What Is Systemic Thinking? Information And Curiosities
There are different ways of interpreting information. While some isolate some of the data and seek to think about their individual characteristics, others try to draw a general conclusion. Those who are governed by systemic thinking will try to find the connections between the data, based on the idea that they are part of a larger set.
So what exactly is this type of thinking? Why is it used in family and couple therapy?
What is systemic thinking?
Systemic thinking is a type of thinking that analyzes the relationships between the components of a set, which is called a “system.” He believes that the whole is more than the sum of the parts, so the interest is focused on it.
This theoretical approach is based on various disciplines and theories, such as biology, engineering, communication theory, among others. One of its forerunners is Ludwig Von Bertalanffy, a biologist who postulated the General Theory of Systems.
Anthropologist Bateson, along with other collaborators, studied the dynamics of families with a member with schizophrenia and postulated the so-called “double bond theory.”
There are also contributions from engineering and cybernetics when considering the information flows and communication processes resulting from Watzlawick’s axioms. Therefore, systemic theory is considered to be a meta-theory. This is how the foundations of systemic psychology emerged , which continued to evolve.
Characteristics of systemic thinking
What are the advantages of systemic thinking?
Systemic thinking offers many advantages. One of the most important is related to the general or total vision. Using information from different sources (or systems), you can access a multitude of points of view. This makes it possible to better understand a situation or a phenomenon that will guide decision-making.
Reality is a network of relationships, so the systemic approach does not focus on a single aspect. For example, at the organizational level it facilitates the strategic and overall vision.
Examples of systemic thinking
As mentioned, systemic thinking is used in various fields. In the clinical setting, a typical systemic approach is related to the “designated patient”. It is the carrier of the symptom and the one who “condenses” or expresses a much more complex situation.
For example, in a family, when one of the children has an allergy, parents with systemic thinking will wonder what else that symptom means. I mean, what he seems to be expressing.
If we consider systemic thinking in the organizational field, in the face of recurring complaints in the sales area, the solution will not be just to ask what is happening or make adjustments.
We will move on to identifying all the actors involved, the relationships between them and how they maintain or prevent the situation. Thus, the performance of an organization depends on all the elements that make it up.
Systemic thinking addresses complexity
Systemic thinking does not deny the particularity of people. Not at all. The idea is to see a person “in relation to”, ie part of an environment that influences them. This is done always respecting the uniqueness of the parts and the whole.
Finally, one of its greatest contributions is the complexity with which it allows us to think about the behavior of system components; there is no single answer, there is no single way. This makes it easier to understand the problem, analyze alternatives and be creative in finding solutions.
