Systemic Therapy
Making sense of difficulties in the context of relationships, family and community.
Systemic Therapy looks at difficulties in the context of the relationships, families, communities and cultures we are part of, rather than as something that sits only within one person. It asks not only ‘what is wrong?’ but ‘what is happening between people, and what shapes it?’
I completed Foundation Level Training in Systemic Practice, on a course accredited by the Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice (AFT). Systemic ideas inform my work even when I am seeing one person on their own.
What systemic therapy involves
- Mapping the important relationships and influences in your life, sometimes using a family tree (genogram)
- Noticing patterns that repeat across relationships or generations
- Exploring the beliefs, expectations and stories that families and cultures hand down
- Separating you from the problem, so that the problem is something we look at together, not who you are
- Finding new ways of communicating and relating, and building on the strengths and resources already there
Who it can help
A systemic approach can be useful for relationship difficulties, becoming a parent, difficult family relationships, bereavement and loss, identity and life transitions, and when a difficulty seems to be affecting everyone around it. It sits alongside other approaches, such as CBT and Compassion Focused Therapy, and can help to understand the wider context of what brings someone to therapy.
How I work with systemic ideas
My approach draws on systemic and narrative ideas, which look at the stories we and others tell about our lives and how these can be rewritten. If you would like to talk about whether sessions involving a partner or family member could be helpful, please get in touch and we can discuss what might suit.
Related areas of support
Take the first step
Contact me here to find out more information or to arrange a free consultation.