Thank you, Hunter, for sharing this information with us. It reminds me
that all of us as human beings have imperfections and these imperfections
can become entangled in our work as family constellation facilitators and
our view of our place in the world.
Thanks to the ISCA, and the many of us on this list who are working to
ground systemic constellation practice with sound research, ethical
practice, and the idea that when we transcend our individual identity in
our work with others we have the platform on which to build a global
movement across religious, cultural, and national boundaries.
And, of course, Bert Hellinger will always be acknowledged as the founder
of this amazing work.
Ellen
At 02:24 AM 5/28/2008, you wrote:
I've noticed a lot of discussion on constellation talk lately about
inclusion and exclusion. (There seems to be an impression floating
around that some of us are trying to exclude Bert). Also, I've read
the word "split" more than once. Those are words that evoke strong
feelings and can have powerful implications. I'd like to try to bring
the discussion back to a more factual basis.
Here are some facts from my perspective.
Recent events in Germany, France, Italy and Mexico (among others) made
it seem imperative to clarify that there is constellation work that is
different than what Bert and Sophie represent. I am purposely not
going into details, but I want to cite a few examples.
1: In France a document was submitted to the government by an official
commission (I have a copy) in which the constellation method and
constellation practitioners were explicitly named and labeled as
suspect of being a cult.
2: In Germany many universities and adult education schools refuse to
allow any constellation courses. In my personal case, continuing
education credits for a lecture I gave at the psychology department of
the university was denied because of my association with Hellinger.
There is much more, but these two examples should be enough to make
clear why we felt the need to make a public statement that "the
constellation work is more than that." That is, as representatives of
two associations we felt the need to protect our work (and yours)
against misinterpretations that have crept into the public (and the
government) mind.
The problem was how to make a differentiation without it becoming a
split.
Below is the text of our letter which was our best attempt. It took
almost a month to evolve it to this point, and for those of us who
have known Bert and loved him (some for almost 30 years), it was a
difficult task.
Please note that we are at pains NOT to split from Bert, but to
discriminate between those methods which have led to the difficult
public misunderstanding and the growing body of constellation work.
Thanks for listening.
An Open Letter of Clarification to the Systemic
Constellations Community from DGS and ISCA
Bert Hellinger and Marie-Sophie Hellinger have recently made public
statements with regard to the state of systemic constellations that we
believe to be inaccurate, and they have taken actions that are of
concern to us. For this reason we want to clarify the significant
differences between the understanding and application of systemic work
represented by Hellinger Sciencia on the one hand and DGS (German
Association for Systemic Constellations) and ISCA (International
Systemic Constellation Association) on the other.
1. We are deeply indebted to Bert Hellinger's creative work. He has
been instrumental in bringing systemic innovation into the world. It
is also true that he has been strongly influenced by other workers
preceding him. He has also been supported faithfully and generously by
friends and students who have contributed significantly to his success
over several decades. We know that in addition to Bert Hellinger's
newer contributions, many other facilitators are making useful
discoveries and finding refinements for some of his generalizations.
We believe that because of these various contributions Bert
Hellinger's achievements are greater than would have been the case
without them.
We hope that the systemic constellation work will continue to grow
both for him and also beyond his personal contributions, just as
psychoanalysis continued to grow beyond Sigmund Freud's original
formulations. We regret that Bert Hellinger currently and increasingly
presents himself as the sole source and transmitter of this great and
constantly unfolding work and neglects to acknowledge the work of many
other significant contributors.
Both DGS and ISCA affirm the creative potential of facilitators to
contribute to the development of the work, and we will continue to
support networking and mutual support among our respective members and
the general public.
2. Both DGS and ISCA are non-profit associations of constellation
facilitators whose purpose is to support the continuing development of
the systemic approach through dialog, networking, mutual learning, and
community. Both organizations are dedicated to the vision that
cooperation for the purpose of mutual learning best serves the
long-term success of the systemic constellation work. Hellinger
Sciencia is attempting to copyright the name "Bert Hellinger" and
"Family Constellation" and to establish a franchise. While we respect
their right to do so, at the same time, we regret their decision and
their methods. Both DGS and ISCA will continue to build an
international community and to offer our services to persons
interested in an "open source" approach to the continuing development
of this body of thought and work.
3. In earlier years, Bert Hellinger was generous in granting people
the right to use his name in developing institutes and training
programs. Their work has contributed greatly to his recognition and
success. Hellinger Sciencia is now asking some of those people who
have chosen not to join the franchise to forego using the Hellinger
name. By many reports, the methods used in doing so have violated the
principles of collegial interaction and have exceeded normal business
practice. Both DGS and ISCA affirm that such methods are an
inappropriate application of systemic method and theory, and we
expressly distance ourselves from such methods. Further, we commit
ourselves to hold to high standards of ethical behavior in dealing
with colleagues and the public.
4. In their personal work with seminar participants and in their work
with the larger themes of collective trauma and victim-perpetrator
dynamics, Bert and Marie-Sophie Hellinger have practiced interventions
and attitudes that make them immune to the usual and necessary
collegial exchange and the process of professional peer review. These
methods have included encouraging what we believe to be inappropriate
idealization and use of group exercises historically associated with
obedience to totalitarian regimes. We believe such idealization and
group exercises are unnecessarily provocative and have limited
constructive effect at best. In addition, these actions can be highly
insensitive to both the perpetrators and victims of all nations who
still suffer the consequences of events documented by history.
Inappropriate and unethical actions are, in our opinion, contrary to
the work as originally formulated by Bert Hellinger and as further
developed by members of DGS and ISCA. We expressly disassociate
ourselves from such actions and attitudes and urge persons interested
in the continued constructive development of the work to make a clear
distinction between any of Bert and Sophie Hellinger's personal
actions that may be construed as being inappropriate or unethical and
the larger field of systemic constellation work.
Hunter Beaumont, PhD, President, ISCA
Heinrich Breuer, PhD. Chair, DGS
Albrecht Mahr, MD, Former Chair, DGS
Constanze Potschka-Lang, Second Vice-President, ISCA
Jakob Schneider, Chair elect DGS
Richard Wallstein, PhD, Vice-President, ISCA
Gunthard Weber, MD, Founder, Former Chair, DGS
