---
title: "Notes on Family Constellations | Cecilia Altieri"
description: "Short, plain notes on family constellations and systemic work: what it is, how to prepare, what to expect, and how representing works."
url: "https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/"
markdown_url: "https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/index.md"
lang: "en-GB"
alternates:
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  - { hreflang: "es", url: "https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/es/blog/" }
  - { hreflang: "nl", url: "https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/nl/blog/" }
  - { hreflang: "x-default", url: "https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/" }
---

The blog

# Notes from the _practice_

Plain answers to the questions people bring: what a family constellation is and where it comes from, what happens in a session, how to prepare, what representing feels like. Written by the people who run the sessions and the training.

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/family-constellations-and-trauma.webp) Latest The method Family constellations and trauma, and what we build first What family constellations do when trauma is in the picture, why we build your resources first, and why the trauma itself rarely goes into the room. Read it about 7 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-and-trauma/)

Most of these began as a question someone asked in an email, or on the phone an hour before their first session. What do I need to prepare? What if I feel nothing when I represent? Does any of it work on a screen? Others come from the other direction: what a constellation actually does, where the method comes from, and what facilitating one actually asks of a person. Each note answers one question plainly, from the practice rather than from the literature, and then points you to the page that holds the full detail.

The notes

## Start with a _question_

Every note answers one question. Some are a three minute read, some take a good deal longer.

What are you looking at?

Everything

Sessions 6

Workshops 4

The method 3

The nervous system 2

The training 2

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/family-constellations-and-trauma.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-and-trauma/)

[The method](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-and-trauma/)

[about 7 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-and-trauma/)

### [Family constellations and trauma, and what we build first](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-and-trauma/)

[What family constellations do when trauma is in the picture, why we build your resources first, and why the trauma itself rarely goes into the room.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-and-trauma/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-and-trauma/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/history-family-constellations.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/history-of-family-constellations/)

[The method](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/history-of-family-constellations/)

[about 10 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/history-of-family-constellations/)

### [The history of family constellations](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/history-of-family-constellations/)

[The method’s creator was a Hamburg psychiatry professor almost nobody names. The real history, with sources: Thea Schönfelder, Virginia Satir, movement therapy, and what Hellinger actually did.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/history-of-family-constellations/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/history-of-family-constellations/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/prepare-session.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-session/)

[Sessions](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-session/)

[about 3 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-session/)

### [How to prepare for a session](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-session/)

[Three sentences are enough preparation for a family constellations session. A psychotherapist explains which three, and what to leave out.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-session/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-session/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/expect-session.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/what-to-expect-in-a-session/)

[Sessions](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/what-to-expect-in-a-session/)

[about 4 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/what-to-expect-in-a-session/)

### [What to expect in a session](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/what-to-expect-in-a-session/)

[What actually happens in a one-to-one family constellations session, from the first question to the last ten minutes, told by a psychotherapist.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/what-to-expect-in-a-session/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/what-to-expect-in-a-session/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/prepare-workshop.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-workshop/)

[Workshops](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-workshop/)

[about 5 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-workshop/)

### [How to prepare for a workshop](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-workshop/)

[You need less preparation than you think, and the useful kind is not what people expect. What to do the week, the night and the hour before.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-workshop/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-workshop/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/online-constellations-work.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-online-constellations-work/)

[Sessions](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-online-constellations-work/)

[about 13 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-online-constellations-work/)

### [How online constellations work](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-online-constellations-work/)

[The whole picture: the three ways a constellation is set up on a screen, how representing and movement work, and what genuinely changes when the room is one.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-online-constellations-work/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-online-constellations-work/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/prepare-online-workshop.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-an-online-workshop/)

[Workshops](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-an-online-workshop/)

[about 4 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-an-online-workshop/)

### [How to prepare for an online workshop](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-an-online-workshop/)

[The online layer only: joining, the two window setup that makes the day easier, and being one of many faces for a whole day without going flat.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-an-online-workshop/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-an-online-workshop/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/expect-workshop.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/what-to-expect-in-a-workshop/)

[Workshops](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/what-to-expect-in-a-workshop/)

[about 4 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/what-to-expect-in-a-workshop/)

### [What to expect in a workshop](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/what-to-expect-in-a-workshop/)

[Across one workshop day you may be yourself, someone’s grandmother, and a quiet witness. A psychotherapist explains what each role is like.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/what-to-expect-in-a-workshop/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/what-to-expect-in-a-workshop/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/how-to-represent.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-represent/)

[Workshops](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-represent/)

[about 5 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-represent/)

### [How to represent](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-represent/)

[You can’t do it wrong, and feeling nothing counts too. A psychotherapist explains what representatives actually do in a family constellation.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-represent/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-represent/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/nervous-system.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/when-your-nervous-system-wont-settle/)

[The nervous system](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/when-your-nervous-system-wont-settle/)

[about 5 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/when-your-nervous-system-wont-settle/)

### [When your nervous system won’t settle](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/when-your-nervous-system-wont-settle/)

[Tired but wired, jumpy without reason, unable to switch off. A psychotherapist explains what a nervous system that won’t settle is actually doing.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/when-your-nervous-system-wont-settle/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/when-your-nervous-system-wont-settle/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/ssp-child.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/listening-therapy-for-a-child/)

[The nervous system](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/listening-therapy-for-a-child/)

[about 5 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/listening-therapy-for-a-child/)

### [Listening therapy for a child, and what a parent does](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/listening-therapy-for-a-child/)

[A child listens at home, in headphones, a quarter of an hour a day. A psychotherapist explains the parent’s role, which is larger than it looks.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/listening-therapy-for-a-child/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/listening-therapy-for-a-child/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/techniques.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellation-techniques/)

[The method](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellation-techniques/)

[about 6 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellation-techniques/)

### [The techniques a constellation actually uses](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellation-techniques/)

[The interview, the spatial image, representative perception, movements and statements. A trainer takes the method apart into its real parts.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellation-techniques/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellation-techniques/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/becoming-facilitator.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-become-a-family-constellation-facilitator/)

[The training](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-become-a-family-constellation-facilitator/)

[about 5 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-become-a-family-constellation-facilitator/)

### [How to become a family constellation facilitator](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-become-a-family-constellation-facilitator/)

[What the craft actually requires, which backgrounds people train from, and what to look for in any training. From the head trainer of one of them.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-become-a-family-constellation-facilitator/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-to-become-a-family-constellation-facilitator/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/cohort-forming.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-eisec-forms-groups/)

[The training](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-eisec-forms-groups/)

[about 6 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-eisec-forms-groups/)

### [How a group forms, and how it gets its date](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-eisec-forms-groups/)

[A giant Doodle, filled in by strangers who end up in the same group. That’s how the weekly time gets found, and why the date comes last rather than first.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-eisec-forms-groups/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/how-eisec-forms-groups/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/family-constellations-for-a-child.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-for-a-child/)

[Sessions](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-for-a-child/)

[about 6 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-for-a-child/)

### [Family constellations for a child](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-for-a-child/)

[A child sets the family out in figures and knows where everyone goes. A psychotherapist on what a constellation looks like for a child, and what a parent does.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-for-a-child/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-for-a-child/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/family-constellations-with-teenagers.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-with-teenagers/)

[Sessions](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-with-teenagers/)

[about 9 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-with-teenagers/)

### [Family constellations with teenagers](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-with-teenagers/)

[A teenager can be carrying something real and have no sentence for it. A psychotherapist on a way of starting that does not run through your teenager explaining first.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-with-teenagers/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/family-constellations-with-teenagers/)

[![](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/images/blog/constellations-for-couples.webp)](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/constellations-for-couples/)

[Sessions](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/constellations-for-couples/)

[about 4 minutes](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/constellations-for-couples/)

### [Constellations for couples, and why you can come on your own](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/constellations-for-couples/)

[What couples bring me, what happens in a constellation about a relationship, and why you can come on your own when your partner does not want to.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/constellations-for-couples/)

[Read more](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/blog/constellations-for-couples/)

Every note points somewhere

[What a constellation is The method itself, taken apart properly. ](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/family-constellations/) · [Workshops Where most people see a constellation for the first time. ](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/workshops/) · [Private sessions The same work, one to one, at your own pace. ](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/sessions/) · [Listening therapy The Safe and Sound Protocol, one to one.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/ssp/)

[What a constellation is The method itself, taken apart properly. ](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/family-constellations/) · [Workshops Where most people see a constellation for the first time. ](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/workshops/) · [Private sessions The same work, one to one, at your own pace. ](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/sessions/) · [Listening therapy The Safe and Sound Protocol, one to one.](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/ssp/)

Stay close

## New notes, _when they land_

Occasional notes on constellations and word of upcoming dates, a few times a year. No noise.

Upcoming events and trainings, a few times a year. Unsubscribe any time.

## Rather feel a constellation than read about it?

A private session is the most direct way in. Online anywhere, or in person in Brussels.

[Explore sessions](https://www.ceciliaaltieri.com/sessions/)

---

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