The Family Systems Hub

The Family Systems Hub Healing and transforming relationships within the family system - one generation at a time.

Sometimes what we are carrying does not have words.It shows up in patternsin relationshipsin emotions that feel bigger t...
18/04/2026

Sometimes what we are carrying does not have words.

It shows up in patterns
in relationships
in emotions that feel bigger than the moment

And often, it belongs to something larger than us.

Family constellations offers a way of gently seeing this.

A way of bringing understanding to what has been held for a long time.

From this place, there can be more space.
More clarity.
More ease.

If you feel drawn to explore this work:

• Our group constellations offer a powerful shared field of experience
• 1:1 sessions provide a more personal and supported space
• Our training is open for those feeling called to go deeper

18/04/2026

The Story That Was Never Spoken

When they first came, it looked like things were going well.

A father and his daughter rebuilding life after the sudden loss of her mother.

There was laughter in sessions. Small moments of connection. A sense of steadiness returning.

But one absence stayed consistent.

Her mother was never mentioned.

Not once.

Over time, that silence became something we could gently notice together. Not to force, but to make room.

So the father began to speak. At first through stories. Memories. Moments from before.

Then slowly, we moved closer to what lived underneath those stories.

Feelings. Not just facts.

And for a long time, it stayed at that level. Safe. Contained. Manageable.

Until one day, it did not.

He stopped speaking.

And in the silence, something broke open.

He cried. Deeply. Fully.

And then he spoke to his daughter directly.

He told her it hurt that they had not been able to speak about her mother together.

She did not turn away.

She stayed with him.

And then she cried too.

In that shared moment, something that had been held alone for so long became shared.

Everything after that changed slowly. Quietly.

She began to engage with reminders of her mother. She became more open in conversation. Less shut down. More present.

Not because grief disappeared.

But because it was no longer carried in isolation.

12/04/2026

Systemically, healing doesn’t require us to forgive the unforgivable or pretend that the past was different than it was. It also doesn’t ask us to like what happened.

It simply asks us to stop fighting the reality of the primary bond.

We often live with a painful inner split. Our conscious mind says about our mother, “I don’t need her,” or “I’m better off without that connection.” We use blame or judgment as a protective shield to keep the pain at a distance. But underneath that shield, another part of us remains perpetually turned toward her.

This is the part of us that took life through her. It is the part that knows, on a cellular level, that we are 50% mother. When we reject the mother, we inadvertently reject the half of ourselves that came from her.

This silent contradiction is where we get “entangled.” We find ourselves unable to fully receive, whether it’s love, joy, abundance, success, or even money. That’s because we have closed the door to our primary source of receiving.

The shift begins when we stop trying to force forgiveness and instead move toward acknowledgment.

By seeing the truth that we still crave the source we consciously blame, we finally become whole enough to walk our own path.

Fully taking in our parent requires first acknowledging what is as is. It means being in harmony with what you have received and letting go of what you haven’t got. Which is a great loss to come into deep acceptance with.

Acknowledgment sounds like: “You are my mother. I am your child. You gave me life, and the rest was difficult.” When we allow the hidden loyalty to surface, the internal fight loses its intensity. We stop using our energy to hold the door shut. We can then breathe. Our family system can also breathe.

If this speaks to something in you, we are holding a space to explore this in our upcoming online Family Constellations session, The Mother. Link in Bio.

10/04/2026

One of the most common questions parents ask when they enter the playroom is:

“What do you want me to do in here?”

In a recent conversation with Dave Lovegrove, one of our highly experienced child and family play therapists, his response captured the heart of our work:

“I just want you to be you.”

Because when a parent shows up as they are, in real time, we begin to see their world. Their responses. Their instincts. Their patterns.

And that gives us something real to work with.

Not a performance. Not a strategy. But the truth of how relationships are actually lived.

From there, we can begin to build understanding. And from understanding, connection.

09/04/2026

In a conversation I had with Dave Lovegrove, one of our incredible child and family therapists at the Hub, we spoke about something many parents feel but don’t always have words for.

There’s something powerful about watching a child be fully accepted for who they are.

Especially the children with big energy, big movement, and big expression.

In the playroom, they are not asked to be less of themselves. They are met exactly where they are.

And yet, this doesn’t mean anything goes.

What Dave spoke to so beautifully is the balance we hold as play therapists, offering children both freedom and boundaries. A space where they can explore, while being gently supported to build their capacity to regulate. Because over time, the shift doesn’t come from control.

It comes from being supported to find regulation from within.

“As you look at your mother, so you look at life.”In Family Constellations, the mother represents far more than an indiv...
07/04/2026

“As you look at your mother, so you look at life.”

In Family Constellations, the mother represents far more than an individual relationship. She is our first connection to life, to nourishment, and to belonging.

When this bond is disrupted or unresolved, it can manifest across multiple domains - relational challenges, emotional disconnection, difficulty receiving, and even physical symptoms.

The Mother is an online family constellations session designed to explore these dynamics through a systemic lens.

Participants will have the opportunity to:
• Understand the role of the mother in shaping life orientation, abundance and vitality

• Explore patterns held within the maternal lineage

• Gain insight into relational dynamics and their origins

• Experience processes that support integration and alignment

This work does not focus on blame or analysis. Instead, it creates space for a shift in perception - one that allows greater access to resilience, abundance, clarity, and connection.

For practitioners, parents, and individuals interested in systemic approaches, this offers both professional insight and personal depth.

Tickets on Sale Now. Spaces are limited.

Comment MOTHER and will send you the dets.



familyconstellations familysystems ancestralhealing generationalhealing motherwound

05/04/2026

We often believe that physical distance from our parents is the same thing as emotional freedom. We move away and limit communication, assuming that by removing a person from our environment, we have removed the internal weight they carry in our system. But in a systemic sense, separation is not the same as peace.

When we “cut off” or reject a parent, we inadvertently reject the half of ourselves that came from them. The “No” we say to them becomes an unconscious “No” to our own vitality. We carry that weight wherever we go.

Our first movement in life is an instinctive opening toward our parents. But for many of us, that connection was interrupted by illness, absence, or grief. To protect ourselves, we contracted. We withdrew, and that contraction became our blueprint for how we meet the world as adults.

As Bert Hellinger, the founder of Systemic Family Constellations, taught, true freedom isn’t found in walking away. It’s found in the courage to complete the movement that was broken.

Healing that original contraction means honouring the natural order of life: that they are the “Big Ones” and we are the “Little Ones.” It is only from this place of acknowledgment that we can fully receive the gift of life itself. It is a soul level surrender where we can finally say:

“I take the life you gave me, at the full price it cost you and the full price it costs me. It is enough. I will make something good with it.”

In that acknowledgment, the tangled feeling shifts. We move forward, not out of rejection or a need to prove ourselves, but out of a steady sense of being solid in our own skin. The struggle ends. We stop outrunning our history and start building a life that is actually ours.

We do not leave because we are finished with them, but because we have finally moved into the full reality of our own lives.

healingjourney

This quote by Marianne Franke-Gricksch, a systemic practitioner, can land a bit hard at first. It did for me. As a mothe...
04/04/2026

This quote by Marianne Franke-Gricksch, a systemic practitioner, can land a bit hard at first. It did for me. As a mother, everything in me wants to help, to step in, to make things better for my daughter.

Recently, something came up for her that really shook me. I could feel myself go straight into fix-it mode. My mind started racing… what support does she need, who do I call, what appointments do I book, how do I make this easier for her? In the middle of that, a very beautiful wise woman said to me, “You can’t fix this for her.”

I felt it land slowly. At first, there was resistance. And then, I let my shoulders drop, surrendering to this difficult truth with a big exhale and the words "Yes, I know." Something in me knew she was right. It didn’t mean I don’t support my daughter. Of course I do. She still needs guidance, care, and the right supports around her as she navigates what she’s going through. But it shifted something deeper in me. It brought me back to the question… how do I stay anchored? How do I be a place she can lean into for connection, guidance, and loving boundaries, without trying to take this experience away from her?

And the truth is, it brings me back to myself.

What I’m noticing is how much this is asking of me as a mother. It’s stretching my capacity. It’s also bringing me face to face with parts of my own past: memories from when I was her age, or a bit older, as a teenager. There is suffering there. But there is also an invitation for the adult in me to turn towards those younger parts of myself. To acknowledge what was painful. And to give myself what I didn’t have in those moments.

For me, that looks like slowing down. Rest. Long hot showers. Listening to music that lets me feel. Talking things through with my closest friends. Sitting with my therapist. Letting myself cry when the emotion needs to move. None of this is about stepping away from my daughter. It’s actually what allows me to stay with her. To not get pulled into panic or urgency. To hold steadier ground.

So when I read, “Never help your daughter. That weakens her. Help yourself,” I don’t hear it as harsh anymore. I hear it as a reminder. That what I give to myself matters.

In the systemic sense, I am the source she drinks from. When I turn toward my own healing and nourish the woman in me, I ensure the mother is full. By clearing my own path, I allow the life-force to flow to her unobstructed: clear, steady, and strong. Whatever I give to myself, she receives too; not just as a gift of the present, but as a blueprint for how she will meet herself and her life in the future.

03/04/2026

What we resist often holds the key...

Sometimes we come to therapy thinking it’s just about our child. But often, the real work is with the parent and with the whole family system.

Exploring what’s going on for ourselves can feel uncomfortable, even painful, and sometimes it brings up things we haven’t faced before. That’s natural.

Having a safe space to reflect, process, and grow as a parent allows you to show up more fully for your child, your partner, and your family. When we do the work on ourselves, relationships deepen, understanding grows, and connection becomes richer.

Therapy isn’t just for children......it’s for the whole family.

Dave Lovegrove - Child & Family Play Therapist & Parent Mentor

01/04/2026

Sometimes we come to therapy thinking it’s just about our child. But often, the real work is with the parent and with the whole family system.

Exploring what’s going on for ourselves can feel uncomfortable, even painful, and sometimes it brings up things we haven’t faced before. That’s natural.

Having a safe space to reflect, process, and grow as a parent allows you to show up more fully for your child, your partner, and your family. When we do the work on ourselves, relationships deepen, understanding grows, and connection becomes richer.

Therapy isn’t just for children......it’s for the whole family.



Dave Lovegrove consults from Thornbury, Surf Coast and Online.

31/03/2026

🔥 Hurry – Only a few spots left! 🔥

Are you ready to scale your impact by empowering the family system? Our Filial Family Therapy (FFT) Skills Training is nearly full! 🏠✨

It is an intensive professional certification for clinicians who already have a foundation in Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT). Led by Helen Younan-Barrett, this 3-day training teaches you the clinical architecture required to train and supervise parents as they conduct therapeutic sessions with their own children.

Why join this intensive?
💓 Master the FFT Model: From initial intake to successful termination.
💓 Parent Coaching: Learn to effectively train and supervise parents in therapeutic play.
💓 Hands-On Skills: Live demonstrations and supervised role-play practice.

The Details:
📅 Dates: 7th – 9th May 2026
📍 Location: In-person only (Brisbane)
✨ Early Bird: Save 20% now (ends soon!!!!)

Don't miss out on the chance to expand your clinical toolkit and change family dynamics for good.

🎟️ Secure one of the final spots now: https://qipt.com.au/training/filial-training

There is a moment many parents know, where you feel the distance between you and your child and you are not quite sure h...
30/03/2026

There is a moment many parents know, where you feel the distance between you and your child and you are not quite sure how to bridge it. You try different approaches
you care deeply and still, the negative dynamics continue.

Our signature parent course, Flourishing Families was created for this reason.

So that parents can be supported to step into their child’s inner world...
So that children feel seen in what they cannot yet say....
So that the relationship becomes a place of safety again.....

From here, everything begins to shift:

Less struggle
More understanding
More connection

We have 4 places remaining in this intake.

You are warmly invited to join us!

Link in bio.

Address

764 High Street, Thornbury
Melbourne, VIC
3071

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm

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