Great example Daniel!
I suspect that quantitative research could also be done.
For example.
Take three groups of relatives of people with a serious drug addiction.
Group 1: does a weekend educative workshop about co-dependency and related
matters
Group 2: Does a constellation workshop
Group 3: Does nothing
Use a burden of care questionnaire ( used often with relatives of Alzheimer's
patients) at 6, 12 and 18 months. Then analyse the differences in outcomes
between the 3 groups.
Obviously this would need quite a lot of finessing. I am just writing this to
suggest that it is real possibility.
hasta la vista
Chris Walsh
An Australian Constellation Website:
www.constellationflow.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Daniel Booth Cohen
To: ConstellationTalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, 20 August 2003 10:21 AM
Subject: RE: [ConstellationTalk] research and articles for the journal
Sheila - Thanks for your thoughtful response. I agree on all points, yet
also feel that the attempt is worth making.
From "Afterward, You're a Genius," the English King Charles II collapsed
while shaving, perhaps of a heart attack or stroke. Fourteen doctors rushed to
his aid. First a pint of blood was taken from His Majesty's right arm. Then
his shoulder was cut open and another eight ounces of blood were cupped out.
He was given an emetic to make him vomit, two purgatives, an enema, another
purgative, and two hours later, still another purgative. His head was shaved;
his scalp was blistered. He was dosed with powdered hellebore root to make him
sneeze and powdered cowslip flowers to fortify his brain. To soothe his system
after the cathartics, he was given barley water flavored with licorice, and
almonds. Cups of absinthe and white wine were provided. His feet were
plastered with a mix of Burgundy pitch and pigeon dung. Again he was bled, and
purged. In the final act, the assembly of physicians, so not to appear to fail
in doing their duty, forced a mixture of Raleigh's antidote, pearl julep and
ammonia down the dying King's throat.
The Constellation method did not sprout like a mushroom, it emerged from what
came before. There are thousands of failed healing methods and techniques that
lie discredited and forgotten. I think we owe our clients some sustained
efforts to test the question, "Do constellations do any good?"
The questionnaire and methodology need to be designed to address Sheila's
concerns, which are well articulated and legitimate. I am counting on this
group's continued guidance and support.
Dan
-----Original Message-----
From: sheila saunders [mailto:peacefulcentre@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2003 6:16 PM
To: ConstellationTalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [ConstellationTalk] research and articles for the journal
In response to the dialogue below, just a few thoughts on research: Hunter
Beaumont and Ursula Franke have been involved in ongoing research motivated by
Rupert Sheldrake, on the effects of the "morphic field". I don't know how
fruitful this has been, but it was started several years ago. Ursula has also
written on her research into individual work in the book In My Mind's Eye. As
for outcome studies: participants at a workshop are advised not to talk about
their constellation, nor ask others about theirs, as this brings the work from
the level of the soul into the level of the mind, and interrupts the movements
as the person tries to articulate that which has been happening on a different
level. In my own experience, I have at some point after a constellation, been
able to talk about certain aspects of it, in certain ways, but I have not
talked about every constellation I have done, nor have I evaluated the outcome!
of each one. If asked, I may feel a need to "please" by indicating that there
is a good outcome, or I may not be able to see the good effects due to some
current difficulty, or if there has been an effect that others may consider
good FOR me, I may not see it that way, or I may have wanted one thing and
something else happened (I wanted the constellation to save my marriage and it
broke up, may be good for me in the long run, but I don't see it that way the
day the questionnaire arrives). Etc., etc., etc. It's not simple. In
reality, many of the most positive effects are so very subtle as to show
themselves over a long period of time, and may in fact be larger than most
people would notice, if that's not too contradictory!
Perhaps one could announce at each workshop, that they are doing research
into the effects of the work, and if so inclined, a participant could call back
6 months later and further information will be sent about participatiton in the
study (course, most won't call...). The down side there is that it sets up
expectations in the client that perhaps they will notice something in 6 months,
and of course, that is not necesarily the case. If they take a questionnaire
with them, it will direct them mentally to look in certain directions. If they
recieve one in the mail in 6 months, it could interrupt their process. Then
there is the "after constellation glow"- once it wears off, some discount the
experience altogether and would be eager for the opportunity to complain about
the failure.
Lastly, I have found it to be similar to homeopathy in this way (as well as
others): the client experiences some very positive changes in their life, but
does not attribute them to the 15 minute constellation that occurred 9 months
ago, that they didn't even understand anyway, for instance. (Like they rarely
attribute positive changes to the 2 homeopathic pellets they took 6 months
ago...).
Not to be a ney-sayer, just some thoughts that come up. When I get my PhD,
you can bet I will be searching for a project in this area as well!! I would
actually LOVE there to be a body of information regarding outcomes; this would
be very good in the field of medicine for instance, not that the mainstream
medical community has yet availed themselves of the volumes of anecdotal
information available regarding any number of alternative treatments... But, I
maintain hope. Testimonial can be powerful, and those familiar with the work,
facilitating workshops, training others, could easity write an anecdote about
the experience resulting from a constellation. We would have MANY hundreds of
anecdotes if this alone was done. Maybe that's a place to start. Solicit the
information from current facilitators - there were 2,500 people involved
somehow with the work at Wurzberg in April- not all facilitators, but all with
some interest somehow. !
I would solicit the opinions of some of the experienced facilitators (mostly
German, but several from other countries as well, including Anngwynn St. Just
and Dyrian Benz-Chartrand from the US- addresses can be found on my site). This
issue of research has not excaped them, they mostly have academic backgrounds
and know well the ups and downs on research in general, and I'm sure have some
thoughts about its application here.
As always, all the best, and I enjoy the dialogues to be found here. sheila
Sheila Saunders, RN, MFT
Systemic Family Solutions
www.systemicfamilysolutions.com
sheila@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Great Smokies Medical Center
1312 Patton Ave.
Asheville, NC. 28806
cell: 828-273-5015
fax: 828-255-8118
>From: "Daniel Booth Cohen"
>Reply-To: ConstellationTalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: RE: [ConstellationTalk] research and articles for the journal
>Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 07:14:58 -0400
>
>Sarah - I am a graduate student in Psychology at Saybrook Graduate School in
>San Francisco. I'm just beginning to look at the structure and scope of my
>dissertation topic. Perhaps my best way to contribute to the field would be
>to design a dissertation that serves to support the acceptance of
>constellation work amongst the broader therapeutic community.
>
>Without getting into details here, I would very much like to participate in
>research tracking the outcomes for clients 6 or 12 months following their
>constellations. Let's look at how we might collaborate.
>
>Dan >
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Sarah Moore [mailto:sarahmoore@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] ;
>Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2003 12:13 AM
>To: ConstellationTalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [ConstellationTalk] research and articles for the journal
>
>dear all,
>i really want to get cracking on producing some stuff for the journal. if
anyone has already written articles or would like to have a new one published,
please feel free to write away and send me their stuff. am interested in
personal accounts as well as academic musings and theorisings. also maybe
descriptions of unusual interventions or things
>happening during constellation work.
>
>also i would like to do some research on follow up from clients who have
done a constellation workshop at least 6 months ago. i'm developing a
questionairee that can be done via phone or face to face interview or sent by
post and filled in by client. i'll also make a permission and privacy statement
for anyone participatin g in study. and if anyone
>could help out here with letting me know of clients of theirs who have done
contellation work 6 months or more ago who would be willing to participate in
an (anonymous of course) study gauging the impact of the work on thier lives,
could they please contact me. after i've done the survey, i'd really appreciate
any help with stats crunching from people in the group who have experience in
this, i'm thinking of the psychologists (alemka? katherine?), as medicos have
limited experience in this. love to all and happy contellationing. sarah
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