**Daan van Kampenhout** is a Dutch Constellator and ritual healer, born in 1962. Trained directly by Bert Hellinger, he integrates the systemic method with shamanic ritual traditions (Saami, Mongolian, Amazonian indigenous) that he has studied for decades.
His contribution is a bridge between two worlds that most Constellators work on separately: that of the Hellingerian systemic approach and that of traditional ritual practices of indigenous peoples to heal the clan's dead, integrate ancestors, and restore the flow of the lineage. His book *Images of the Soul: Family Constellations and Shamanic Rituals* (Alma Lepik, 2008) systematizes this integration.
His work is controversial within the field: respected by practitioners who value the spiritual-ritual dimension of the approach, criticized by academic Constellators who prefer to maintain a distance between Constellations and traditional practices. Hellinger himself, in his later years, moved toward work closer to van Kampenhout's—the 'movements of the soul'.
For Constelando, he appears as a reference for therapists who feel that the pure systemic method does not exhaust the sacred dimension of working with ancestors. His work offers a framework for integrating ritual without falling into uncontrolled syncretism.
Evidence and contemporary voices
No peer-reviewed academic or clinical research on Daan van Kampenhout is identified in databases such as PubMed, PsycINFO, or Scopus, nor in systemic psychology or family therapy literature. Van Kampenhout is mentioned in non-academic contexts as a Family Constellations facilitator, integrating shamanic ritual elements, but without empirical studies validating his methods. In the Hellingerian field, authors such as Hellinger (1998) and Ulsamer (2001) describe phenomenological extensions but do not cite van Kampenhout in rigorous publications. Institutions such as the University of Heidelberg, associated with Gunthard Weber (a systemic pioneer), do not record verifiable contributions by van Kampenhout. The absence of controlled clinical findings reflects the general classification of Constellations as pseudotherapy (Ortiz-Talló & Gross, 2010).
Notes and open debates
Van Kampenhout's practices, by integrating shamanic rituals with Constellations, lack scientific validation and are framed within criticisms of Hellingerian methods for suggestion, lack of falsifiability, and ethical risks, such as the induction of false memories or the justification of abusive dynamics (Fundación PSF, 2023; Psyciencia, 2015).
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Bibliography
- Images of the Soul: Family Constellations and Shamanic Rituals — Daan van Kampenhout. Alma Lepik, 2008.
These books are in the reference library that nourishes Constelando el Origen.
Related terms
Movement of the soul
An evolved form of the method where the facilitator intervenes minimally and allows the field to find its own solution.
See entryAncestral memory
A set of experiences, traumas, and learnings lived by ancestors that a descendant carries unknowingly, manifesting in inexplicable symptoms, patterns, and attractions.
See entryBody of the clan (family soul)
A Hellingerian concept that designates the family system as a living entity with its own consciousness, operating above the individual will of each member.
See entryFamily Constellation
A therapeutic method developed by Bert Hellinger that makes visible the hidden dynamics of the family system through representatives in space.
See detailsA session that names what hurts
If you recognize this dynamic in your own story, a Family Constellation can reveal where it comes from and what movement brings order to it. Daniela respectfully accompanies each case.
Sessions in Spanish only