Some think they are seeking their own soul’s truth but the greater Soul is thinking and seeking through them Bert Hellinger 16 Dec 1925 - 19 Sept 2019
Family Constellations has many influences with psychological theory and philosophical thought. Bert Hellinger is known to be its major pioneer and over a number of years, combining his background and interest in family therapy, NLP and Gestalt Therapy, he later formed this work as a separate modality and named it Family Constellations.
Bert Hellinger as a young boy in Germany with a deep wish to become a priest participated in an illegal Catholic youth organization and was repeated absent from meetings with the Hitler Youth Organization, as a result the Gestapo suspected him as “Being an Enemy of the People.” He escaped from the Gestapo then he got drafted at age 17, then the reality of combat really hit him, he was later captured and began a life as a prisoner-of-war.
After getting out of the prisoner-of-war camp aged 20, he entered a Catholic religious order this began the process of purifying body, mind, and spirit mostly done in silence, through study and meditation.
Later in his life he lived in South Africa as a missionary to the Zulu. In those 16 years he learned the Zulu language, was director of a school and taught, and acted as parish priest. This time deeply shaped his later work and deepened how he understood the importance of our ancestors and family order. After 25 years he decided to leave the religious order.
He then threw himself into Psychoanalysis, he knew he wanted to work systemically and decided to combine the work he’d already been doing. He continued to explore and develop Family Constellations into what it is today.
Owing a depth of gratitude to his work the Family Constellation community continues to grow and spread throughout the world.