November Book of the Month
Learning to See What Was Always There
Jan Crawford’s The Disorderly Soul: Aligning with the Movement of Love traces a personal and professional evolution that starts in traditional psychoanalysis and then moves into a profound engagement with systemic healing.
Expanding the Professional Frame
Crawford’s early training gave her a foundation in individual psychology. However, over time she began to sense that some of the difficulties she and her clients faced were connected to a wider field of family and ancestral experiences as well. That recognition led her to Bert Hellinger’s Family Constellation work.
At the heart of Hellinger’s work is the understanding that families function as emotional systems held together by unconscious loyalties. When love or belonging is interrupted through loss, exclusion, or injustice, the effects can echo through later generations. In a constellation, participants may stand in as representatives for someone’s family members, allowing the hidden movements within the system to be perceived. Through this simple act of representation, what has been unseen becomes visible, and recognition itself begins to restore balance.
Crawford describes attending constellation seminars with Hellinger. During a training in Germany in 2001, she observed that he used only a few family representatives, allowed long intervals of silence, and intervened little or not at all, ending each constellation at the moment a movement of the soul appeared. That orientation to trusting what emerged rather than directing it became central to her own practice.
Facing the Personal Lineage
Crawford’s personal exploration begins with her mother, whose longing for closeness had often felt to her like a demand she could not meet. In her first constellation, she turns to face her mother and feels the familiar pressure of that longing. However, Crawford soon begins to sense that her mother’s yearning was shaped by what she herself had lost.
This experience stays with her and gradually reshapes her perceptions. Later constellations with her grandparents and her father reveal how her mother’s strength and limits were also part of a wider movement within the family. As these connections come into view, she also begins to recognize similar patterns among other relatives, and her understanding of them grows more spacious as well.
The Movement of Love
Crawford uses the phrase “movement of love” to describe the natural order that surfaces when exclusion gives way to recognition. Love, in this context, is a current that flows through generations when each person is seen and allowed their rightful place. The book invites readers to recognize this movement in their own lives and the alterations that occur when long-ignored relationships are brought back into view. Through clear, unadorned language, Crawford demonstrates that belonging is the foundation from which all healing emerges.
For Readers and Practitioners
Crawford writes with steadiness and openness. Her case material and personal reflections unfold side by side, allowing the reader to experience the gradual revelation that often accompanies systemic work. Those new to constellations will find her explanations valuable, and practitioners will appreciate the depth of understanding that comes from long engagement with the field.
Final Thoughts
Crawford’s story suggests that the real work of healing lies in learning to see what has always been present and meeting it without resistance. From the act of seeing this way, everything else flows.
The Disorderly Soul: Aligning with the Movement of Love is available as an eBook through the Milton H. Erickson Foundation Bookstore.
About the Author:
Jan Crawford, LCSW, SEP, maintains a private psychotherapy practice in New York City. She has trained extensively in Family Constellations and Somatic Experiencing and integrates these modalities with depth-oriented psychotherapy.
