is he facing? What do you notice about his posture?”
5. The client’s somatic responses are carefully tracked as they imagine themselves in relation to different family members.
6. Through dialogue, the internal image may be adjusted or modified to explore potential
7. The client is guided to notice how different configurations feel in their body, particularly any shifts toward greater ease or

This method is particularly valuable for clients with strong visualization capacities or when physical space is limited. It also provides an option when touching objects or moving around a room might be challenging for physical or psychological reasons.

4. Embodied Role Exploration

In this approach, the therapist guides the client to physically embody different positions or roles within their system.

Constellations – Basic process:

1. Through dialogue, key figures or elements in the family system are
2. The client is invited to physically embody their own position first, noticing posture, sensation, and emotional quality.
3. The client then physically shifts to embody another family member, adjusting posture, movement quality, and orientation to match their sense of that
4. While in each position, the client is encouraged to speak from that perspective: “What does this position want to say? What is its experience?”
5. The therapist notes shifts in the client’s voice, posture, and affect as they move between
6. Points of tension, repetition, or particular intensity are explored more deeply.
7. Integration involves returning to the client’s own position with new awareness from these explorations.

This method draws strongly on Gestalt empty chair techniques while incorporating the systemic perspective unique to constellation work.

Seven Exercises for One-to-One Constellations Work

The following exercises can be used by therapists with clients or adapted for self-exploration. Each addresses common systemic patterns while demonstrating how constellation principles apply in individual settings.

Exercise 1: Basic Family Mapping

This foundational exercise provides an initial exploration of how the client perceives their family system.

Materials needed:

Paper and pen for drawing option

Small objects for object representation option

Floor markers (paper, cards) for floor mapping option

Constellations Process:

1. Choose whichever format (drawing, objects, or floor markers) feels most
2. Identify key family members to For an initial mapping, include: Self

Parents and siblings Grandparents

Any significant others who feel important in the system (step-parents, particularly close relatives, etc.)

3. Place representations according to intuitive sense rather than logical Consider: Distance between figures (emotional closeness/distance)

Direction figures face (toward or away from others)

Height or level (if using objects that can be stacked or arranged at different heights) Relative size (if using differently sized objects)

4. Once the initial arrangement is complete, take time to observe without immediate Notice any surprises, patterns, or emotional responses to the configuration.
5. Explore through curious questions:

“What do you notice about who is close to whom?” “Are there any figures that seem isolated or excluded?” “Who is facing toward you and who is facing away?” “Where do you feel drawn to look first?”

“What feelings arise as you observe this arrangement?”

6. If using floor markers, step onto your own representation and notice the somatic experience of your position in the What do you see from here? How does your body feel in this position?
7. Complete the exercise by acknowledging what you’ve observed without forcing changes or This initial mapping provides a baseline awareness that can inform further work.

This exercise is particularly valuable at the beginning of constellation work, as it establishes a visual and somatic baseline of the client’s perception of their family system.

Exercise 2: Tracking Inherited Patterns

This exercise explores how specific patterns, symptoms, or challenges might connect to similar experiences in previous generations.

Materials needed:

Paper for timeline or genogram

Objects or floor markers for constellation

Process:

1. Identify a persistent pattern, symptom, or challenge in your life that feels particularly difficult to shift despite other therapeutic
2. Create a simple genogram or timeline of your family going back at least three generations (or as far as information is available).
3. Research or recall: Has anyone else in the family system experienced similar patterns? Consider not just identical situations but thematic For example, if exploring financial insecurity, consider others who experienced loss, scarcity, or sudden changes in fortune.
4. Using objects or floor markers, create a constellation with representations of: Yourself

Your symptom or pattern (as its own entity) Family members who experienced similar patterns

If known, significant events that might connect to this pattern (migrations, losses, traumas, exclusions)

5. Arrange these elements according to your intuitive Notice particularly: The relationship between your representation and your symptom

Similarities in positioning between you and ancestors with similar patterns Any sense of invisible connections or loyalties between elements

6. If using floor markers, stand first in your own position, then experimentally in the positions of ancestors with similar Notice:

Shifts in body sensation, posture, or emotional state

Any sense of familiarity in another’s position Thoughts or impulses that arise in different positions

7. Return to your position and consider a statement that acknowledges the pattern while creating appropriate differentiation: “I see this has been carried by others before I honor their experience. I am ready to find my own way.”
8. Notice any shifts in your relationship to the symptom or pattern after this

This exercise helps identify potential systemic loyalties or identifications that might maintain seemingly personal symptoms, creating space for differentiation and new possibilities.

Exercise 3: Exploring Interrupted Reaching

This exercise addresses disruptions in the flow of love and support between parents and children—a common source of systemic entanglement.

Materials needed:

Two chairs or cushions

Optional: objects representing parents

Process:

1. Place two chairs facing each other, one representing your parent (choose which parent to work with first) and one representing your childhood
2. Sit in the “parent” chair From this position, look at the empty chair representing your childhood self. Notice:

What emotions arise as you see this child

Any impulse to move toward or away

What you want to say or express to this child Any barriers or hesitations you sense

3. Now move to the “child” From this position, look toward the parent chair and notice: How your body responds to looking at this parent

Any longing, fear, anger, or other emotions

The impulse to reach toward, move away, or freeze What this child self wants or needs

4. Return to the parent chair, but now embody your actual parent as you sense How do they see the child? What might have prevented them from fully responding to the child’s reaching? Consider their own history, burdens, and limitations.
5. From this embodied parent perspective, notice if there were ways they couldn’t fully see or respond to the child due to their own unmet needs or unresolved
6. Return to your chair and reflect: How might your current patterns of reaching for connection, support, or love reflect this early dynamic? Do you see any loyalties or identifications with either the reaching child or the parent who couldn’t fully respond?
7. Complete with a statement that acknowledges both the limitation and your adult capacity for new patterns: “I see what wasn’t possible I honor the constraints you both lived within. As an adult, I can now find new ways to meet these needs.”

This exercise reveals how early experiences of interrupted connection create templates for current relationships, while opening space for new patterns based on adult capacities rather than childhood limitations.

Exercise 4: Working with Exclusions

This exercise addresses the systemic impacts of family members who have been excluded, forgotten, or inadequately acknowledged.

Materials needed:

Objects or floor markers for constellation

Process:

1. Create a basic constellation of your current family system using objects or floor
2. Reflect on whether there are any family members who may have been excluded or inadequately acknowledged in the family These might include:

Children who died young or were stillborn

Previous partners of parents or grandparents

Family members who were estranged or rarely mentioned

Those who suffered difficult fates (suicide, addiction, incarceration, etc.) Adoptive or birth parents in adoption situations

Victims of family members’ actions Perpetrators of harm within the family

3. For each identified “excluded” person, select an object or marker and add it to the
4. Notice what happens in the constellation field when these excluded elements are acknowledged: Do relationships between other elements seem to shift?

Does the overall constellation feel more complete or balanced?

What emotions or sensations arise as these excluded elements take their place?

5. If using floor markers, stand in your position and notice how it feels to see these previously excluded elements. Then, if appropriate, step into the positions of the excluded to sense their
6. Experiment with statements of acknowledgment: “I see you You belong to this system. Your fate is honored here.”
7. Notice any shifts in your own sense of place or belonging as these exclusions are

This exercise implements one of the most fundamental constellation principles: the need for all members of a system to be acknowledged for the system to function in balance. Often, simply seeing and honoring what has been excluded creates significant movement toward resolution.

Exercise 5: Balancing Giving and Taking

This exercise addresses imbalances in the flow of giving and taking between parents and children—a common source of relationship difficulties and life challenges.

Materials needed:

Several small objects of two different types (e.g., stones and shells, or red and blue beads) A small table or clear floor space

Process:

1. Designate one type of object to represent “giving” and another to represent “taking.”
2. Place two objects (or small groupings) representing yourself and a parent facing each other on the table or floor.
3. Reflect on what you’ve received from this parent—both tangible provisions (food, shelter, education) and intangible gifts (values, traits, opportunities). For each significant gift, place a “giving” object flowing from parent to you.
4. Now consider what this parent received from their own If known, represent this with appropriate “giving” objects flowing to your parent. If unknown, place a few objects with the intention of acknowledging whatever flow came to them.
5. Notice if there are ways you’ve tried to “give back” to your parent that may not be appropriate in the parent-child relationship, such as:

Emotional caretaking

Protection from their pain Fulfilling their unrealized dreams

Compensating for what they didn’t receive

6. If such patterns exist, represent them with “giving” objects flowing from you to the
7. Observe the overall pattern of giving and Is it balanced appropriate to the parent-child relationship, with more flowing from parent to child? Or is there a reversal, with the child giving what a parent should receive from elsewhere?
8. If a reversal exists, experiment with Remove the inappropriate child-to-parent giving objects and instead place “taking” objects representing your healthy, appropriate receiving from your parent.
9. Create a statement acknowledging proper order: “I am small, you are I take what you give, and with it I will build my own life. What you need, you can receive from elsewhere.”
10. Notice any resistance to this reordering and any shifts in your sense of freedom or obligation after the adjustment.

This exercise helps identify and address one of the most common systemic entanglements—children attempting to “give back” to parents in ways that actually burden both generations and prevent healthy flow in current relationships.

Exercise 6: Integrating Polarized Aspects

This exercise uses constellation principles to work with internal polarities or conflicting aspects of self that may connect to family system dynamics.

Materials needed:

Four floor markers or objects Space to move between positions

Process:

1. Identify an internal conflict or polarization you experience—perhaps between parts that want opposing things or aspects of yourself that seem Examples might include:

A part that wants closeness vs. a part that fears intimacy

A driven, achievement-oriented aspect vs. a part that needs rest A creative, expressive self vs. a cautious, containing self

2. Place floor markers representing each polarized aspect, positioning them in the space according to their relationship with each other (often opposite or at a distance).
3. Add a third marker representing “yourself” as the one who contains both these
4. Add a fourth marker representing your family of origin as a whole
5. Stand first in the position of your “self” and notice:

How you experience these polarized parts from here Whether one feels more familiar or acceptable than the other Where your attention naturally goes

6. Move to each of the polarized aspects in turn, fully embodying that From each position, look at:

Your “self” position: How does this aspect see you?

The opposite polarity: What is the relationship with that aspect?

The family system: Does this aspect feel at home there or alienated?

7. Step into the family system position and look at the polarized Notice: Does one aspect resemble a particular family member?

Was one aspect more welcome or acceptable in your family than the other? Are these polarities also present in the larger family dynamic?

8. Return to your “self” position with this Consider how these aspects might reflect loyalties, identifications, or adaptations to your family system rather than truly opposing forces.
9. Experiment with bringing the polarized aspects closer together, acknowledging both as belonging to you regardless of family patterns.
10. Create an integration statement: “I claim both these aspects as I honor their origins and their protective functions. I am now free to integrate them in my own way.”

This exercise reveals how seemingly personal internal conflicts often connect to systemic patterns, identifications, or adaptations. Recognizing these connections often allows integration that purely intrapsychic approaches might not achieve.

Constellations Exercise 7: Future Projection Constellation

This exercise applies constellation principles to exploring possible futures and the systemic influences on life choices and directions.

Materials needed:

Floor markers or objects for constellation

Process:

1. Identify a significant life choice, transition, or direction you’re currently
2. Create floor markers or select objects representing: Yourself in your current position

Each of the potential paths or choices you’re considering Your family system as a whole

Any specific ancestors whose stories seem relevant to this decision

3. Arrange these elements according to your intuitive sense, noticing particularly the relationships between potential futures and your family
4. Stand in your current position and notice:

How each potential future looks and feels from here

Whether any draw you forward or create resistance

Your body’s response when looking toward different possibilities

5. Step experimentally toward each potential future, stopping at the point where you feel any hesitation or From each of these threshold positions, look back at:

Your starting point Your family system

Relevant ancestor representations

6. Notice whether moving toward certain futures creates a sense of: Leaving others behind

Betraying family norms or expectations Breaking loyalty to ancestral patterns

Entering territory no family member has navigated

7. Return to your starting position and reflect on these observations. Consider whether any hesitation toward particular futures might reflect systemic entanglements rather than authentic
8. Create statements of acknowledgment and permission that address any identified For example:

“I honor the path you walked. Now I find my own way.”

“I take the strength you’ve given me into this new territory.” “What wasn’t possible for you may now be possible for me.”

9. With these acknowledgments in place, again step toward each potential future, noticing any shifts in your experience of movement or barrier.

This exercise reveals how family systems influence not just our past and present but our orientation toward future possibilities. By identifying and addressing these influences, we create greater freedom for authentic choice aligned with our own needs and values.

Therapeutic Integration: Combining Constellations Work with Other Approaches

One-to-one constellation work integrates effectively with various therapeutic modalities, particularly Gestalt therapy and Somatic Experiencing.

Integration with Gestalt Therapy

Constellation work shares several foundational principles with Gestalt:

1. Phenomenological Method: Both approaches prioritize direct experience over interpretation, focusing on the “what is” rather than explanatory
2. Field Theory: Both recognize that individuals exist within relational fields that shape experience and behavior in ways that extend beyond individual
3. Experimental Attitude: Both utilize active experiments to bring awareness to patterns and create opportunities for new experience rather than merely talking about
4. Present-Centered Awareness: Both emphasize current experience as the access point to both past influences and future possibilities.

Specific integration points include:

Using constellation formats to externalize internal parts work common in Gestalt

Enhancing empty chair techniques with systemic awareness of who might be represented in different positions

Applying Gestalt awareness practices to deepen somatic attention during constellation work Utilizing Gestalt creative adjustments framework to understand systemic adaptations

Integration with Somatic Experiencing

Constellation work and Somatic Experiencing complement each other in addressing both systemic patterns and their neurophysiological manifestations:

1. Nervous System Regulation: SE principles can help track and regulate activation that emerges during constellation work, preventing overwhelm while supporting
2. Titration: SE’s careful pacing can be applied to constellation work, approaching systemic material in manageable doses rather than overwhelming
3. Completion of Defensive Responses: SE’s focus on completing thwarted protective responses aligns with constellation work’s emphasis on resolving interrupted movements in the
4. Resourcing: SE techniques for establishing somatic resources provide important preparation and support for the sometimes challenging material that emerges in constellation

Specific integration points include:

Using SE tracking skills to monitor nervous system responses during constellation processes

Applying pendulation between activation and regulation when working with challenging systemic material

Incorporating SE’s attention to incomplete defensive responses when exploring systemic trauma Utilizing SE resourcing techniques before, during, and after constellation work

Constellations – Ethical Considerations and Limitations

When applying constellation methods in one-to-one settings, several ethical considerations deserve attention:

Respecting Client Readiness

Unlike group constellations where the representative experience is somewhat buffered, one-to-one work can create direct, immediate encounters with systemic material. Therapists must carefully assess client readiness and ensure adequate preparation and containment.

Avoiding Deterministic Interpretations

While constellation work reveals systemic influences, care must be taken not to impose deterministic interpretations that diminish client agency. The goal is expanded awareness and choice, not replacing personal responsibility with systemic explanation.

Cultural Sensitivity

Family systems and their governing principles vary significantly across cultures. Practitioners must maintain cultural humility, adapting constellation principles to honor diverse family structures, values, and traditions rather than imposing Western or Hellinger-specific interpretations.

Staying Within Scope of Practice

One-to-one constellation work approaches sometimes profound psychological material. Practitioners must work within their professional scope of practice, ensuring appropriate training and supervision for the depth of material that may emerge.

Maintaining Phenomenological Stance

The power of constellation work emerges from its phenomenological approach rather than interpretive frameworks. Practitioners must resist the temptation to analyze, explain, or direct the constellation process based on theoretical assumptions rather than emergent experience.

Conclusion: The Gift of Systemic Awareness in Individual Work

One-to-one constellation work offers a valuable dimension to individual therapy, bridging personal experience with the wider contexts that shape it. By adapting constellation principles to individual settings, therapists and clients gain access to systemic insights without requiring group participation, creating flexible, accessible pathways for addressing entanglements that purely individual approaches might miss.

The exercises provided in this article offer starting points for this integration, inviting experimentation with various formats while maintaining the essential principles that give constellation work its distinctive power. As with any therapeutic approach, these methods are most effective when adapted to individual client needs, cultural contexts, and presenting concerns, always in service of expanded awareness, choice, and authentic living.

For both therapists and those engaged in self-exploration, bringing constellation awareness into individual work creates a middle path between purely intrapsychic approaches and full group constellation experiences—a path that honors both our unique individuality and our inescapable embeddedness in the systems that shape our lives.

 

Keywords: Family Constellations, psychotherapy, parents, parental trauma, somatic experiencing
Contact us: Feel and Heal Therapy Office