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About Family Constellations
Family Constellations are a therapeutic approach that reveals how hidden patterns, burdens and unresolved experiences within a family system are passed down through generations and shape our lives today. By bringing these dynamics into view, the work allows what has been carried unconsciously to be acknowledged and gently released. Abi Beri facilitates Family Constellations online across Europe and worldwide, and in person in Ireland.
Family Constellation Therapy is a systemic approach to healing that looks beyond the individual to the wider family system they belong to. It works on the understanding that traumas, losses and entanglements from earlier generations can continue to affect descendants. Through representing the family system, hidden loyalties and patterns become visible and can begin to resolve. Sessions are offered online across Europe and in person in Ireland.
Family Constellations were developed by German psychotherapist Bert Hellinger, who drew on systemic therapy, psychoanalysis, and observations of intergenerational patterns across cultures. The approach has since grown into an internationally practised method used throughout Europe and worldwide. Abi Beri practises Family Constellations within a holistic, integrative framework alongside somatic therapy and inner child work.
It is called a constellation because, during a session, the members of a family system are arranged in space — represented by people, figures or markers — to mirror the relationships and dynamics within that system. Seeing the family laid out this way reveals hidden connections, loyalties and tensions that are otherwise difficult to perceive. The spatial arrangement is what gives the method its name.
The main difference is that traditional psychotherapy focuses on the individual, while Family Constellations work with the whole family system across generations. Rather than examining only your own history, the approach reveals how patterns inherited from parents, grandparents and earlier ancestors may be shaping your present life. Many people use Family Constellations alongside individual therapy, as the two address different layers.
How It Works
Family Constellations work by bringing the hidden dynamics of your family system into visible form, often revealing how something carried by earlier generations is still affecting you. Once these patterns are seen and acknowledged, the system can settle and the burden you have unconsciously carried can ease. The work can be done in groups or one to one, in person in Ireland or online across Europe and worldwide.
In a Family Constellation session, you bring an issue you wish to explore, and the facilitator helps represent the relevant members of your family system using other participants, figures or markers. As the system is laid out, hidden dynamics emerge, and the facilitator gently guides movements and acknowledgements that allow resolution. Sessions can be one to one or in groups, and are available online and in person.
No, you do not need detailed family history for Family Constellations to work. While knowing some facts can enrich the process, the approach reaches patterns held in the family system even when ancestral knowledge is limited. Often what was hidden or unspoken in a family is precisely what surfaces. An open mind matters more than a complete family tree.
Family Constellations can help with recurring relationship patterns, unexplained feelings of guilt or grief, difficulty with belonging, inherited family burdens, blocks around success or money, and a sense of carrying something that does not feel like your own. They are also valuable for understanding estrangement, loss, and intergenerational trauma. The work supports both personal and professional areas of life.
Yes. Family Constellations are one of the approaches most directly concerned with intergenerational and ancestral trauma. They work on the understanding that unresolved experiences — loss, war, migration, early death, exclusion — can be passed down and affect descendants who never lived through the original events. By acknowledging what happened in the system, the inherited weight can begin to ease. Available online across Europe and in person in Ireland.
The number of sessions varies from person to person. Some people experience a meaningful shift from a single Family Constellation session, while others choose to explore several themes over time. Because the work often resolves something at a systemic level, even one session can have a lasting effect. Abi Beri will discuss what is likely to suit your situation. Sessions are available online and in person.
Online & Across Europe
Yes, Family Constellations work very effectively online. The systemic patterns the method reveals come through clearly by video, whether in one-to-one sessions or facilitated groups. Many people find that doing this deep work from their own private space helps them feel safe and settled. Abi Beri offers online Family Constellations to clients across Ireland, the UK, Europe and worldwide.
Yes. Many participants report that online Family Constellations are just as profound as in-person work. What matters is the systemic process and the facilitator’s guidance, not physical presence in one room. Representations can be made using figures, markers or on-screen placement, and the family system reveals itself just as clearly. Abi Beri has guided clients through transformative online constellations across Europe.
Abi Beri offers online Family Constellations to clients across Ireland, the United Kingdom, and throughout Europe, as well as worldwide. Sessions are conducted in English by secure video call, making this work accessible across borders and time zones. For many people in Europe and beyond, online sessions are the most practical way to access experienced Family Constellation facilitation.
For an online Family Constellation session you need a private, quiet space where you will not be interrupted, a device with a camera and microphone, and a stable internet connection. A secure video link is sent beforehand. It helps to have a little space around you and an open, reflective frame of mind. No other preparation is required.
You can book a Family Constellation session through the contact page at familyconstellationseurope.com or by emailing info@familyconstellationseurope.com. Abi Beri offers one-to-one and group sessions, online across Europe and worldwide, and in person in Ireland. After you make contact, a suitable time will be arranged to fit your location and time zone.
Outcomes & Wider Benefits
Yes. Many personal challenges that seem unrelated to family — difficulties with relationships, work, money, self-worth or recurring life patterns — turn out to have roots in the family system. By addressing these underlying systemic influences, Family Constellations can support change in areas of life that appear, on the surface, to have nothing to do with family at all.
Yes. Because Family Constellations reveal the hidden dynamics we carry from our family of origin, they often bring significant change to current relationships. Many people find that, after acknowledging and resolving inherited patterns, their relationships with partners, parents, children and others become noticeably easier and more connected. The shift tends to come from within rather than through effort.
Yes. Many people find that blocks around success, visibility, money or confidence have roots in their family system — for example, loyalties to ancestors who struggled, or unspoken family rules about achievement. By bringing these patterns to light, Family Constellations can free up clarity, confidence and drive in professional life. Abi Beri also offers this work in organisational and group settings.
Family Constellations, somatic therapy and inner child work are complementary approaches that Abi Beri integrates within one holistic practice. Family Constellations address inherited, systemic patterns; somatic therapy works through the body and nervous system; and inner child work meets the younger parts of the self. Together they reach material that a single method might miss. You can explore the somatic and inner child work at somatictherapyireland.com.
Sessions, Preparation & Aftercare
No specific preparation is required for a Family Constellation session. It helps to come with an open mind, a willingness to explore, and a sense of the issue or pattern you would like to look at, though even that can emerge during the session. Wear comfortable clothing, and for online sessions, ensure you have a private, quiet space. The process itself does the work.
Every Family Constellation session is held with complete confidentiality and respect. Abi Beri creates a safe, non-judgemental space where you can explore difficult or painful family material at your own pace. Nothing is forced, and you remain in control throughout. The intention is always acknowledgement and resolution, never exposure or blame.
After a Family Constellation session, people often describe a sense of clarity, emotional relief, and a renewed connection to their family roots. Because the work touches deep material, it can also stir strong emotions in the hours or days that follow. This is a natural part of integration. It helps to rest, reflect, and give yourself time and gentleness afterwards.
The insights from a Family Constellation session tend to settle gradually over the days and weeks that follow. It helps to reflect quietly, perhaps through journalling or speaking with someone you trust, and to allow the shift to weave naturally into your relationships and choices. There is rarely anything to “do” — the resolution often continues working on its own.
Yes, Abi Beri facilitates Family Constellation groups as well as one-to-one sessions. In a group setting, other participants may represent members of your family system, which many people find especially powerful. Groups are offered both online and in person. Individual sessions use figures or markers to represent the system and are equally effective. Details of upcoming groups are available on request.
Potential Outcomes
Absolutely. Many personal challenges have roots in family dynamics. Addressing these foundational influences can indirectly facilitate healing in other areas of life.
By addressing and healing generational patterns, participants often set the stage for healthier dynamics, positively influencing both current and future generations.
Yes, by addressing personal blockages rooted in family dynamics, many find renewed clarity, confidence, and drive in their professional endeavors.