Family Constellation Group Sessions Chicago
Each month, Barry Krost facilitates an in-person Family Constellations group session in the Chicago area (Bannockburn, IL). These sessions offer a supportive and respectful space to explore family relationships, generational patterns, hidden loyalties, and other systemic dynamics that may be influencing your life today.
Whether you are seeking greater understanding of a personal or family concern or are simply curious about Family Constellations, you are welcome to participate as a client, representative, or observer.
What Are Family Constellations?
Family Constellations is a systemic and experiential approach that explores how family relationships, unresolved experiences, hidden loyalties, and patterns across generations may continue influencing our lives.
At the core of the work are the Orders of Love, observations about how belonging, order, and the balance of giving and receiving contribute to balance and harmony within family systems.
People often explore concerns such as:
Repeating family or relationship patterns
Difficult relationships with parents, partners, or children
Generational trauma and unresolved loss
Feelings of disconnection or not belonging
Long-standing emotional or family dynamics
Family Constellations provides one way of exploring these influences and developing new perspectives on present-day challenges.
Who Should Attend?
These in-person Family Constellation group sessions may be a good fit if you would like to:
Explore repeating family or generational patterns
Gain a new perspective on relationship challenges
Learn more about generational trauma and unconscious family dynamics
Experience Family Constellations in a supportive group setting
Participate alongside others exploring their own family questions
No prior experience with Family Constellations is required.
What happens in a Family Constellations session?
Each in-person Family Constellation group session typically includes:
A brief introduction to Family Constellations and the Orders of Love
Three to five live Family Constellations
Opportunities to participate as a client, representative, or observer
Volunteers serving as representatives for family members, relationships, or other elements within the family system
Healing sentences and systemic interventions that support acknowledgment, connection, and new perspectives
Time for reflection and integration
Whether you receive a constellation, serve as a representative, or observe the process, each role offers an opportunity to learn through what emerges within the group.
Although the session itself comes to an end, the constellation process often continues afterward. Participants maynotice new insights, emotional shifts, or changes in relationships unfolding over the days or weeks that follow. Allowing time for this integration can be an important part of the overall experience.
Learn more: Integration After a Family Constellation.
How Are Constellations Chosen?
Each group session typically includes three to five Family Constellations. Because the number of requests often exceeds the time available, not everyone who wishes to receive a constellation can be selected at every session.
Participants are welcome to request a constellation in advance, and every effort is made to provide opportunities fairly over time. However, a constellation cannot be guaranteed on a specific date.
These ongoing groups are intended as a shared learning experience rather than a one-time opportunity to receive a personal constellation. Whether you receive a constellation, serve as a representative, or observe the process, every participant contributes to the group's exploration and learning.
Constellations are selected with consideration for:
The readiness of the individual and the group on that day
Providing opportunities as fairly as possible over time
What appears most relevant to the group's overall learning and systemic exploration
Recommended Reading
If you’re new to Family Constellations, we recommend: Family Constellations: A Practical Guide to Uncovering the Origins of Family Conflict by Joy Manne (2009)
Please read the Policies & Agreement and the Representative Guidelines for Live Workshops.
Are you new to Family Constellations?
Learn more about Family Constellations, explore our resources, or book a free online consultation.
Chicago Family Constellations Intensive, August 2026
Connecting with Others
Family Constellations is personal work that also takes place within community. Regular participants and those attending for the first time come together to share their challenges. Representatives offer themselves in service to another person's constellation, while observers may recognize something of their own families and lives. In this setting, difficult experiences can be shared rather than carried alone.
For much of human history, families lived within communities where survival, caregiving, and belonging depended upon one another. The entire community helped parents and families raise their children, providing for basic needs and belonging. The dynamics that support balance in family systems evolved within these communities.
Family Constellations offers another way of experiencing community. As people participate over time, greater familiarity, trust, and safety can develop, supporting personal healing and a sense of connection and belonging that participants can carry back into their families and everyday lives.
What we learn and experience within the Family Constellations community can extend beyond the work itself. We can carry a deeper understanding of safety, connection, belonging, and mutual support into our families, relationships, and communities.
What Participants Are Saying
★★★★★
“Barry is a phenomenal facilitator as well as instructor for systemic family constellations. He is uniquely skilled at attuning to the field, guiding both clients and representatives with varied experience levels, and navigating challenging fates and unprecedented twists.”
Jennie F.
Google Review
Schedule, Registration and Location
Chicago Group Sessions are held once a month on a Thursday from 6:30 PM–9:30 PM (CST/CDT).
Cost: $45 per session, or purchase a Three Chicago Group Session Package for $120 and pay only $40 per session.
The group is held at the La Quinta Inn & Suites, 2000 Lakeside Drive, Bannockburn, IL 60015 (Illinois Room).
Cancellation Policy
100% refund if you cancel 72 hours or more before the group or workshop. 50% refund if you cancel less than 72 hours before the group or workshop.
In person Family Constellations with Representatives
A private in-person Family Constellation session can also be arranged with recruited volunteers serving as representatives. The cost is $425 for a 90–120 minute session. Purchase a private in-person Family Constellation with representatives.
Related Resources
What Are Family Constellations
Learn the foundations of Family Constellations and how hidden family dynamics may influence emotional life and relationships.Family Constellation Therapy
Explore how systemic patterns, trauma, attachment, and unconscious loyalties may continue affecting later generations.What Is Inherited Family Trauma?
Explore how unresolved experiences in earlier generations may continue influencing emotional, relational, and family patterns.
Frequently Asked Questions
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In each session, participants explore personal or inherited issues using the Family Constellation method. Through guided facilitation, hidden dynamics within the family system are revealed using representatives or objects. Participants can either bring an issue to explore or take part as representatives for others.
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No experience is necessary. Whether you're new to Family Constellations or have participated before, you'll be supported in a welcoming, grounded space. Barry Krost explains the process and principles so everyone feels comfortable and included.
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You can bring a wide range of concerns, including:
Family conflict or estrangement
Repeating relationship patterns
Chronic emotional or physical pain
Grief or loss
Blocks around career, finances, or purpose
Generational trauma
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Yes. Respect and privacy are foundational to the work. Participants are encouraged to share only what they feel comfortable disclosing.
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Participation during pregnancy is a personal decision. Family Constellations may involve the exploration of emotionally significant topics, including family history, grief, trauma, and relationship dynamics.
Individuals who are pregnant are encouraged to consider their own circumstances and consult with their healthcare provider regarding any questions or concerns. Participation should only occur to the extent that feels appropriate for the individual.
Family Constellations is not a medical, psychological, prenatal, or healthcare service and is not intended to diagnose, treat, monitor, or prevent any medical or mental health condition.
If you have questions about participation during pregnancy, please contact Barry before registering.