Systemic Practice Research Paper

As a therapist it is necessary and possible to keep in mind the three phases of systemic practice. In the first phase, first-order perspectives draw our attention to patterns and regularities in families’ lives and experiences. In extreme cases, such as abuse, it makes sense to acknowledge realities of actions and processes. The emphasis on communication as complex and multifaceted also helps us to be more attentive to the emotional and behavioral aspects of family life. In the second phase, a second-order view, considering the uniqueness of what such actions may mean to a particular family and to be sensitive to differences between families who superficially appear to display similar patterns and problems. In the third phase, social constructionism
in some ways turns the clock back, alerting us that family life can be predictable and rule bound, but with the recognition that these tendencies are not simply constructed by families but shaped by the cultural context, including economic realities and the commonly held ideas or discourses about family life. These common aspects of any given culture can be seen to shape family life so that certain patterns and regularities appear; for example, despite considerable changes, common patterns of gender roles and emotional styles are still played out. In a culture where affordable childcare is not readily available, women are likely to take on the bulk of childcare and consequently become more involved with their children, with the men being more peripheral. family therapy can be seen as having moved into a fourth phase, the twenty-first century, which has involved an integration of perspectives, such as psychodynamic and attachment the-ory with systemic theory. There has also been a development and application of systemic ideas to other contexts, such as institutions and organizations, and also to work with individuals and parts of family systems. There has also been a much broader assimilation of systemic ideas for example, we now hear politicians mention systemic factors when they discuss problems such as crime, violence, and drug usage, and speak of the need for systemic solutions. Certainly this connects to the imaginative ideas of the pioneer of systemic family therapy.