What is systemic psychology?

Systemic psychology is aspecialty of general psychology, which was born in the mid-twentieth century and focuses on theobservation and study of communicational processes and interrelationthat occur in any social group, but its interest is in thecomponents and relationships that arisefrom the relationship in the family as a whole. (1)

Taking into consideration that this discipline is based on the “Systems Theory“(2), the “Complexity Theory”(3) and the “Attachment Theory”(4), it could be said that systemic psychologyis a science that considers the human being as a complex and relational system.

Note: In the family context, systemic family psychology considers that the individuals of afamilymaintain an interaction and influence each other, so that any change that occurs in one of its members has a positive or negative impact on the rest.

Where does systemic psychology arise?

and as a result of the influence of environmentalist philosophical thought with a conception of man as a social being product of his environment.

On the other hand, this discipline had as a precursor the Austrian psychotherapist Paul Watzlawick (6), who from his research with families described a systems theory centered on communication.

From there, the principles of complexity and attachment theories are added, making systemic psychology a discipline with a broad content for the comprehensive approach to group relationships .

To highlight: Systemic psychology is related to psychological schools such as humanism .

What is the goal of systemic psychology?

Due to the multiplicity of specialties involved in systemic psychology , we are going to state and briefly explain some of its most important objectives:

1. Deepen communication and social relationships

The theoretical support of systemic psychology has as an axiom that any human behavior, including gestures, has a communicative function, even if you want to avoid it.

From this point of view, the purpose of this discipline is to delve into those communicational aspects that distort relationships within social groups, but especially in the family.

2. Understand the dynamics of relationships between groups

The relationships within a social group are understood from the point of view of systemic psychology as a set of complex and changing actions.

From this perspective, this discipline seeks to understand, from different angles, What motivates social relationships between individuals in the same group and what reactions they provoke.

You should know: Only by understanding this dynamic can human behavior be predicted or anticipated from a systemic context.

3. Develop conflict resolution strategies

Another of the purposes of this discipline is to participate in the process of solving problems that arise in social groups.

One of the techniques used is “Systemic Therapy”(7) , a therapeutic strategy whose purpose is to understand conflicts from a global perspective to solve individual problems.

Note: Systemic therapy is based on a psychotherapeutic approach whose origins are in family therapy.

4. Improve functioning between groups

Undoubtedly, the main objective of systemic psychology is to improve and consolidate social relations between groups , through a series of strategies that integrate a global perspective.

To highlight: This discipline helps the members of a group to understand that their individual actions can affect the overall functioning of the social group where they cohabit and that the existence of agreed rules is necessary for a Better understanding of group dynamics.

5. Encourage support and compression

Another aspect in which systemic psychology is interested is making those who are part of a social group understand that Conflicts only Hinder Peace and the development of individuals as a social group.

You should know: The systemic psychologist provides all its members with the necessary tools to foster support among its members, in addition to tolerance and mutual respect, but above all to achieve their empathy

Key Findings

  • Systemic psychology is a specialty of general psychology, with a global vision of the study of human behavior.
  • Systemic psychology is a science that considers the human being as a complex and relational system.
  • This discipline focuses on the observation and study of the communication and interrelation processes that occur in any social group.
  • Systemic psychology consists of a discipline for the Comprehensive Approachto group relations.

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