E-Book, Englisch, 155 Seiten
Franke In My Mind's Eye
1. Auflage 2017
ISBN: 978-3-8497-8110-1
Verlag: Carl Auer Verlag
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark
Family Constellations in Individual Therapy and Counselling
E-Book, Englisch, 155 Seiten
ISBN: 978-3-8497-8110-1
Verlag: Carl Auer Verlag
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark
"In My Mind's Eye" is the first book about family constellations in individual therapy and counselling. The procedures presented rest on a broad range of therapeutic knowledge and experience from various psychological methods and approaches.
In the first section, Ursula Franke describes the foundations of her therapeutic work. The second part addresses the inner processes, questions, and decisions leading to interventions, that guide the therapist through the whole process of a constellation. The main focus is on the techniques of constellations in individual therapy, and on constellations in the imagination, which the author has developed over years of experience and observation.
Fachgebiete
Weitere Infos & Material
Setting
TIME FRAME
In my individual practice, fifty minutes is the usual time for a single session. It is sometimes possible to answer a client’s question or develop an image of resolution to a problem with one constellation in a single session. It is, of course, possible to vary the length of sessions, for example, to one and a half or two hours if that seems useful or necessary. If it becomes clear that a client will need more than the allotted time for the presenting problems and the family history, these can be dealt with in a constellation in a second or later session. However, fifty minutes has usually proven to be adequate, and the available time can be easily subdivided into individual steps, which are: – 10 minutes for the description of the presenting difficulty and clarification of the issues – 10 minutes for a family case history – 20 minutes for the constellation and steps towards an image of resolution – 10 minutes for a follow-up discussion and homework assignments. Within this framework, it is possible to accompany the client through a process that is often deeply emotional and guide him or her back into everyday life. If it becomes clear after taking the case history that it is too late to begin a constellation and complete the whole process within the available time, it is advisable to postpone the constellation until the next session. The time in the session can be used to make issues more concrete through body and breathing experiments, practising relaxation techniques, and clarifying the first homework exercises. These exercises, familiar from systemic therapy and behaviour therapy, will serve as a useful resource in the constellation. An important consideration in determining the use of time in a session is that the visualization of family members often brings up deep emotions. Sometimes a trance is so deep that it makes sense for a client to spend some time in the waiting room after the session to get back to a ‘normal’ state. It is the responsibility of the therapist to ensure that a client leaves in a state conducive to travelling and is able to get safely home or to work. SPACE, FURNISHINGS, AND EQUIPMENT
To identify the positions of family members within the working space, we use so-called floor markers. A client can experiment with these marked places during the constellation process. The person stands in context within the system and finds a good place to stand by noticing any difference when changes are made. This physical experience will be anchored in the physical organization as a new structure. When I do constellations using floor markers, I prefer to work with full-sized sheets of typing paper. These are readily available and provide exactly enough room for both feet. White sheets of paper, or surfaces and objects with no particular meaning offer an ideal screen for the projection of inner images. Pieces of felt in various colours of a similar size are also pleasant to work with and easily differentiated. One can also cut cardboard markers, large enough to stand on, using round forms for females in the system and square for males. When using paper, cardboard, or felt, the direction the person is to be facing can be indicated by cutting out a small ‘v’ on one side, or drawing an arrow. The markers can also be identified with names, initials, or symbols. When the client is asked directly how a person in question is looking at him or her, the answer will also include the direction. For example, she is looking lovingly, or demandingly, or looking through the client, or in another direction which the client will indicate. The question itself guides the client to an inner contact with that person and sets the therapeutic process in motion. Flat markers, as opposed to cushions, have the advantage that you can stand on them and they remain stable. We know from body therapies that standing has a different effect on the body organization than sitting or lying down. A standing position is the end result of our physical developmental process. Experiencing an emotional process in a standing position gives a person a sense of being able to ‘stand it’. When the client’s inner structure demands it, sitting allows for more distance in the role of observer. The organization of the available space is determined by what is possible given the external situation and by the way the therapist chooses to work. In seminar rooms or counselling centres, there are often enough chairs available that can be used to represent individual family members and identify their positions. Chairs are somewhat unwieldy to use, but many clients feel more secure sitting than being exposed to the eyes of the therapist in an unaccustomed standing position. Even a small space usually has enough room to lay out two or three markers. I have about 12 square metres available, which is quite sufficient for a constellation with markers. The limitations help concentrate the work on the essential aspects. If, for example, the client or another family member seems too close, it is possible to imagine extending the space. “In your inner picture, move away until you find a distance that feels right for you,” or, “Imagine that your grandfather is moving away from you, as far away as necessary.” In a very small room constellations can be done using small figures or objects on a table. CONSTELLATIONS IN ON-GOING INDIVIDUAL THERAPY
Family constellations can also enrich and complement an on-going therapy. If you are already working with a client in individual, ‘classical’ therapy and would like to do a constellation in an individual session, taking the first steps may feel awkward. A good way to do this is by introducing short exercises or choosing one single dynamic to be explored and examined together with the client. The transition can be very smooth and undramatic. Take a family history, if that has not already been done, and choose the most important people from the history. You can put all the information you have to date in order by drawing a systemic genogram. In the course of the therapy and based on your previous work with constellations, you may have already formed some hypotheses about which members of the system and which dynamics could be influencing the current issues. If, for example, you know of someone in the family who died at an early age, or you know that the relationship with one parent is problematic, you can lead the client into an imaginary encounter with that person and observe the feelings, the physical reactions, and the quality of contact. A good experience can be deepened with homework exercises. Gradually, as your familiarity with the system increases and flows into the work, you can address various topics and dynamics in successive sessions. When a client first initiates individual therapy, look at the presenting problem, symptoms, and issues for possible family connections. Perhaps someone is seeking support in issues of everyday functioning that do not necessarily call for treatment from a systemic viewpoint. Even when it does appear that the family dynamics are playing a role in the presenting issues, it does not necessarily mean that a constellation is the first step to be taken. Sometimes an explanation of the psychological dynamics can be helpful. Sometimes a direct behavioural or cognitive approach is called for. From time to time simple exercises in physical relaxation will answer the client’s needs and wants. FREQUENCY OF SESSIONS
Clients often come in with problems with underlying dynamics that are multi-layered and highly complex. From a systemic viewpoint, it is sufficient to take a single step in the desired process of resolution. There will be an impact on the total organism because of the reciprocity of all elements and the complex connections of the various layers. This first, small impetus may lead to extensive beneficial changes over a period of time. What we have observed is that working through and integrating deeply emotional processes is a long term undertaking. Only when this step has been completed is someone prepared to take another step of this emotional quality. It can take weeks or months, sometimes years, before an additional constellation is appropriate and useful. Whereas behaviour therapists usually tend to have a weekly rhythm and analytic therapists prefer more frequent sessions, resolution-orientated and systemic brief therapies are distinctive in that there are fewer sessions with longer periods of time between. When my clients ask when they should come again, I follow their wishes and feelings. If it is not yet clear, we leave the next appointment open: “Call me when you feel ready to take another step, or if any questions arise that you want to look at”. This has proven very satisfactory. Clients take responsibility for themselves, attend to their own intuition, and come to the point when they feel motivated from within to look at their problems anew. Following a constellation, if a client wants to continue to come regularly to deal with everyday problems or discuss further issues, it is helpful for the therapist to have a broad range of therapeutic and methodological experience to draw upon. In the time between sessions the client can...
