Rafe Nauen Academy — Family counsellor in Derby, England

I recently attended a constellation workshop at the elephant rooms in Draycott. I went there not really knowing what to expect. Rafe and the fellow attendees made me feel safe. What happened? I was told id experienced a somatic release, it totally wiped me out for at least 48 hours... Emotion flooded out of me at the workshop and left me very emotional, to the extent a fleeting thought triggered me again. I'd encourage anyone to get in touch with Rafe and seek his advice and help, a truly wonderful man. Regards

I have been lucky enough to do two full weekends of training with Rafe in February and then in April 2025. The first training weekend was Level One, Family Constellation work, and the second weekend was his Advanced Practitioner course. Rafe has an extraordinary wealth of knowledge that he freely offers his students so that they become confident in the art of holding Family Constellation Workshops. He is a great listener and with this skill and care for his clients he has the ability to ask and hold space for learning and working. Both courses allowed all the participants to bring their own 'pieces of work'. Everyone on the course was given the opportunity to do a 'piece' of work and the rest of us students were able to be part of the process. This is invaluable experience and insight into the process of Family Constellation work. Rafe is an excellent teacher/tutor and gave us plenty of hands on experience. His course very much changed the way I look at my own family too and for this I am eternally grateful. Thank you Rafe xx

Rafe has such a gentle approach and I felt very safe, held and supported. I loved today's group constellations and would highly recommend going along to one.. 🌀

A Family Constellation session with Rafe is great as he can direct the session very smoothly with knowledge, experience, making us feel all safe and easy. Thanks Rafe for also being part on our first A Day of Healing. Until the next one.

I was lucky enough to catch a workshop held by Rafe at a festival and his calm, caring and grounded attitude held the space incredibly well. It was amazing to see the different dynamics within the constellations and also to feel the power of emotions moving through me when I was chosen to represent someone’s family member. I booked in for further training with him as soon as I was home!

I attended Rafes family constellation workshop in August 2025 after a recommendation from my yoga teacher. Even though I had done some reading around the subject before attending, the whole experience was more intuitive than I was expecting. I didn’t expect it to be as easy as it was to ‘feel’ emotions and sensations. The whole experience felt very natural and flowed. Can highly recommend and would definitely revisit.

Having trained with Rafe, I recommend his matter-of-fact approach wholeheartedly. The course was intense but fantastic and the setting perfect. I am immensely grateful to Rafe for sharing his extensive experience so openly and building our group's confidence along the way. If you are considering a Family Constellation session or attending a training weekend, please do not hesitate, this is life-changing.

I did a Family Constellations session with Rafe—not really knowing what to expect—but I’d heard such incredible things about his work. Given the family challenges I’ve experienced throughout my life, a friend gently insisted it would be good for me. She was absolutely right. Rafe was so warm and welcoming. Within a short time, he offered me a completely new and revelatory perspective on my life—one I had never considered, even after decades of therapy (and even becoming a therapist myself). It quite literally changed my life. The rest of the session was deeply transformational—meaningful, emotional, and also incredibly fascinating. It was powerful to not just speak about what was going on internally, but to represent it physically through the tools and process Rafe guided me through. It brought the work to life in a whole new way. After the session, I woke up with the deepest sense of calm—as if a basket of stones I’d been carrying on my soul had finally been lifted. It was profound. Unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Then, something truly unexpected happened—shortly after, my dad had a stroke. The work I’d done with Rafe was instrumental in how I was able to cope with it. It gave me a level of clarity, calm, and emotional strength I didn’t even know I had. Moments followed that brought our family closer together, and I honestly can’t imagine how I would’ve navigated it all had I not answered the call to do this work. Rafe’s work is powerful, healing, and deeply transformative. I’ve recommended him to everyone I know. He is truly magical.

I recently attended my second level training workshop on Family Constellations with Rafe. The experience of the training was encouraging and supportive of building confidence as practice skills develop. Instruction and suggestions, when given, felt constructive, not critical. I would definitely recommend this course, and the level 1 course, to anyone interested in this way of working. Rafe's extensive experience, skills and ability to hold space enabled the experience of learning to be safe and enjoyable as well as effective

Rafe's experience is absolutely amazing and he has a special talent to make you feel safe and at ease. After an intense training weekend (but with no pressure), I feel properly equipped to facilitate constellations from now on. I can't wait to get started and hopefully one day reach his level of expertise.