One of the fundamental requirements for yourself as a facilitator and your client to benefit from a constellation, is a strong observing self. Because it is such an experiential technique, a strong sense of self is important. Inner parts work can be a very effective intervention for developing the sense of self, but perhaps when starting out, you might work with individual clients who have a good observing ego and a strong sense of self.
Other important factors to remember are:
Constellations work is not the be all and the end all of healing/transformation interventions. It is also not enough.
Client contraindications:
Psychosis
A personality disorder
Organic impairment such as a stroke or TBI
Extensive developmental trauma
Be aware that if there are poor attachment relationships in the client’s history and a lack of experience of safety in interpersonal relationships that the integrity of the self may be compromised. You might refer on until you feel competent to intervene with such clients or you will refer this client for conventional psychotherapy to build the capacity for self-observation.
Facilitator contraindications:
While we always translate the information in the field through our personal paradigms and patterns, a good observing self will always be able to allow this information to exist without too much interference from their own personality and ego. For example, I will be able to say, “When you say that, I start feeling or thinking about…” and not, “YOU are feeling and thinking….”. To be a clear facilitator you must be able to read the field without imposing your own personal material and trauma onto it. Your intuition must not be contaminated by your wounding. Imposing and projecting onto your client is extremely disruptive for the client and can even be experienced as wounding for them.
You as the facilitator have a responsibility to yourself, your clients and the constellations community to take care of your psychological health and wellbeing and be aware of your limitations. We have included in your peer group structure a feedback protocol that supports facilitator awareness of blindspots. Intervision (new word for supervision) with an experienced and trusted colleague is the other avenue to expanding awareness as a facilitator. The absence of a strong sense of self also results in getting lost in the field of the client. The spiritual practices below will support this ability to differentiate between self and other. Poor attachment dynamics result in the tendency to enmesh rather than connect, and this can be addressed in both conventional psychotherapy and also with a skilled constellations facilitator.
Remember that as a facilitator, you have an important tool for yourself with constellations. If you would like to know more about your blindspots from the field rather than from your peers and supervisors, ask a trusted colleague or peer group to help you with a constellation of your issue. Always consider that you might not be ready to be a facilitator, and may need to first go into conventional therapy to strengthen the integrity of your ‘self’.
Transpersonal theorists have hypothesized the need for healing interventions AND a spiritual practice. Erik teaches Kriya yoga and Kabbalah as practices that support the facilitator by developing energetic centres that develop a clear boundary between one’s own field and the field of the facilitator. While intellectual or rational understanding may masquerade as an observing self, it is rarely clear. Often in Western society, we have differentiated only at the level of mind and intellect, and not at a deeper level. Here again spiritual practices and regular personal constellations will support this process.