What is systemic practice?
Systemic practice has its roots in Family/Systems Therapy and is a way of working with others to better understand the systems to which they are involved, providing strategies to explore behaviour, beliefs, and societal beliefs in complex systems.
It suggests that relationships (across generations, and different systems and contexts) are key to understanding people’s life experiences. It recognises that by understanding the complex context of relationships, individuals can be supported to change patterns of thinking and support people to mobilise the strengths of their relationships to improve wellbeing (Stratton, 2010).
Who is it for?
- It can be used with individuals, families, groups and organisations.
- It might mean helping family members express their thoughts and feelings to each other, better understand each other’s views and make changes in their lives and relationships.
- It might be helpful for individuals to express their thoughts and feelings about particular relationships/systems in their lives.
- In other circumstances, it can involve helping individuals or staff teams understand the organisations they work in to improve communication and coordination of services.
- As there are many similarities between families and organisations, these ideas can be used in teams and larger organisations e.g., Supportive supervision, reflective practice, appreciative inquiry to look at team issues, formulation.
Key principles of systemic practice
- The problem is the problem not the individual
- Collaboration, curiousity
- Focus on clients strengths
- Role of Language to facilitate change
- Communication in the system, circularity, narrative, power
- Importance of reflection (with families and other practitioners)
- Using reflective teams in a transparent way
- Reflecting processes, child as co-consultant
- Peer consultation and support
How systemic practice fits with the Educational Psychology role
- It deepens the ecological model that already permeates all aspect of Educational Psychology practice.
- Supports Educational Psychologists to develop their reflective practice; work with process and use of self, as well as a range of techniques to enhance family interventions.
- Supports Educational Psychologists to develop skills in formulation and helping families identify their strengths, improves their decision making, problem solving and communication
- Support’s Educational Psychologists to work collaboratively with education establishments and other partners to capacity build by supporting them identify their own strengths, improve decision making and problem solving and communication when they are working alongside children and their families e.g. through reflective practice and supportive supervision.
More information
Andersen, T., (1992) Reflections on reflecting with families (pp. 54-68). In S. McNamee & K.J. Gergen (eds.), Therapy as social construction. London: Sage Publications.
Anderson, H. and Goolishian, H., (1992) The client is the expert: A not knowing approach to therapy (pp. 25-39). In S. McNamee & K.J. Gergen (eds.), Therapy as social construction. London: Sage Publications.
Brown, J. (1997), Circular Questioning: An Introductory Guide.
Burnham, J (2013) Development in Social GGRRAAACCEEESSS: visible- invisible and voiced- unvoiced in IB Krause (ed.) Culture And Reflexivity in Systemic Psychotherapy. London: Karnac
Byng-Hall, J. (1995) Rewriting Family Scripts.
