Photo: TRAUMA MATTERS Conference with Gabor Maté, London 2019
“IFS Constellations” is a way of working I’ve devised over the past few years that integrates the full IFS protocol with aspects of the Constellations process. If offers a somatic group exploration of IFS for both individual and collective healing.
IFS Constellations are very different from Family Constellations – the original form devised by the German psychologist Burt Hellinger from traditional Zulu practices:
- in IFS Constellations we explore the internal system of ‘parts’, not the external family/ancestral system
- we use the full healing protocol of IFS (unblending, witnessing, unburdening & retrieving), whereas Family Constellations use a completely different set of questions and assumptions
- and unlike psychodrama or sculpting, IFS Constellations unfold from mindful embodiment rather than cognitive information
The word ‘constellation’ simply means a collection of parts – sometimes stars or symptoms, but in this case, the various parts of us that react in different ways to a situation. Many different forms of Constellations have evolved from Hellinger’s work, including Systemic / Corporate / IoPT / Environmental. (You can read a little more about the differences between IFS Constellations and some other approaches below)
The fundamental similarity is that all ‘Constellations’ involve a somatic phenomena which is variously described as quantum entanglement, telepathy or universal inter-connectedness; like gravity, it is impossible to explain but very evident and powerful.
I offer IFS Constellations workshops and retreats in the UK (sign up to my mailing list to hear about new dates). My Drawing into Self online courses offer a variation of this work using intuitive drawing.
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WHAT HAPPENS IN AN IFS CONSTELLATIONS WORKSHOP?
The workshop begins by establishing a safe and supportive environment for participants to explore together during the day, with introductions, guidelines and an embodied IFS meditation. You may bring a particular issue to explore, or simply a desire to know yourself more deeply, or to feel more free and powerful in your life.
The process of participating will be explained before the first Constellation begins. One person briefly describes what they want to explore, with others in the group invited to ‘represent’ the parts that arise as the Constellation unfolds. The process of ‘representing’ is simply noticing and naming thoughts, feelings and physical sensations – there is no acting or role-play involved, so everyone can do it.
Gradually a constellation (or collection) of parts emerges around the issue – effectively creating a map of internal dynamics. The Internal Family Systems protocol is applied throughout, fully guided by the facilitator, bringing curiosity, compassion and validation that helps to soften entrenched behaviours and beliefs, and open the possibly for transformation.
Witnessing and participating in Constellations offers profound personal insights and growth, plus a precious experience of developing trust and connection within a group through shared experience within a safe container.
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SOME KEY DIFFERENCES …. BETWEEN IFS CONSTELLATIONS & OTHER TYPES
– IFS Constellations work with the client’s experience of, and connection with, their own INTERNAL system of parts (NB IoPT does this too, but there are many differences including all of the following)
– IFS Constellations include SELF – both individual and universal – and the core focus of the process is to cultivate the client’s connection with Self so their parts can heal (NB IoPT has a ‘Healthy Self’, but this is roughly equivalent to unburdened, Self-connected Managers in IFS)
– IFS Constellations are based around the clear and replicable IFS healing protocol: unblending, witnessing, retrieving and unburdening (i.e. not simply encountering parts)
– IFS Constellations are designed to avoid the common problem of a client being blended throughout their Constellation (not just unhelpful and painful, but can be re-traumatising) by 1. the built-in process of noticing, naming and using dialogue to unblend, and 2. deliberately working with Protectors first, to prevent backlash from going too quickly to Exiles.
