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Key Systemic Ideas as Seen Through the Eyes of First‐Year Trainees
Author(s) -
Garven Roxanne,
White Helen
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.297
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1467-8438
pISSN - 0814-723X
DOI - 10.1375/anft.30.3.196
Subject(s) - systemic therapy , context (archaeology) , curiosity , action (physics) , perspective (graphical) , neutrality , meaning (existential) , publishing , sociology , psychology , epistemology , medicine , social psychology , computer science , psychotherapist , political science , law , philosophy , physics , paleontology , cancer , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , breast cancer , biology
This article offers an introduction to key systemic ideas as seen through the eyes of first‐year trainees in a postgraduate systemic therapy course. Our aim is to present these ideas in user‐friendly, accessible language, with examples to illustrate their use. The article is organised around three main themes: how a family system gets organised; how systemic work helps to effect change in families; and how a systemic therapist creates a context for change. Ideas covered include circular patterns, processes and questions, feedback loops, the importance of context, the interdependence of meaning and action, taking a meta‐perspective, systemic hypothesising, neutrality, curiosity, second‐order change, use of language and the position of the therapist. The article may be of particular interest to those who are new to systemic ideas, as well as for those involved in providing training in systemic practice.