Everything You Need To Know About Systemic Therapy

Systemic therapy has its roots in family therapy, although these days it does not need a family focus to be called systemic. With this approach, it is relationships that are important: the process of interaction between people and not so much observation of the isolated individual.

It was the Austrian biologist and philosopher Ludwig Von Bertalanffy who formulated General Systems Theory in 1968. He used the term system as “a network of elements in interaction”. He later transferred it to the therapeutic framework until it became the overarching model in research on families and relationships.

But the systemic perspective also receives contributions from other disciplines. These are mainly in relation to the theoretical field. Some of them are cybernetics, pragmatic development in communication and family psychotherapy. This integration of perspectives has made it possible to develop a wide range of applications, ranging from individual to group therapy, couples and families ( Hoffman, 1987 ).

The concept of the system

The meeting point for the various approaches is the concept of the system. It follows that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This means that from the systemic approach, emphasis is placed on the properties of the whole as a result of the interaction between the various elements in the system. In simpler words, the most important thing is the relationship that comes from the interaction between people.

Systemic psychologists adopt the following general idea. A system, whatever it may be – family, couple or social – consists of one or more elements linked together in such a way that a change in the condition will follow another system change. This allows researchers to see basic aspects of the individual pathology of any of the system members.

Background for systemic therapy

The most prominent predecessors to systemic therapies come from psychoanalysis. Examples of these are the terms “r” by Frieda Fromm-Reichmann and “Perverse Mother” by Rosen , or the use of Bell’s family interviews.

That said, the clearest start to systemic therapy occurred with anthropologist Gregory Bateson and his team of veterans at the Palo Alto Hospital. Bateson teamed up with other researchers such as Jackson , Haley and Weakland to analyze the communication system in schizophrenic families.

One of the most interesting theories that emerged from his research was the theory of double bonding. This theory explains how the contradiction between messages can cause delirium as an escape from reality. The contradiction involves receiving two orders where the fulfillment of one means being disobedient to the other. An example is to say, “be more spontaneous” or “do not be obedient”.

In parallel, Jackson and Ackerman started the magazine Family Process in 1962 and Bertalanffy formulated General Systems Theory . The latter was the theory that develops factors that are common to all systemic therapies.

Common aspects of systemic therapy

Although the systemic therapies are very broad and cover a large group of disciplines, there are some aspects they all have in common. The most important is the system concept which we already mentioned as “a set of objects or elements that are related to each other”.

In his General Theory of Systems, Bertalanffy also emphasized the concept of interaction. He said that a system involves mutual dependence between the parties. He also said that each part of the system can be considered as a subsystem. In this way, the family can be the system and the relationship between mother and child can be the subsystem.

Open and closed systems

It is also important to distinguish between open and closed systems. In this, the researchers do not agree on the criteria. If we follow Bertanlaffy’s conceptualisation, a closed system is one that does not make any exchanges with the medium. In contrast, an open system is in constant communication with the medium or other systems.

For example , closed family systems maintain no form of communication with their environment. The final condition depends on the initial conditions of the system. It is an impoverishment of progressive energy in the association and the family system.

From this observation, authors such as Watzlawick, Beavin, and Jackon of the Palo Alto Schools give us the “Theory of Human Communication,” using the results of the study of other concepts taken from the General Theory of Systems.

Systemic models

This theory provides aspects and ideas common to all systemic models such as:

• It is impossible not to communicate. This theory is based on the idea that all behavior is communication, including silence. In addition, it considers that it is possible to have situations where the “symptom” is in itself the form of communication.
• The mechanisms in the systems are self-regulated by feedback.
• There are two levels of communication: the digital or content level and the analog or relational level. If there is a discrepancy between the two levels, paradoxical messages are displayed.
• The interaction is conditioned by assessments that the participants introduce. This means that, depending on which version we build of what we see and experience, we determine the relationship we have with other people and vice versa. So the lack of agreement on how to assess facts is the cause of many conflicts in relationships.

• It is a system of rules that the systemic therapist must know: the recognized rules, the symmetrical rules, the secret rules and the goal rules.

Nevertheless, each system school also has a number of peculiarities. Let’s take a closer look at some of them.

MR Interaction School: Watzlawick, Wakland and Fisch

This systems school has been identified with the second generation of Palo Alto researchers (Watzlawick, Weakland & Fisch, 1974; Fisch, Weakland & Segal, 1982).

Some of the maxims of this school are:

• The tried and tested solutions are the ones that perpetuate the problems. This means that when a person does something to rectify a situation, he often only manages to maintain it.
• The interventions are aimed at identifying the circuits that intervene in the relationship and the solutions attempted. The goal is to modify the interaction patterns, which are known as Change 2, since tried unsuccessful solutions are Change 1 or “more of the same”.

• One of the strategies used is paradoxical intervention. That is, to prescribe tasks or convey ideas far away from the usual system, but in consultation with the framework of the system. To do so, he speaks “the patient’s language.”

Structural and Strategic School: Minuchin and Haley

Minuchin and Haley are the most important representatives of this school. They believe it is important to analyze the structure of the system in order to know what type of relationships the members have and thus apply the necessary treatment. Both say that families are organized around alliances and coalitions.

For example, an alliance is defined by the proximity of two members as opposed to a more distant third party. But a coalition consists of the union of two members against a third party. The coalitions of different generations are called confusing triangles (mother and son against father).

From this perspective , the therapist uses techniques to change the family structure. In this way, he challenges the definitions of the family and performs a positive redefinition of the symptom.

They also choose to print assignments for some family members. Here the therapist is allied with a subsystem to provoke a restructuring of boundaries or Haley’s paradoxical intervention.

System School in Milan: Selvini-Palazzoli, psychosis in the family

This school originates from the works of Mara Selvini-Palazzoli and her team.

They focus on disorders such as anorexia or psychotic disorders, which usually occur in families with a rigid transaction. The Systemic School in Milan pays special attention to the data collected from the reference time and the first contact.

From there, they build a working hypothesis that they contrast with in the development of the first session. They work mainly with the family meanings in relation to the symptom. They also work with the identified patient with a view to finding consensus and discrepancies.

One of the interventions created by this school is immutable prescription. This is a specific program for working with psychotic families that consists of giving the same task to the whole family, trying to ally the parents using a secret, one that favors the separation of the subsystems, especially the one formed by the children.

Systemic therapy provides a different perspective on our problems and difficulties. It is a perspective that prioritizes relationships over the individual to help improve people’s lives. It is an unusual and interesting method that is becoming increasingly important in this area of ​​therapy.