Nicola Dunn was born and raised in New Zealand and came to the UK in her early 20’s. 

After following an initially conventional study path she took a sharp turn in her early 20’s and took her first step into the world of health by studying nutrition and then psychotherapy. After individual psychotherapy she studied group and family therapy which led her neatly to family constellations and a trans-generational approach. She has worked extensively in the NHS, has taught constellations for the last eleven years and more recently co-founded ‘The Constellations Academy’.  She has run Family Constellations Workshops and given talks about systemic work in the UK, Hong Kong, Canada and Europe.

In this episode, we talked about:

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• Nicola is a psychotherapist and studied family constellations after having a body ‘hunch’

• “There’s a great truth in the body, that if we listen to, can lead us in the right direction”

• Nicola’s background was in body-orientated psychotherapy and the interface between Eastern and Western approaches

• Constellations are systems-orientated, including biological systems. Constellations look at elements within healthy systems and seek to find coherence

• Systems could relate to family systems, businesses or a piece of creative work

• The founder was Bert Hellinger, a German philosopher and psychotherapist who died last year in his mid-90s. He was responsible for the global sp

• Other notable people involved in systemic constellations include Virginia Satir,

• Bert Hellinger was introduced to the concept by Thea Schönfelder, a German child and adolescent psychiatrist 

• “The magic is in the integration”

• Constellations is very interested in creation, starting at conception and valuing the synergy between men and women or partners

• Constellations are a moment of grace. There’s a possibility of new information coming in

• The synergy between someone coming for a session to do with something in their life that they can’t get to flow, and trans-generational trauma and history in their extended family. It’s not necessary for them to know the details of their family history

• Constellations are not fully understood, but there is a vast amount of experience

• A person can experience constellations in a group setting or ‘desk-top’ or with internal imagery

• Issue-holders work on their own issues, representatives stand in and represent members of the family. Representatives receive information when they stand in the room

• Connecting with the collective unconscious

• Families have the narrative about their history. This narrative is not sufficient to deal with the issue in front of the person. Things that are unfinished or uncomfortable tend not to be included. Situations in the family history include children that died early or were born out of wedlock, parents people lost in war, relatives left in a war-torn country. Grief and pain are unstandable reasons for a family to make an edited life history

• Listening to the gaps in the story

• Information comes through that helps to validate for the issue-holder

• Constellations can be fast-moving and gives an expanded view and experience to given an opportunity for change

• Standing in the family soul. Those that are more sensitive (emotionally or creatively) have a greater fine-tuning to that which is not resolved in their family soul

• Sometimes people try to replicate the past by their own suffering instead of walking into their individual futures. 

• If you honour someones’ life, fate and choices, it’s strengthening and stops the replication of entanglement

• “Use your own life wisely, as life is such a gift”

• Order matters e.g which twin was the first born

• Cultures that are closer to their roots have reverence for their ancestors

• Standing in the maternal or paternal line is a strengthening experience and a sense of being part of a continuum

• Addressing creative blocks with systemic constellations . What needs to be resolved in a family system to be able to continue with a creative project

• Regarding family businesses, the forces of family have greater strength over purely business decisions

• The concept of ancestral gratitude is familiar in constellations and for generations in the future

• Using constellations to bring people into coherence on a countrywide level

• Regarding the coronavirus pandemic: how rapidly we have had to change our behaviours. Giving up things that may give pleasure but aren’t for the greater good. Needing to communicate and be more caring. Society is a collection of linked, small groups. Compassion for suffering.

• Individual psychotherapy and constellations can work well together

• Using the body as an instrument of truth

• “The spirit is willing but the flesh is wise’, Bert Hellinger

Resources:

Nicola Dunn Constellations

The Constellations Academy

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