Oftentimes, we think of health as solely a physiologic imbalance within the body. And while that is true, there are so many factors beyond physical that can influence this imbalance. As research has continued to develop, we have discovered that our mental and emotional wellbeing play a role in our physical health. For example, the field of psychoneuroimmunology explores how stress and emotional experiences affect immune function, inflammation, and chronic disease risk (1). Other research shows that families who experienced traumatic events can increase the amount of mutated genes expressed in their offspring (2, 3), even after several generations, impacting their physical health (4).
With this recent understanding, many modalities have developed to help understand the impact of the mind, our emotions, and traumatic experiences to our body. These include Somatic Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Hakomi Therapy, and hypnosis, to name a few. These modalities have become valuable due to their ability to work through patterns of stuck emotion and energy. They can help people finally lead to breakthroughs in mental and physical health after years of doing all the ‘right’ things.
What is Family Constellations Therapy?
Family Constellations therapy is a similar modality in that it provides a way to make connections to things that impact our well being that are sometimes beyond what makes sense through logical analysis. The core of this work explores how we are impacted by the systems we are involved in. Systems in this case meaning our family, our society, our communities, etc.
Although we might think our challenges, even physical, are ours alone, through the lens of Family Constellations we begin to see the impact of non-local conscious and quantum entanglement (5,6) on our life experience. By bringing these often unseen systemic influences into awareness, we create the foundation for meeting life’s challenges with greater clarity, responsibility, and compassion. From a place of honest acknowledgment, we cultivate the inner steadiness to release what no longer serves us. Then we are able to reclaim what is truly ours and move forward with a deeper sense of peace, strength, and personal sovereignty.
Origins of Family Constellations Therapy
Family Constellations Therapy is currently recognized as a psychotherapy technique developed by Bert Hellinger in the 1980’s. It’s development was influenced by his time as a Missionary working with the Zulu tribes, and later on his work as a psychotherapist. During his time in South Africa he observed ritualistic and collective approaches to conflict resolution, and later integrated insights from Freudian analysis on unconscious family dynamics with phenomenological philosophy’s exploration of consciousness and lived experience. These influences were ultimately blended together into the framework that is used today in Family Constellations to facilitate healing in both group and 1:1 settings.
Who would benefit from using Family Constellations?
- Those who may be experiencing:
- Treatment resistant physical symptoms
- Unexplained depression, anxiety, guilt or sadness
- Self-sabotage
- Feeling like you are not reaching your full potential
- When nothing you have tried seems to be changing how you feel
- Difficulty in relationships outside family of origin
- Feeling that something is ‘missing’ from our lives
- Sense of not belonging
- Feeling overwhelmed when nervous system practices don’t help
- Stuck in grief
- Noticing the same challenge repeat itself in your life
What is it like to be a part of a Constellation group?
At Heart Spring Health we offer individual and group opportunities to explore Constellation work. At the beginning of the session, a theme is briefly discussed and chosen, ranging from individual challenges, or conceptual themes. Participants explore a specific issue by spatially mapping out the factors involved, using representatives and organizing them around the room. Through guided facilitation, participants use connection to how they feel, and dialogue between each other to gain insight into unconscious influences that may be impacting their health and life challenges.
Getting Started
If this article resonates with you, I encourage you to take the next step. Call to sign up for a group offering or individual session with Dr. Ava Gettinger, ND.
Group offerings occur the first and third Monday of each month from 6:00 – 7:30pm.
We look forward to supporting you!
References
- Segerstrom, S. C., & Miller, G. E. (2004). Psychological stress and the human immune system: A meta‑analytic study of 30 years of inquiry. Psychological Bulletin. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1361287/
- Mulligan, C. J., et al. (2025). Epigenetic signatures of intergenerational exposure to violence in three generations of Syrian refugees. Scientific Reports. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11868390/
- Jawaid, A., et al. (2018). Transgenerational epigenetics of traumatic stress. Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30072057/
- Rodgers, A. B., & Bale, T. L. (2016). Germ cell origins of PTSD risk: The transgenerational impact of parental stress experience. Biological Psychiatry. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4526334
- Cohen, D. (2024). Family constellation therapy: A nascent approach for working with non‑local consciousness in a therapeutic container. Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38052327/
- Bohm, D. (2005). Wholeness and the implicate order. Taylor & Francis. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9780203995150/wholeness-implicate-order-david-bohm
Meet Dr. Gettinger
Ava Gettinger is a naturopathic doctor who believes that health is more than just disease. It is vitality, resiliency, and capacity. Her perspective on the healing journey is that it provides one of the greatest opportunities to get to know ourselves. When you make the effort to know yourself well, you can more easily adapt to the world around you. In turn, you can become less burdened by its numerous challenges.
Becoming conscious in this way allows you to recognize what habits & environments are serving you and those that are not. In turn, this supports your vitality on an emotional, spiritual and physical level, leading to an ability to integrate parts of yourself that were once challenging to face
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Gettinger, call 503-956-9396 or contact us now to schedule an appointment today.
