What Happens in a Family Constellation Session: Complete Guide #

Introduction: Why is this therapy transforming lives? #

If you are reading this, it is likely that you have tried traditional therapy for years without seeing the profound changes you seek. Or perhaps something inside you is telling you that your current difficulties have deeper roots than you can see.

**You're not wrong.

During my 23 years as a psychologist in Colombia and Spain and holistic healer, I have seen how a single session of Family Constellations can undo emotional knots that decades of conventional therapy could not untie. The reason? This therapy not only works with your personal history, but with the invisible wounds you inherited from your ancestors.

In this comprehensive guide, I'm going to explain exactly what happens in a Family Constellation session, how it works, what to expect, and why thousands of people are discovering that this is the missing piece in their healing.

Table of Contents #

1. What are Family Constellations
2. The Science Behind the Method: Transgenerational Trauma and Epigenetics
3. How a Session Works: Step by Step
4. What You Will Experience During Your Session
5. After the Session: Integration and Transformation
6. Is it for You? 10 Signs You Need a Constellation
7. Online vs Face-to-Face Constellations: What You Need to Know
8. Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are Family Constellations? #

Family Constellations are a transpersonal systemic therapy developed by the German psychoanalyst Bert Hellinger in the 1980s. Unlike conventional therapy that focuses on the individual, this methodology recognizes that we are part of a larger family system and that many of our current problems are invisible loyalties or patterns inherited from previous generations (Hellinger, Weber & Beaumont, 1998).

The Three Fundamental Pillars #

According to the research of Hellinger and his collaborators, all family dynamics are driven by three basic needs:

1. The Need to Belong: We all need to feel part of the family system, regardless of how we enter it (Cohen et al., 2019).
2. The Need for Order: There is a natural hierarchy in families that, when respected, generates harmony.
3. The Need for Balance: Giving and receiving must be balanced for relationships to be healthy.

When any of these principles is broken - for example, when a family member is excluded, forgotten or dishonored - systemic entanglements are created that affect subsequent generations.

How is it different from traditional therapy? #

| Family Constellations | Traditional Therapy | Family Constellations | Family Constellations | Family Constellations | Family Constellations
|---------------------|---------------------------|
| Systemic approach | Individual approach | Systemic approach | Verbal and cognitive work | Experiential and phenomenological work | Family Constellations | Family Constellations | Family Constellations
| Verbal and cognitive work | Experiential and phenomenological work |
| | Long-term process (months/years) | In-depth results in 1-3 sessions |
| Analyzes the past narratively | Reveals spatially hidden dynamics | Focuses on symptoms | Focuses on symptoms | Abortions | Focuses on symptoms | Focuses on symptoms | Abortions
| | Focuses on symptoms | Addresses transgenerational root |

2. The Science Behind the Method: Transgenerational Trauma and Epigenetics. #

For years, Family Constellations were labeled as "alternative therapy" with no scientific basis. **That has radically changed.

Epigenetics: How Trauma is Biologically Inherited #

Dr. Rachel Yehuda, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Mount Sinai, has pioneered the demonstration that the effects of trauma can be biologically transmitted from parent to child through epigenetic mechanisms (Yehuda et al., 2016).

In her landmark study with Holocaust survivors and their descendants, Dr. Yehuda found that:

"Epigenetic changes caused by exposure to trauma can be passed on to offspring born after the event.... These observations suggest that parental trauma is a relevant contributor to the biology of offspring." (Yehuda et al., 2016, Biological Psychiatry)

**What does this mean **That when your grandmother experienced famine, violence, or traumatic loss, it not only affected her psychology, but changed the expression of her genes - specifically in the FKBP5 gene, associated with PTSD, depression, and anxiety - and those changes were passed on to your mother, and from your mother to you.

Cellular Memory and Non-Local Consciousness #

Research published in Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology (2024) proposes that Family Constellations work with local and non-local states of consciousness, accessing what is called "ancestral cellular memory" (Booth, 2024).

The study explains:

"Family Constellations use techniques called representational perception and attunement to identify and release ancestral traumas. These are similar to remote viewing and mediumship..... The phenomenological approach, the reference to family system entanglements, and the potential for symptom relief through cellular mediation of ancestral memory are innovative features." (Booth, 2024)

What Recent Research Says #

A 2025 analysis published in Journal of Clinical Psychology examined the phenomenon of "surrogate perceptions"-the ability of proxies to sense the emotions and sensations of people they have never met:

"Although extremely popular in Europe and the world...the way in which participants experience visceral, nociceptive, and proprioceptive sensations, as well as emotions and movement desires that match the represented family, remains a fascinating phenomenon that is just beginning to be studied empirically." (Schmidt & Kleve, 2025)

.

3. How a Session Works: Step by Step #

Let me take you through what actually happens in a Family Constellation session. I am going to use my particular approach - the Lion Method** - which integrates Constellations with Shamanic Healing and Transpersonal Psychology.

STEP 1: Define your Intention (10-15 minutes) #

Every constellation begins with a clear question or intention. We are not here to explore your entire life, but to focus on a specific issue that is keeping you stuck.

Examples of effective intentions:

• Why can't I maintain healthy relationships?
• What is the root of my chronic anxiety?
• Why do I feel I don't deserve financial abundance?
• What prevents me from setting boundaries with my family?

In my practice: Before I begin, I do a brief energetic reading and use my shamanic skills to identify which lineage (maternal or paternal) needs to be worked on first.

STEP 2: Identify System Participants (5 minutes) #

Based on your question, I determine who needs to be present in the systemic field. They generally include:

• Parents and/or grandparents
• Siblings (living or deceased)
• Current or former partners
• Children (born or unborn)
• Excluded family members

A key Hellinger principle: "Each person has a place and belongs, no matter what he or she has done" (Hellinger, 2003). Excluded members - those no one talks about - are often the source of the problem.

STEP 3: The Initial Set-up (10 minutes) #

This is where the magic happens.

In group sessions: You will choose people from the group to represent your family members or the situation you need to work on or elements that make up the constellation. You place them intuitively in the space - their physical position, the distance between them, where they look - all reflect the hidden dynamics of your system.

In individual sessions (my specialty): : I use dolls, figures or objects to represent the members of your family.

Why do constellations with figures work? Because the systemic field does not need physical bodies to activate - what matters is the intention and the relative spatial position. When you consciously place a figure representing your father in relation to your mother, your unconscious recognizes the familiar pattern and the energy field is activated just as with real people. The dolls become "antennae" that capture information from the family system, allowing me to read the hidden dynamics through their position, orientation and the sensation they generate in space. It is like creating a three-dimensional map of your family system that reveals the invisible.
I also work with guided visualization or perform what I call "shamanic constellations" where I access the systemic field myself and channel the information directly.

🎥 See how I do an individual constellation here: My Method of Work

STEP 4: The Systemic Field is Activated (20-40 minutes) #

This is what amazes everyone the first time:

Reps begin to feel emotions, physical sensations and thoughts that are not their own. A woman representing your grandmother may feel a weight in her chest. A man representing your father may have the urge to pull away or to protect.

**Studies on "representational perception" have documented this phenomenon repeatedly (Harris, 2020; Rieck, 2023).

As a facilitator, I:

• Read the energy field.

• Identify systemic entanglements.

• Ask representatives what they feel

• Propose healing movements or phrases

• Incorporate shamanic techniques to clear dense energies

STEP 5: Resolving and Reordering (15-30 minutes) #

The goal is not to "fix" your family, but to restore order and allow each person to take their rightful place.

This may include:

• Phrases of recognition: "I see you, Grandma. I honor your pain."
• Physical movements: Repositioning the representatives to allow the system to flow better.
• Soul movements:** or what is known in shamanism as anchoring.
• Healing rituals:** or psycho-magical acts that help the process of integration of what was experienced during the healing.

The moment of truth: When the system is correctly rearranged, there is a palpable change in energy. The representatives relax, take deep breaths, some cry with relief. You, as the client, feel a weight lift.

STEP 6: Integration (10 minutes) #

We close the session with:

• A moment of gratitude to the ancestors.
• Recommendations for integrating the work
• Specific homework if needed (may include rituals, cards, or ancestral connection practices).

What will you experience during your session? #

Common Client Sensations #

**Emotional

• Profound release (crying, laughing, sighing)
• Feeling of "I finally understand
• Unexpected compassion for difficult family members
• Lightness, as if an invisible weight has gone away

Physical: Changes in body temperature

• Changes in body temperature
• Tingling or energy currents
• Deep muscular relaxation
• Freer and deeper breathing

**Cognitive: **Sudden clarity about life patterns

• Sudden clarity about life patterns
• Understanding of why certain things "always happen to you".
• New perspectives on family relationships
• Connection of dots you didn't see before

What is NOT a Constellation #

❌ NOT an emotional venting session (although there may be catharsis).
❌ YOU do NOT need to tell your whole life story (in fact, fewer words is better).
❌ It's NOT "blaming your parents " (it's recognizing systemic dynamics without judgment).
❌ does NOT require your family to be present or know about it (change happens in the systemic field, it does not require their conscious participation)

.

5. After the Session: Integration and Transformation #

What to Expect in the Coming Days #

First 24-48 hours:** **You may feel emotionally sensitive or tired.

• You may feel emotionally sensitive or tired (this is normal, your system is reorganizing).
• Vivid or revealing dreams
• Desire to be quiet and reflect

First week: Subtle changes in how you relate to others

• Subtle changes in how you relate with family members
• Greater clarity in decisions
• Some clients report that family members they don't talk to spontaneously contact them.

First month:** First month:** First month:** First month:** First month:** First month:** First month:** First month

• Patterns you worked on begin to break down
• Increased ability to set boundaries
• Relationships that were conflictive soften
• Opportunities that were previously blocked begin to appear

Recommendations for Maximizing Results #

DO ✓:

• Get plenty of rest after the session
• Write your experience in a journal
• Be observant of subtle changes
• Do the rituals or tasks I have recommended
• Give yourself permission to feel what you need to feel

DON'T ✗:

• Don't try to intellectually analyze everything that has happened.
• Don't immediately confront family members with new revelations
• Don't expect everything to change overnight (although sometimes it does)
• Don't ignore the follow-up guide

6. Is it for You? 10 Signs You Need a Constellation #

✅ Yes, Family Constellation is for you if:

1. You repeat the same destructive patterns in relationships, money or health, no matter how hard you work on yourself.
2. You feel that "something" is holding you back from being happy, successful or fulfilled, but you can't identify what it is.
3. You've been in therapy for years and although you've grown, you feel there is something deeper unresolved.
4. You have unresolvable conflicts with your parents or siblings, even after trying to forgive or distance yourself.
5. You experience anxiety, depression or chronic illness that conventional medicine cannot fully explain.
6. You sabotage your success just when you are on the verge of achieving it.
7. You can't set healthy boundaries, especially with family.
8. You feel an invisible loyalty to a parent or ancestor, as if you are betraying them by being happy.
9. There are family secrets, tragic deaths, or excluded members in your lineage.
10. You sense that you are carrying something that is not yours - a burden, a sadness, a mission you did not choose.

Who Should NOT do Constellations (For Now) #

⚠️ Wait if:

• You are in acute psychiatric crisis (seek stabilization first)
• You are unwilling to view your parents/family with compassion
• Expect the facilitator to "fix" your life without your involvement
• You are looking for spiritual entertainment, not real transformation

7. Online vs Presential Constellations: What You Need to Know #

Do Online Sessions Work? #

**Short answer: Yes, absolutely.

Since 2015, I have conducted hundreds of online sessions with identical results to in-person sessions. The systemic field is not limited by physical space.

Advantages of Online Sessions. #

✓ Global access: I work with clients around the world, especially in Spain, Portugal, United States, Canada and Latin America.
✓ Comfort: You can do your session in the privacy of your home.
✓ Flexibility: More available schedules
✓ Easier integration: No need to drive after an emotionally intense session.

Advantages of Face-to-Face Sessions. #

✓ More energetic intensity: Being in the same physical space amplifies the experience.
Deeper body work:** You will experience the movements of the soul in the flesh.
✓ Best for those who need to "get out" of their usual environment or do not have the necessary space and privacy for the session.

My recommendation: If you live near St. Augustine, Florida, consider an in-person session for your first constellation. If not, online sessions are just as effective.

What Makes My Practice Unique (According to My Clients) #

🎥 If you visit my reviews: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟, there are clear patterns as to why people choose to work with me:

✅ Results where other therapies failed - "I never really achieved deep healing until my session with Ale."
✅ Rapidity without superficiality - "Only a few months" vs. "two years with another therapist."
✅ Holistic and holistic approach - Constellations + Shamanic + Psychology.
✅ Culturally sensitive - Bilingual, understands dynamics of migration
✅ Compassion and professionalism - "Never gave up on me."
✅ Empowering, not dependent - "Shows you the tools you possess."
✅ Lasting transformation - "I'm still experiencing the benefits."

Will you be the Next Testimonial? #

If these testimonials resonate with you, if you've tried everything and are still stuck, if you sense there's something deeper waiting to be healed....

**It's time to take the plunge.

8. Frequently Asked Questions #

Is it one session or do I need a long process? #

It depends on your intention:** ** For a specific topic: 1 session may be enough.

• For a specific issue: 1 session may be enough.
• For deep healing and transformation of multiple areas: 3-6 sessions. Check out my Packs
• The Lion Method (my holistic approach): 2-8 months of work.

Do I need to bring my family? #

**No. The work is individual. Changes in the systemic field affect the entire system, without your family needing to be present or aware of the work.

What if I don't know my family history? #

**The systemic field reveals what is needed. I have worked with adoptees and people with no family information with excellent results.

🎥 I don't know the history: Can I do a FAMILY CONSTELLATION if I don't know the history of my parents, my ancestors?

Is it safe? Can you remove me? #

Well-facilitated Constellations are deeply healing, not re-traumatizing. This is a legitimate concern, especially if you have had difficult experiences in therapy before.

The critical difference is in who holds the space. A superficially trained facilitator can open emotional and energetic doors without knowing how to close them properly, leaving you vulnerable and destabilized.

My training as a clinical psychologist and my experience over 23 years gives me tools that many constellation facilitators do not have:

Context: I know how to identify when someone is ready for deep work and when they need stabilization first.

Emotional Contentment: I understand how to regulate the intensity of a session, dose disclosure, and accompany catharsis without it becoming overwhelming.

Trauma management: I am trained in how to work with complex trauma, dissociation and defense mechanisms without re-traumatizing.

Therapeutic closure: Each session ends with a process of integration, anchoring and energetic closure that leaves you contained, not exposed.

Responsible follow-up: I do not abandon you after an intense session; I offer follow-up and integration resources.

In addition, my shamanic approach allows me to clear dense energies that are stirred up during the constellation and protect your energetic field during and after the work. I not only open, but I seal, cleanse and strengthen.

What I WILL NOT do: Push you beyond your capacity, ignore signs of emotional saturation, or leave open wounds unclosed. My commitment is to your well-being, not my ego as a facilitator.

How do I choose a good facilitator? #

Search for:
✓ Solid training
✓ Proven experience (years of practice).
✓ Clear ethics (respect, confidentiality, boundaries).
✓ Approach that resonates with you (there are different schools).
✓ Real client testimonials

In my case:

• 23 years as a psychologist (trained in Colombia, Mexico and Europe).
• Training in Family Constellations, Transpersonal Psychology, Shamanic Healing and more techniques that support my work.
• More than 1,000 clients served
• Bilingual (Spanish and English)
• Specialized in trauma grief
• Experience with migrant population and as a migrant.

Is this compatible with my religion? #

Family Constellations are a therapeutic tool, not a religion. I have worked with Catholics, Christians, Jews, atheists and people of diverse spiritual traditions without conflict.

My shamanic approach may include connecting with ancestors and healing spirits, but I always respect your beliefs and adapt the language.

Conclusion: Your Next Step Towards Freedom #

If you have come this far, it is because something inside you recognizes that there is more to heal than you have been able to reach so far.

The truth I've learned in 23 years of work:** ** The truth I've learned in 23 years of work:** The truth I've learned in 23 years of work:**

You are not crazy. You are not broken. You are not hard to heal.

**You're just carrying something that's not yours.

Family Constellations are not magic - they are ancient technology now backed by modern science. They are the bridge between your family history and your personal freedom.

A single session can show you what years of analysis could not reveal. And when you see the truth of your system, healing becomes inevitable.

Ready to take the next step? #

Book your Family Constellation session: ** Book your Family Constellation session:** #

• 📧 Write me: contacto@alejandraleon.com
• 🌐 Book online: www.alejandraleon.com

Services available:** **.

• Individual Constellation Sessions (face-to-face in St. Augustine, FL or online)
• Transformation packages with the Lion Method (2-12 months)
• Group Constellation Workshops
• Ancestral Healing Retreats

🎥 Before you book, see how I work: [See videos of my method on my website.
See videos of my method on YouTube

Academic References #

• Booth, D. (2024). Family Constellation therapy: A nascent approach for working with non-local consciousness in a therapeutic container. Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, 186, 33-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2023.11.008

• Cohen, D. B., Belicki, K., & Kienapple, K. (2019). Family Constellation Therapy: A comprehensive review. The Family Journal, 14(3), 226-233.

• Hellinger, B. (2003). The Center Will Hold: Constellations as a Bridge Between Individual and Collective Consciousness. Carl-Auer-Systeme Verlag.

• Hellinger, B., Weber, G., & Beaumont, H. (1998). *Love's Hidden Symmetry: What Makes Love Work in Relationships. Zeig, Tucker & Co.

• Harris, J. (2020). *Family Constellation Therapy and Surrogate Perception: A Phenomenological Study. The Constellation School of Consciousness.

• Hunger, C., Bornhäuser, A., Link, L., Schweitzer, J., & Weinhold, J. (2020). Process and effectiveness of Family Constellations: A qualitative study. Journal of Family Therapy, 42(1), 87-108.

• Konkolÿ Thege, B., Petroll, C., Húnor, D., Martos, T., & Bachner, Y. G. (2021). The effectiveness of family constellation therapy in improving mental health. Family Process, 60(2), 409-423.

• Schmidt, G., & Kleve, H. (2025). What happens to representatives during family constellations? Attempts at explanation and comparison with other difficult-to-explain phenomena. *The American Journal of Family Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0732-118X(25)00003-0.

• Yehuda, R., Daskalakis, N. P., Bierer, L. M., Bader, H. N., Klengel, T., Holsboer, F., & Binder, E. B. (2016). Holocaust exposure induced intergenerational effects on FKBP5 methylation. Biological Psychiatry, 80(5), 372-380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.08.005.

• Yehuda, R., Lehrner, A., & Bierer, L. M. (2018). The public reception of putative epigenetic mechanisms in the transgenerational effects of trauma. Environmental Epigenetics, 4(2), dvy018. https://doi.org/10.1093/eep/dvy018

• Yehuda, R., Lehrner, A. (2018). Intergenerational transmission of trauma effects: putative role of epigenetic mechanisms. World Psychiatry, 17(3), 243-257. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20568