Dan,
Thank you for this summary. It again shows the value of deep experience in this
work - nothing can replace being exposed to a LOT of constellations, year after
year…
The Rev. Leslie Nipps
Convivium Constellations - Founder, Practitioner & Trainer
“Trust as a Way of Life…”
www.conviviumconstellations.com
"Hasten to that which supports." - The I Ching
On May 5, 2017, at 10:56 AM, 'Dan Booth Cohen, PhD' danboothcohen@xxxxxxxxx
[ConstellationTalk] <ConstellationTalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Jack –
Here are some of my reflections on schizophrenia and Constellations.
First, Hellinger’s pronouncements about the systemic pattern behind a given
symptom are valid in their context. Constellations are more phenomenological
than prescriptive. The field may show us a certain dynamic time after time…and
then something completely different the next time. To reduce schizophrenia to a
rule, e.g. a secret murder, collapses the field. This may be present in the
system, but I recommend not overlaying what Hellinger or anyone else says about
it. Be present to what the field reveals.
Second, the diagnosis of schizophrenia is oppressive. Its history as medical
disease and its application in contemporary psychiatry is shameful. I recommend
Robert Whitaker’s Madness in America to anyone who practices Constellations
with mental health symptoms. People with psychosis and mania are tortured by
their treatments; this has been true for centuries with little respite.
Third, while symptoms such as depression, psychosis, mania, paranoia, auditory
hallucinations and other markers of what has coalesced in the DSM diagnosis are
painfully real, many people with these symptoms suffer as much from their
medications as their symptoms. The World Health Organization did a study of the
long-term outcomes for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia in the United
States, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Chile and India. The research studied
longitudinal outcomes after 5 years and was later repeated after 10 years. In
both studies, people in the developing countries fared far better. For 75% of
them, their symptoms subsided and their resumed normal lives, while 25% were
permanently disabled. In the US and UK, the percentages were reversed. When
variables were controlled, the determining factor was medication. A person
whose symptoms return when they are “off their medication” is likely to be
suffering from medication withdrawal.
Fourth, when you work with the person, they may not present their symptoms or
diagnosis as the issue to look at. They may have an intention to find love or
live independently. I lead Constellation circles at Boston Medical Center with
a cancer patient support group. Rarely do the group members want to have a
Constellation about cancer. Just as in prison, the inmates have issues to work
with besides their criminal behavior. Constellations do not pathologize.
Finally, it is important to evaluate whether the person has a strong enough
psychological container for the work. If they are especially fragile, you may
want to not activate the trauma in their family system and instead work solely
with resources along the three dimensions of consciousness. You may also find
that people who are on heavy doses of psych meds are numbed to the subtleties
of the field experience.
Hope this is helpful. And of course, for everything I write, this is an
opposing view that is also valid.
Warmly,
Dan
10th North American Systemic Constellations Intensive, July 19-23, 2017
with Francesca Mason Boring, Bill Mannle, Suzi Tucker, Emily Blefeld and Dan
Cohen
http://constellateus.com/
From: ConstellationTalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ConstellationTalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Thursday, May 4, 2017 5:47 PM
To: Constellation Talk <constellationtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [ConstellationTalk] I have a potential client suffering from
schizophrenia. This would be a first time for me
I would love to hear from any of you who have worked with schizophrenia using
Constellation work.
Have you had any successes?
What types of patterns have you seen in the Field?
Any thoughts you would offer?
Thank you so much, Jack
Jack Blackwell (720) 458-5363
Connecting Spirit & Psychology ~ Creates Profound Insights & Healing
Family Constellation Workshops & Trainings, Group & Private Therapy Offerings
Learn more here: healingfamilytrauma.com
