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TOWARD A THEORY OF CONSTRAINTS
Author(s) -
Breunlin Douglas C.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-0606.1999.tb00254.x
Subject(s) - constraint (computer aided design) , biopsychosocial model , cybernetics , identification (biology) , computer science , theory of constraints , systems theory , psychology , epistemology , management science , artificial intelligence , mathematics , psychotherapist , management , philosophy , botany , geometry , economics , biology
Grounded in the cybernetic concept of negative explanation, the theory of constraints examines how human systems are kept from solving problems. To identify constraints, therapists must know where to look for them and what to look for. The theory proposes that contraints exist among the levels of a biopsychosocial system, which include biology, person, relationship, family, community, and society. The six metaframeworks of organization, sequences, mind, development, gender, and culture assist constraint identification. Combining the levels and metaframeworks creates a web of constraints, the complexity of which determines how difficult it will be to solve a given problem. The theory of constraint offers an integrative and pragmatic approach to therapy while simultaneously honoring the comlexity of human systems.