Systemic Solutions provides coaching and skills training that you can use to resolve couple, family, team and organizational relationship challenges. Soulwork Systemic Coaching provides health and relationship management skills for helping professionals and coaching systems. Here is the first presentation - to an English University Forum.

Systemic Solutions includes many systemic coaching that provide an adequate alternative to therapy. It is also evolving rapidly. However, the sequence of Soulwork coaching remains stable ...

Clarity   Integrity   Freedom   Motivation   Inspiration

Systemic Coaching coaches motivated, responsible adults to access and stabilize an experience of profound integrity as a basis for designing their lives. As many people called this experience "Soul" - Martyn called this phase "Soul-Work" and the overall model Soul Centered Changework. His profound and innovative methodologies became Soulwork Systemic Coaching.

Systemic Coaching represents a synthesis of inspirations and years of painstaking testing with thousands of real people with real goals and real problems. It represents 16 years of research and development, exploring endless breakthroughs - and as many dead-ends. Now (2004) there are many applications of Soulwork systemic solutions in educations, medicine and psychotherapy.

Sources of Soulwork Inspiration

Papa Henry Auwae

Papa Henry Auwae was a kahuna la'au lapa'au (expert herbalist healer) and kahuna nui (head of experts) who lived in Hilo, Hawaii. Martyn studied with him in Hawaii, and quotes him as saying "What is the point of healing a disease if the patient doesn't know why he has that disease?" and "Your body reflects your relationships!" Papa Henry dedicated his life to healing - and to teaching. We think of him as the "Grandfather of Soulwork". Papa Henry's philosophy is incorporated into Soulwork, particularly in the area of clarifying relationships (ho'oponopono)  (Soulwork 1) and changing relationship bonds (Soulwork 5). For more on Papa Henry - click HERE. Email us to request a copy of an interview with Papa Henry.

In the 1920's, Max Ehrmann, a poet in Indiana, wrote what he called a "bit of chaste prose that caught some noble moods". The world calls it the Desiderata. This simple inspirational poem offers guidelines for life-orientation, communication and spiritual development. Many of these guidelines are reflected throughout Soulwork training. Here is the Desiderata.

Dr. Milton Erickson

Dr. Milton Erickson was an American psychiatrist who redefined medical hypnosis (which had been made unpopular by Dr Sigmund Freud). Although crippled by poliomyelitis, Dr Erickson became expert in noticing and responding to non-verbal communication, constructive provocation and creating healing metaphors. (Read Uncommon Therapy by Jay Haley.) These skills are taught throughout Soulwork training, particularly in isomorphic and interactive metaphors (Soulwork 3) and in provocative coaching and therapy (Soulwork 5).

Dr. Viktor Frankl

Dr. Victor Frankl is known for developing Logotherapy - an existential psychotherapy - inspired during his imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. The philosophy he presented in Logotherapy is well reflected in Soulwork, particularly in assisting people to search for "meaning of life" and integrity (that some people call "Soul") as a basis for changework - hence the name Soul Centered Changework. Dr Frankl's philosophy is reflected throughout Soulwork Systemic Coaching, especially in the 16 types of provocative therapy (Soulwork 5) and in the ways to stabilize integrity (Soulwork 3).

Dr. Clare Graves

Dr Clare Graves was a post-doctoral student of Abraham Maslow. Dr Graves described "values" as a basis of human evolution and created a useful model of societal evolution that predicts the behavior of individuals, groups and organizations. (Read: Spiral Dynamics) Dr Graves work is integrated into Soulwork Systemic Coaching, particularly into goal coaching (Soulwork 2), mentorship (Soulwork 7) and organizational coaching (Soulwork 10). For articles about how Graves spiral-dynamic work is integrated into Soulwork, click HERE.

Annegret Hallanzy

Annegret Hallanzy lives in Germany where, after successful careers as an actress, as a NLP trainer and as a public speaker, she created a synthesis of NLP with psychotherapy which she called Visionorientierte Veranderungsarbeit (Vision Oriented Changework) or VoVa. Annegret inspired the overall structure of Goal Coaching (Soulwork 2) and Couple Coaching (Soulwork 8). (Annegret and Martyn worked and taught together in Germany and Poland.) See Relationship Bonds

Annegret wrote about her synthesis (in German), beginning with Ekologie NLP Redefiniert (NLP Ecology Redefined) - which we recommend for NLP master practitioners. This book evaluates the ecology and consequences of many NLP techniques. Here is an excerpt (in English) NLP Ecology Redefined.

Bert Hellinger

Possibly Germany's best known family therapist, Bert Hellinger redefined brief psychotherapy by examining the responsibilities and spatial positions of relatives in his client's subjective awareness. Hellinger's books reveal the effects of family actions on a family member's perceptions of reality. We appreciate Hellinger's concepts on recognizing relationship entanglements (taught in Soulwork 1) and on how to recognize and dissolve personality identifications (taught in Soulwork 4) as a basis for subsequent coaching of identity loss, relationship bonds and trauma.

Aunty Mona Kahele

Aunty Mona Kahele is a native Hawaiian kupuna (elder) skilled in ho'oponopono (family therapy) and la'au lapa'au (herbal medicine) which she was taught by her kahuna grandfather. She lives on Hawaii, where, even though she is about 80 years old, she continues to help people resolve relationship and emotional problems. Martyn was privileged to receive from Aunty Mona over 50 years of her handwritten notes on healing body, mind and spirit. Aunty Mona inspires us to translate the Hawaiian healing ritual of ho'oponopono into an appropriate format for all people (Soulwork 1). Aunty Mona  continues to offer her wonderful mentorship to her ohana or community. For more on the cultural beauty of ancient Hawaii, click HERE.

Uncle John Kaimikaua

John Kaimikaua is a native Hawaiian expert on Hawaiian traditions, and is also a teacher of pule (chants) and hula (dance). John lives on Molokai - traditionally called the "Island of Sorcerers" - where he was taught by a mysterious kahuna lady. Martyn studied with Uncle John in Hawaii. John Kaimikaua's teaching prompted research that resulted in the rapid re-evaluation of the consequences of relationships with passive, aggressive and deceased family members (taught in Soulwork 4) and relationship bonds generally (Soulwork 5). For more about Uncle John and his Hawaiian chants, click HERE.

Dr RD Laing

Probably Scotland's best known psychiatrist, RD Laing was a director of psychiatric clinics and on the board of many psychiatric journals. He perceived mental disease as a "social problem", rather than a biochemical imbalance, and argued that mental diseases make sense in their family contexts. (Read: The Divided Self). He wrote about communication patterns in dysfunctional families - his books describe the effects of family actions on a family member's perceptions of reality. Martyn incorporated Dr Laing's philosophy about family politics and disease (Soulwork 1); family meta-rules (Soulwork 5) and Dr Laing's perception that "insanity is a sane reaction to insane situations". (Dr Laing also wrote "Family patterns are not laid out in front of us like the stars in the sky" (Massey Lectures II, 1969) - Soulwork Relationship Diagnosis achieves exactly how to do this!)

Aunty Margaret Machado is a native Hawaiian healer, famous for her expert knowledge of lomilomi (massage) and la'au lapa'au (herbal medicine). She lives on Hawaii's Big Island with her family, where she was trained by her kahuna (expert healer) grandfather. Her teaching inspired what we call "Soul to Soul connection", which is found throughout Soulwork, and is taught in Soulwork 2 and 3. Martyn lived with Aunty Margaret and her family while he studied with her in Hawaii. For more about Aunty Margaret Machado - click HERE.

NLP is known for hypnotic communication, "influence skills" and "modeling subjective experience". Martyn was certified as a NLP trainer by four different NLP training institutes until he began investigating the long-term consequences of NLP therapy. Soulwork Systemic Coaching derives from NLP some rapport skills and non-verbal communication (taught in Soulwork 2), some notions about timelines and re-imprinting (taught in Soulwork 6) and behavioral modeling (taught in Soulwork 7). Martyn occasionally presents NLP practitioner and master practitioner certification trainings, focusing on the work of  Steve and Connirae Andreas, Robert Dilts and Wyatt Woodsmall. (Comparison of Huna, Soulwork and NLP  Meta Model)

Systems Theory, Complexity & Chaos Theory

Systems theory was proposed in the 1940's by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, a biologist who noted that systems that interact with their environments can acquire new properties, resulting in ongoing evolution. Systems theory focuses on relationships between parts of complex systems - and how these relationships shape a system's behavior, independent of the parts' properties.

Exchanging matter and energy with other systems or with the environment can also destabilize a system, as "branching" or "bifurcation" transitions systems to more complex configurations. Hence self-organizing systems can increase or decrease their survival potential. Systems theory is integrated throughout systemic coach training. See Systems Theory and Chaos Theory.

Phineas Parkhurst Quimby

Phineas Quimby was the most well-known American mental healer of his time, credited for healing about 15,000 people. Quimby died in 1866, after documenting his "science of healing". His philosophy was the basis for the once-popular New Thought movement, which was later promoted as Positive Thinking. Quimby's "science of healing" opposed religion, education and medicine, which he perceived as the sources of beliefs which caused disease. In 1863, one of Quimby's patients, Mary Patterson, whom Quimby had healed of spinal cancer, borrowed Quimby's manuscripts. She later remarried twice to become Mary Baker Eddy, known as the founder of Christian Science. Only in 1921, after 56 years of bitter struggle, were the Quimby Manuscripts returned to Quimby's family and published. Martyn integrated Quimby's work about beliefs into Soulwork 5 (see Model of a Healer)

(You may find Quimby's Manuscripts (3rd printing 1921) here
(See also Christian Science by Mark Twain)

Virginia Satir's systemic psychotherapy provides practical descriptions or models of the world, and emphasizes the use of humor in psychotherapy. Her assumption of the existence of functional, fragmented identity parts encompasses both conscious and unconscious process elements. Reflections of her use of humor and paradox are found throughout Soulwork, and applications of her work on partial identities is taught in Soulwork 3.

Do you want relationship coaching or systemic coach training? We train people to coach individuals, partners and teams to resolve a wide range of emotional, educational and relationship challenges.