Facilitators: The Indicating Element in Family Constellation work
Do you use it?
I doubt it because I think I made it up
When I am conducting an intake I always ask 2 questions, the standard ones
What’s the struggle in life you’re bringing & How would your life look differently if you received a good result from the Constellation?
Here’s My Concern
I’m worried as a facilitator that I may miss the mark. ANYTHING I put into the Field will show progress and a direction, even a conclusion…
But did I really heal/shift the clients presenting issue?
For a few years now I’ve started my Constellations with an Indicating Element.
Let’s say a client comes to me wanting “healthy relationships”
I don’t start the Constellation with mom and dad, I start the Constellation with a representative for the client and “healthy relationship” I want to see the dynamic, is my client chasing healthy relationship around The Field, are they running from HR and not open, does HR turn into the clients mother? I want to know what HR is for them and how they respond to it.
With a standard Constellation if the client has a presenting issue and we start with client, mom and dad, it is very difficult to know if you have fully hit the mark with the clients issue. You could have done a great Constellation, the client leaves happy, but their issue is untouched.
A Previous Constellation
I remember once I did a Constellation around laughter, why do I have a HARD TIME laughing in life? The facilitator did a standard Constellation and I ended up hugging my father and grandmother – Did anything happen to my issue around laughter? NO! This is a problem.
Why not put a representative for laughter in the Field?
When we put a representative for the issue in the Field we can gauge the clients relationship to said issue, is it getting better, are they getting closer, is anything changing, is it getting worse?
“This is what I call an Indicating Element. It is an element in the Field
that indicates the progress of the Constellation relative
to the clients presenting issue.”
This is really important!
2 Variances Of The Indicating Element
You can place a positive element or a negative element. Let’s use the Healthy Relationship example. The client could say to me on intake – I want a “Healthy Relationship” or they could say I always attract “Bad Men.”
Using an Indicating Element in the first example I will (usually) set up the client and HR before proceeding with other representations. HR says “I do not feel the client is available for me or wants me.” Other representatives are brought in, the Constellation moves forward, towards the end of the Constellation, things seem to have progressed, I now check in with HR and the client and they both speak to improved connection and readiness for one another. A good result.
Now, the 2nd example, I start with the client and Bad Men (BM), they immediately show chemistry and the poor relationship dance commences. I bring in more representatives and proceed. Things are moving forward and the client is shifting and changing. Now towards the end of the Constellation the rep for BM says, “I’m not wanted here any more, I think I want to sit down,” the clients rep says, “I don’t want him any more, I’m not interested.”
This Is The Indicating Element In Action
While I do not use this 100% of the time, I probably use it 80%. Whether it is depression, money, illness, intimacy issues or more, I want to know the clients relationship to their issue and I want to know how this relationship changes or improves as the Constellation progresses.
Learn More
Read “Family Constellations & Trauma – How To Support Your Clients”
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