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We present interactive seminars and
demonstration-rich workshops on systemic coaching, happiness, resolving
family chaos and relationship bonds. Email us if you would like a workshop in your area.
What are Systems?
In this lesson, system refers to
a group of people that live or work together, such as a team, a family,
an organization or a community. Human systems accomplish what individuals, no
matter how motivated or resourceful, cannot accomplish.
Systems thinking has been influenced by natural
science, mathematics, chaos theory, physics, systems theory,
psychoanalysis, anthropology and evolutionary psychology. Systems
thinking examines
systemic and reciprocal influence rather than linear influence.
Systems are subject to complex rules, which differ
from linear rules of cause and effect. Systems coaching can work at many
levels, and this page describes some practical aspects of systems
thinking in the context of social constructivism.
[
Chaos Theory & Therapy ]
Social Constructivism
You describe and explain the world with
words derived from your relationships, not from reality. Your
words are cultural patterns, embedded within relationships. A
constructivist view is that if you change our words, you change your
relationships. If you create and disseminate new words within your
culture, you can affect everyday relationships. As with Heisenberg's
Principle, diagnosis can change that that was diagnosed.
Social Constructivist ideas are integrated throughout Soulwork Systemic
Coaching.
As nobody is isolated from human
systems, all coaching, counseling and therapy has systemic consequences.
The consequences of individual change on a human system can
include chaos, including symptoms of emotional
and physical disorders, unless the system is included in changework.
Complexity
Human
systems are complex. Attempts to control human systems can lead to
authoritarian systems (e.g. communist, totalitarian, military and cult
phenomena).
| Simple
Systems |
Complex Systems |
- few similar elements
- few links between elements
- limited potential for behavior
- stable, determined impact chains
- behavior is easily measured
- possible states can be predicted
- complete control is possible
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- many different elements
- strong links & dependencies
- large repertoire of behavior
- manifold, variable impact chains
- behavior is difficult to measure
- possible states are unpredictable
- limited control is possible
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Human systems cannot be completely analyzed,
there is too much happening. Statistical analysis data
may be useful, but in a system, every action can be both cause and
effect. Circular interactions, feedback loops
and fuzzy logic better define systemic behavior.
Soulwork systemic diagnosis provides systemic models for
predicting individual, couple, family and team behavior.
Systemic Rules
Although systemic rules guide the behavior of the
members of a system, some systemic rules are explicit and some
cannot be discussed by members. Examples of systemic rules include:
- Boundaries: Which boundaries are flexible and
which are rigid?
- Coalitions: Who can align with whom for what
benefits?
- Communication: What are the communication rules
and meta-rules?
- Culture: What is the cultural identity of the
system? (religion, status, ethnicity).
- Entanglement: Is there differentiation or are
members entangled each other.
- Hierarchy: Who is in control? What lines of
authority are used?
- History: What traditions and history are still in
active use?
- Life Cycle: What is the developmental stage of
the system?
- Maturity: What are the emotional ages of the
members?
- Metaphors: What underlying symbolic interactions
occur between members?
- Power: Who makes important decisions for the
system?
- Roles: Who rescues? Who distracts? Who makes
trouble?
- Values: What are the overall systemic
values? (Clare Graves)
Systemic Interventions
- Problems Exist: A problem is not a person, nor
a system, but a problem is a problem
- Dissociation: Helps members
dissociate and discuss problems
- Change history: Members can re-evaluate who they are and how they got here
- Mapping: Help members explore benefits
and consequences
- Metaphors: Help members reframe
their situations and solutions
- Outcomes: Looking for the individual and
system goals
- Planning: Help members visualize
steps to success
Systemic Phenomena
- All members are affected by changes to a
system
- Changes in part of a system will affect all
people in that system
- Experiences from a family system shapes descendents' family systems
- Problems can be understood within the context
of a system
- Symptoms are often functional and help
maintain system equilibrium
- Triangulation: conflicts between two people usually involve a third person
- Systems exist in a cultural context
- Systems can get stuck in repetitive patterns
that restrict their freedom and options
- Systems go through a systemic life cycle
- Systems organize themselves to
maintain stability
Changing Systems
- Decide with which members of the system you want
to focus
- You can be a neutral observer - or join the system to effect change from
within
- Avoid taking sides -
strive to be perceived as fair and
objective
- Help the system reframe the problem so that the
focus is not on one member
- Be active and directive to implement interventions
- Consider individual behavior while observing
interactive patterns
- Keep things moving and keep system members (especially children)
busy
Stages of Systemic Change
- Contact: Be accessible,
knowledgeable, confident and calm
- Enroll: Build
connections with system members without favoritism or bias
- Assess: Assess coalitions,
hierarchies, communication channels, dysfunctional behavior
etc., and the strengths and weaknesses of each member
- Reorient: Present your interpretation of
what is going on within the system
- Realign: Change the
way system members interact with each other
Types of Systemic Coaching & Systemic Psychotherapy
- Communication/Humanistic (Satir &
Whitaker): Emphasizes relationships within systems. Observe
communication styles and provide experiential interventions.
- Intergenerational (Bowen): Emphasizes
multi-generational family maps. Observers resolve systemic tension
by avoiding participation in dysfunctional family rituals.
- Milan Model (Selvini-Palazolli):
Perceptive and paradoxical teamwork - two team members interview
while another team member covertly observes from a hidden location.
- Multicultural approaches: Examines the
societal influences of oppression and ethnic
identity.
- Narrative Therapy (White & Epston):
Examines a system’s experience and personal meaning through
the use of language and metaphor.
- Psychoanalytic (Ackerman & Framo):
Examines how influences from the past shape the present.
- Soulwork (Carruthers): Describes self-development
and healthy relationship behavior in a hierarchy of relationships.
- Strategic (Haley & Madanes): Examines
inter-relational and communication styles to help families define
problems, and then help them solve those problem.
- Structural (Minuchin): Views a system as
an organism undergoing transformation. Explores the underlying
structure of systems.
Soulwork systemic coaching offers
effective coaching, training and mentorship which integrates many of
the above themes into an effective whole. We train people to coach individuals, partners, teams
and families to resolve emotional and relationship challenges.
Copyright ©
Martyn Carruthers 2004, 2006. All rights reserved.
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