Glossary of systemic constellations

Issue (Anliegen)

The concrete question or topic a person brings into a systemic constellation. The issue determines the focus and the choice of elements.

Floor anchor (Bodenanker)

Symbols, cards or objects on the floor that represent elements of a system. Clients move through the anchors themselves and experience the positions physically.

Embodiment

The bodily dimension in constellation work: resonance phenomena, tensions and impulses that representatives perceive in the system field.

Hypothesis (Hypothese)

A tentative assumption about systemic connections. Constellations generate hypotheses, not final truths.

Ego view (Ich-Perspektive)

A SYSLIA function: experiencing the constellation from the viewpoint of a single figure. Clients see the system through the eyes of an element. Read more →

Intervention

A targeted measure by the coach to change the constellation, for example a resolving sentence, a repositioning or adding a resource.

Client (Klient/Klientin)

The person working on their issue in a constellation. Responsibility for decisions always remains with the client. In the SYSLIA context: the person using the digital constellation board or taking part in an online session.

Representative (Repräsentant/in)

A person who embodies an element of the system in a representative constellation and reports perceptions, impulses or reactions from that role.

Resource (Ressource)

An element in the constellation that symbolises strengthening or supporting qualities, for example competence, trust or experience. Resources can be added deliberately to release blocked constellations.

System field (Systemfeld)

The space in which the elements of a constellation are located. The system field contains all relationships, tensions and dynamics that become visible in the constellation.

Transfer

The closing phase of a constellation: the link between the insights from the constellation and concrete action steps in everyday life. Without transfer the constellation remains an experience without lasting effect.

Variant (Variante, SYSLIA)

A saved system state in SYSLIA that documents a particular moment or scenario of the constellation. Variants make it possible to compare different system configurations directly.

Read on

The terms appear in context in the articles What is a systemic constellation?, Steps of a systemic constellation and Mechanisms of action.