The first-ever user-friendly guide on Family Constellations—a powerful group therapy method that uses family history as an avenue for understanding and resolving conflicts of the present Mapping out a “family constellation,” explains Dr. Joy Manné, encompasses exploring previous powerful life events from accidents to adoptions and accessing the deepest dynamics in that family system. This process helps us recognize and then resolve deeply seated family patterns. For example, in order to understand a person’s inability to trust, the family history of betrayal must be uncovered and released. These insights replace resentment with respect, pain with understanding. In this book, Dr. Manné uses the knowledge gained from her own practice as well as her educational experiences with Bert Hellinger—the founder of Family Constellations therapy—to clearly describe this unique therapeutic method. Most Family Constellation sessions are carried out in a group setting, with the facilitator first seeking clarity regarding the issue or problem the client has come to work out. Representatives are then chosen from among the group and the constellation is set up and worked in until it comes to resolution. This may be followed by a closing ritual and advice about how to integrate what the constellation has revealed. Through the use of real-life examples of Family Constellations, Dr. Manné makes this increasingly popular practice understandable and relatable.

This influential work by Walter Toman introduced the concept of 'family constellations' into the field of psychology. Toman argues that the position one occupies in one's family - whether as oldest child, youngest child, or only child - has a profound effect on one's personality and relationships. Drawing on extensive research and case studies, Toman presents a compelling case for the importance of understanding these dynamics in order to live a more fulfilling life. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

The Newest edition of this classic work is presented in an updated format. Dr. Toman's revisions to the text include new interpretations of statistical data, a questionnaire for reader use, and a fully updated bibliography.

What helps love to flow freely? What keeps us entangled in the lives and fates of others? What can free us from entanglements? Family constellations can help us to look at these issues and take steps towards a happier and more fulfilled life. Family members often become entangled in the lives and fates of others in the family system. This book describes this process, how this appears in family constellations, and how it can be resolved. It clarifies the orders of love in the soul that support relationships between partners, parents and children, and others in the family system. It looks at how family constellations can help lay the past to rest and redirect life energy towards the future. Jakob Robert Schneider calls upon his rich background of experience in this accessible and well-grounded look at family constellations, from the basics to the depths of this work. Constellation leaders at all levels of experience will find support and inspiration in the open and informed discussion. Non-professionals can get an overview and orientation to this approach to family systems. "This is a completely up-to-date, basic introduction to family constellations that is well structured, concise, and supported by many clear and often touching case examples. It summarises the development, basic principles, focus, attitude, and various procedures of constellations and it does so in a way that is always comprehensible, logical, differentiated, and stimulating. I know of no book that describes the broad scope of family constellations in such a clear, compact, yet comprehensive way." Dr. Gunthard Weber

This book has been written for those who are interested in deepening their understanding of the practice of family constellations. Many might ask whether this practice hasn't already been detailed in Hellinger's own books and videos. This book is a response to many practical questions of therapists and coaches. When I speak about the 'art' and 'craft' of the work, I am using these terms in the old sense. To become a painter, you have to master colours, techniques, perspective, etc. That is the master craft which the art requires. The more finely trained the craftsmanship, the more masterly will be the result of a new expression or theme. Art and depth of expression are not things which can be learned, but craftsmanship is. In addition to the few artists who truly break new ground, we have to also recognise the great number of learned practitioners of the arts. They have mastered their craft to such an extent that there is depth and expression in their work, even though they may not have developed a new, revolutionary style. In my training programme for constellation facilitators, a core of material has emerged which I pass on to those in training as a basic foundation for practising this craft. From the feedback in these groups, I am confident that this is a solid basis for the work with constellations.

The prisoners in I Carry Your Heart in My Heart are serving long-term sentences for violent crimes, mostly life - without the possibility of parole - for murder. They represent society's ultimate outcasts, personifying evil brought to justice. Sharing Family Constellations with them is actually a great privilege. These men have gone through ordeals that we can only imagine and have worked to find a way to their souls. Systemic Family Constellations are unlike cognitive, behavioral, and interpersonal therapies in their origin, form, and purpose. Constellations succeed by diminishing the unconscious impulses that drive destructive behaviors. The process reaches the invisible clockworks of the mind and heart to reveal with astonishing specificity how individual problems nest within a larger tapestry shaped by ancestral family traumas. In a heartbeat, the patterns release, opening the mind to reverence for life and compassion for others. Problems that were frozen yield to new solutions. Dan Booth Cohen spent five years leading monthly Systemic Family Constellation circles with these prisoners. This book tells stories of these experiences. It also includes rigorously researched chapters that describe Family Constellations' historic roots and underlying philosophy.