Family Constellations Therapy: Core concepts & practice

CPD courses for psychologists

This introductory workshop provides psychologists and mental health professionals with a foundational understanding of Systemic Family Constellations Therapy. Presented by internationally respected facilitator Yishai Gaster, the session explores the philosophical, cultural, and clinical roots of the approach, including its origins in the work of Bert Hellinger and influences from Zulu traditions.

Yishai guides participants through a shift in perspective - from viewing individuals in isolation to understanding them within the context of multi-generational family systems. The presentation covers essential theoretical concepts such as transgenerational transmission of trauma, systemic orders, belonging, and the balance of giving and taking in family dynamics. Key therapeutic elements—including phenomenology, representation, transference, and countertransference—are explored in relation to clinical application.

This rich and reflective presentation equips professionals with practical and conceptual tools to begin incorporating systemic thinking into their practice and to better understand the often unseen dynamics that shape client behaviour and emotional experience.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this talk, participants will be able to:

Helping families Help: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Eating Disorder Recovery
Parent Alienation Part 1. Defining the Problem
Five Pathways to Parental Estrangement: Understanding How Estrangement Emerges, and Where Intervention Is Still Possible
Loss and Gain during COVID-19
Managing Parent Counselling
Safety, Connection and the Autonomic Nervous System: Attachment Theory and Polyvagal Theory
Understanding ADHD Through an Executive Functioning Lens
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - Part 3. Lack of Contact with Values vs Values and Inaction/Impulsivity vs Committed_Action
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - Part 2. Fusion vs Defusion and Avoidance vs Acceptance