Systemic Board Questions and Questioning Techniques

Systemic Questions for Working with the Constellation Board

To successfully guide clients through a session with the systemic family board, asking the right questions is crucial. Here is a comprehensive list of systemic questions you can use in therapy and coaching:

General Starting Questions

• How would you like to represent your system on the board?

• Who are the most important people or elements that belong on the board?

• How would you like to choose the figures or symbols for the individual people?

• Where would you like to position each person on the board?

• Is there a central person or element that should be in the middle?

Questions about Positioning and Arrangement

• Why did you place this person in exactly this spot?

• How close or far apart are the people? What does that mean to you?

• Which person seems to stand on the edge or outside the system?

• How do the people stand in relation to one another? Is there specific eye contact?

• What would happen if you changed the position of a person?

• Are there figures turning away from or towards each other?

• How do you perceive the spatial distance between the figures?

Questions about Relationships and Dynamics

• Which relationships are particularly important to you and why?

• Which figures are close to each other? What does that say about their relationship?

• Are there tensions or conflicts between certain people? How do they manifest?

• In your opinion, which figure has the greatest influence on the system?

• Who supports whom? How is that shown on the board?

• Are there figures distancing themselves from others? What does that mean to you?

• Which figure might not feel comfortable in their position?

Questions about Feelings and Perceptions

• How do you feel when you look at the board like this?

• Which figure seems to be carrying the heaviest burden?

• Are there figures who might feel lonely or excluded?

• Which figure appears happy or satisfied in their position?

• What feelings arise in you when you look at the figures?

• How would the atmosphere in the system change if you removed a figure?

• Are there figures seeking protection or safety?

Questions about Changes and Interventions

• What would need to change for you to feel more comfortable?

• How would the system change if a new figure were added?

• Is there a person who should move closer to another? Why?

• What happens if you take a figure completely off the board?

• What might a conflict resolution look like on the board?

• Which figure could take on a mediator role?

• Which small changes on the board could have a big impact?

Questions for Reflection and Closing

• How was it for you to represent your system on the board?

• What have you learned about your system by working with the board?

• What new insights or realizations have you gained?

• What next steps could arise from the work with the board?

• What would you like to try or change next in your real life?

• How could you transfer the impulses for change from the board into your everyday life?

• Is there anything you would like to adjust at the end of the session?

These systemic questions are intended as inspiration and should be adapted depending on the context and goal of the therapeutic or coaching session. They help to gain deeper insights into the dynamics of a system and support clients in effectively processing their concerns.