1. I. The Systemic Perspective
Power Point presentation prepared by
Leslie Barnes-Young, PhD, Francis Marion University
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2. Family Therapy is derived from Systems Theory…
A worldview that emerged in the 1940s.
Early proponents were dissatisfied with the lack of progress patients made when treated via individual psychotherapies.
But they were encouraged by signs that group therapies had a positive impact on behavior.
In addition, WWII produced new technologies that early theorists applied to families.
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3. Individual psychotherapies are older than family therapies…
They are still the predominant models adopted by practitioners today.
Nevertheless, systems theory represents an alternative worldview whose impact
on the conceptualization and treatment
of psychopathology is growing.
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4. Family Therapies differ from traditional models that:
View the individual as the agent of change
Ask, why?
Think linearly (A causes B)
Treat the “mind”
Focus on the past
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5. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003
From a systems view–
Relationships are the agents of change
Think circularly (A and B mutually influence one another.)
Ask, what?
Treat the interactions between individuals
Focus on the present
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6. Over time, other differences between the two schools emerged:
Individual models of therapy
Focus on content
Have not generally attended to context
Are reductionistic
Recognize individual developmental trajectories
Family therapies
Focus on process
Attempt to understand context
Greater complexity
Recognize individual and familial development
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7. To learn more about the systemic perspective, go to:
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2003