Embedded Files
Systemic theory holds that a person’s feelings, thinking, and behaviors are understood when looked at in relation to the role that they play in their family or social networks. This approach looks not only on the individual but also how each person operates within the group, or system.
Systemic theory holds that a person’s feelings, thinking, and behaviors are understood when looked at in relation to the role that they play in their family or social networks. This approach looks not only on the individual but also how each person operates within the group, or system.
Founder- Murray Bowen
Founder- Murray Bowen
In the 1960s, Bowen created the family systems theory which views the family as an emotional unit and assumes individuals cannot be understood in isolation. He argued that people should be viewed as part of the family that they grew up in (GoodTherapy, 2017).
Techniques
Techniques
Genograms: can assist in revealing family structure and familial relationships
Family Mapping: uses symbols to show boundaries and conflicts
Joining the Family: Building a connection with each family member without showing favoritism or bias
Tracking sequences
Reframing: Helping the family to reframe the problem so that the blame does not fall upon one individual
Enactments: helps the counselor to see family dynamics with every family member
Setting boundaries
Major Tenets
Major Tenets
Focuses on two types of change: First- order change, which addresses symptoms and Second-order change, which addresses underlying patterns
Parental and sibling units are the most common of family systems.
Boundaries in the systems can be dysfunctional or healthy.
According the Sommers-Flanagan (2018), the counselor "serves as an investigator and later as a coach, looking in the past to identify a family's interactional patterns and then directing them toward differentiation" (p.321).
References:
John Sommers-Flanagan, & Rita Sommers-Flanagan. (2018). Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories in Context and Practice : Skills, Strategies, and Techniques: Vol. Third edition. Wiley.
Systems Theory. (2017, November 27). GoodTherapy. Retrieved April 19, 2023, from https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/systems-theory-therapy
Sutton, J. (2021, July 19). What is Systems Therapy? Positive Psychology. Retrieved April 19, 2023 from https://positivepsychology.com/systems-therapy/
Page updated
Report abuse