Constellation intention

The intention of a constellation is the specific question the client decides to work with. It's not 'my life', it's not 'all my problems': it is one concrete dynamic that one wishes to see and work with in the field. Defining it well at the beginning of the session is decisive for the power of the work.

Characteristics of a well-formulated intention: it is concrete (not abstract), it is in the first person, it focuses on a single dynamic (not several mixed), it points to something the client can shift (not to expecting others to change), it acknowledges the emotional cost of the work. Valid examples: 'I want to see my place in the maternal lineage', 'I want to understand what stands in the way of having a stable relationship', 'I want to work on my relationship with my father'.

Frequent traps: 'I want to be happy' (too abstract), 'I want my mother to change' (doesn't depend on the client), 'I want everything' (the session becomes diffuse), 'I want to understand why I am this way' (the constellation is not for understanding but for shifting).

Collaborative work: the constellator helps refine the intention if it comes across as vague. Sometimes the first work of the session is precisely to narrow down the correct intention. Without a clear intention, the representatives and the field don't know where to go.