What is Family & Systemic Constellations?

We are born into systems: family systems, community systems, cultural and spiritual systems, work systems, political systems. These systems carry patterns, beliefs, implicit and explicit “rules” of belonging, traumas, and many other energies that reverberate across generations and affect our daily lives. Family & Systemic Constellations (FSC) is a healing modality that helps individuals uncover the powerful and often hidden forces at play that affect our families, relationships, work, and health.

By bringing these hidden dynamics to light, FSC help individuals recognize how their lives unfold within a continuum that stretches across generations, inviting empathy, love, and acknowledgement. Through this exploration, the individual is equipped with a new sense of agency to re-orient themselves within these systems to both belong and self-actualize.

FSC open a pathway for healing at the soul level. Many clients describe feeling lighter, clearer, or more at ease in the days and weeks following a session. This period of integration unfolds gradually, as new awareness settles into the body and life begins to reorganize around it.

Sometimes these shifts are subtle — a calmer conversation, a softened judgment, a new sense of possibility. Sometimes, they are more profound—relating to themselves, family members, or spouses differently. Occasionally, clients report others in the family system change too, as if the constellation reverberated through the shared field. However mysterious it may seem, this work continually reminds us of how deeply interconnected we truly are.

What does a session look like?

A session typically begins with a focused conversation between the facilitator and the client to clarify the client’s intention. The facilitator may ask questions that uncover how the issue shows up in daily life and how it might relate to the client’s family story or wider social context.

Once the focus is clear, the constellation begins to take form. In a group session, the client invites other participants to stand as representatives for family members, ancestors, or even abstract forces such as “grief,” “work,” or “the future.” In a one-on-one session, these same elements are represented symbolically — through objects, floor markers, or the client themselves moving between positions.

Whether the representatives are people or placeholders, a living map of the system begins to emerge. This arrangement offers a visible, felt expression of what has been held internally — a way of seeing the unseen. Subtle movements, gestures, or sensations often reveal patterns of exclusion, burden, or interrupted love that words alone cannot reach.

Throughout the session, the facilitator gently guides the unfolding process — adjusting placements, introducing new elements, or inviting simple acknowledgments that help restore connection and order. As these movements settle, the system itself begins to shift. Clients often describe a felt sense of release or recognition: a deep breath, a softening in the body, a quiet knowing that something has found its rightful place.

A constellation concludes when a natural sense of balance returns — when the system feels more whole, and the client feels more grounded in their own truth. Whether in a group or one-on-one, the work opens space for love, clarity, and strength to flow more freely through the family field and through the client’s life.

Interested in Having a session?

You can contact me to arrange an appointment. Or, if you live near the Hudson Valley you can join my mailing list to learn about my upcoming events.