Open the Window of Your Possibilities - The Systemic Approach

Systemic therapy traditionally refrains from diagnosis. A problem is not seen as a "characteristic" that a person or a social system "has", but problems are realities that arise in interaction with other people. This, in fact, makes them amenable to positive change. The people involved are not perceived as isolated, but always as part of a social system. Our experience, our "reality" is the result of our personal experience and interpretations, which are actively formed in the course of our lives in exchange with our environment (family, friends, teachers, etc). We create a map of the world within ourselves.  A map that helps us to find our way in the world.   But the map is not the same as the world and it might need an update. There is no reality independent of the observer and so there are at least as many perspectives on a problem as there are people involved.

The overriding principle of systemic therapy and counseling is to open up new perspectives and expand the spectrum of possibilities for action and interpretation. This involves questioning old beliefs and reality constructs, discovering and activating old and new resources, and creating and trying out something new. What characterizes the systemic approach is its consistent resource and solution orientation. In the search for solutions and new perspectives, systemic therapy and counseling make use of various approaches: Various forms of questioning and reframing challenge what was previously believed. Metaphorical techniques such as sculptures or constellations create overview and clarity. Working with inner parts facilitates decision-making. For a deeper understanding of one's own family history and origins and the emergence of familiar beliefs, creating a genogram is a very powerful method.