Systemic psychotherapy may be unknown to many. If it evokes associations, it is mainly with family therapy, couples therapy and therapy for marriages , and a few famous names who practice it. So what is it really?
Systemic psychotherapy, what is it?
Systemic psychotherapy deals with exploring knowledge about systems and structures, their elements and the influence between them and all the factors in them. He also draws attention to the effects of these mutual interactions. It may also apply to an individual when it is conducted as individual psychotherapy.
Who is systemic psychotherapy for?
Families differ from each other in the way they build their system (dependencies are important here) and structure (boundaries), as well as in expectations, understanding of relationships and ways of communication (boundaries within the system and its dependencies). Families also pass on knowledge, the so-called transgenerational transmission, which allows us to observe whether certain patterns of behaviour are repeated, even stories at the level of generations. Very disturbed families are frequent patients, because these disorders are repeated or when children or teenagers start to get sick, showing that the family system is failing, because they cannot leave home as people prepared for adult life and to start a family. That is why it happens that families come with such young adults.
Systemic psychotherapy is primarily intended for:
- couples struggling with a relationship crisis,
- families experiencing conflicts, educational problems and communication difficulties,
- people struggling with communication problems,
- people with addictions, depression or other disorders that have a relational basis.
What is systemic psychotherapy
During such family therapy, the figures of the deceased are also returned, the system is examined with the help of a genogram, which has its own symbolism (legend), i.e. a graphic representation of the family tree from a therapeutic perspective. It is an element of confrontation and information where change can be made. This is also a form of intervention for a given system. In the case of couples therapy, the system is less extensive, as there are only two people in the session, but the other elements mentioned above are taken into account. An attempt is made to understand what is failing and why (message-relation-homeostasis/feedback-dependence-effect). Attention is also paid to the stages of the couple’s relationship.
Systemic therapy is based on the concept of Ludwig von Bertalanffy. According to it, each person functions within a system whose individual members interact with each other. According to this assumption, an individual’s problems result from dysfunctions present in his system, most often the family or the couple. Solving them requires a deep analysis of interactions and ways of communicating, and then changing incorrect patterns.
The therapist remains neutral towards the participants of the scheme, acting as an observer of the relationships between them. Thanks to careful observation, it helps patients to see the causes of the difficulties they are experiencing. In the next stage, it provides support in changing inappropriate behaviour patterns, which leads to an improvement in the patient’s comfort of life and the functioning of the entire group.
The duration of systemic therapy ranges from several months to several years. It depends primarily on the degree of severity of the problems, the therapeutic techniques used and the patients’ reactions.
The course of systemic psychotherapy
The psychotherapist’s communication is based on questions, building hypotheses, intervening by naming the world told by the patients and trying to create a certain whole, a little unclosed, so that change is possible. Elements of gestalt therapy, CBT and art therapy tasks, understanding psychopathology from the perspective of the psychodynamic method are used. Diagnoses for a long time are preliminary diagnoses in the form of hypotheses. It seems that the personality and interests of the psychotherapist are the key to his method. In systemic psychotherapy, we also rely on knowledge about violence, the effects of violence and the prevention of violence. We also use psychoeducation if there is a need to explain phenomena in order to come to the best possible understanding of the patient’s world.
Systemic approach in individual psychotherapy
In the case of individual psychotherapy , the systemic approach is a form of insight and support therapy. Other methods are also used here to help concretely, by thinking systemically, and to look for the limits of a given person in communication. This kind of therapy likes to be simply eclectic. In addition, systemic psychotherapy is distinguished by the fact that many of its elements indicate a certain postmodern attitude (something is created, but based on knowledge). An example of a method that has arisen within this paradigm is, for example: Bert Hellinger’s method, which, however, is extreme and controversial.
Where is systemic psychotherapy used?
To sum up a little jokingly, systemic psychotherapy is a method created as a result of the impatience of a group of psychoanalysts, and it continues to evolve (the joke is because psychoanalysis can last for years). A very good method for individual work with trauma, victims of violence, phobias of various types, anxiety and mood disorders, DDD and DDA syndromes, overworking relationships with parents.
I cordially invite you, mgr Paulina Kubś