An Introduction to Systems-Centered© Therapy
By Peter Bernardt, MFT (2011)
Translation Lotte Paans, Marjo Knapen (2017)
Introduction
I have been working intensively with Systems Centered Therapy (SCT) since 2000. This article is a brief introduction to this work.
Yvonne Agazarian, the founder of SCT, developed her ideas by working intensively with groups for 55 years. SCT is based on the theory of systems thinking applied to ‘living human systems. Chaos and complexity theories are examples of systems theory. SCT is characterized by a clear theory of group development and group dynamics, a systematic approach to reducing defenses at the group level, and a method that facilitates communication at the group level, in particular so-called ’Functional Subgrouping.
Fuctional Subgrouping
‘Subgrouping’ is the first and most important skill that members of a Systems-Centered group learn. ‘Subgrouping’ works as follows: a participant shares an experience he or she is having at the time. Other participants are invited to join if they have a similar experience. The moment they join the first speaker, they form a subgroup. A subgroup is a number of participants within the group as a whole who explore and deepen the shared experience. Connecting to similarities, the theory suggests, facilitates the development of the subgroup. Temporarily excluding differences reduces the likelihood that the subgroup will fall into reactivity or conflict.
Conflict arises when people react to differences. This shows up in the form of defense mechanisms, stereotyping and redundant communication. As an alternative to responding to differences, similarities are connected within the subgroup. After a subgroup explores the shared experience, a new subgroup can be started (a difference) based on another group member's experience. This in turn can be joined by other participants who share this experience. Within the group there are now two subgroups, each with their own different experience. In this way, the group as a whole is able to accommodate differences. This relatively simple intervention (although there are many nuances) has far-reaching consequences as the group develops. Many times the information brought in is of high quality, free of defense mechanisms and explanations. People discover that they connect at times when they thought they were alone. A lot of new information is brought in because the group hardly repeats itself. The process of ‘Subgrouping’ supports the movement of the group through various stages of development. ‘Subgrouping’ is the engine through which new energy and information can be brought in without the system getting bogged down or spinning out.
Defenses at the group level
As the group develops, predictable defense mechanisms present themselves. Anxiety is almost always the first to appear. The leader helps the group become less anxious, using specific SCT protocols. As the leader repeatedly helps reduce anxiety, the group learns to cope and normalize anxious responses. Group members are trained to recognize and reduce anxiety. In this way, the group develops new skills and creates a productive working environment. Because fear is usually an experience from an old survival pattern, the group exhibits less fear-driven behavior; ‘character’ is no longer lived out but explored through ‘Subgrouping. Other defense mechanisms that the leader systematically intervenes on are body tension, assumptions and speculations, depression, indignation, role patterns, such as ’above-under‘ communication, and so on.
The authority phase of group development
The group, supported by the leader, moves through the various stages of development (which may take minutes or years): the Flight Phase, the transition phase from Flight to Fight, the Fighting Phase, the Role Clamping Phase, the Crisis-of-Hate. Together, these sub-stages make up the first main stage of group development: the Authority Stage.
Most groups get stuck in the Authority phase and most groups (and leaders) do not receive adequate training to manage this phase. Many groups stall in their development around unresolved differences, stuck in role clashes with each other or with the leader.
Role versus character
The ‘Roles’ concept is an important component in SCT theory. It is not the same as character structure, but is related to it. Roles develop as part of group dynamics and thus express something of the group's unconscious. Character patterns are old survival roles that can become quite permanent. Group members tend to specific roles at a particular stage of group dynamics based on their character.
In SCT terms, character (survival roles) is determined by living in a constructed reality; a combination of anxious, painful or frustrating thoughts from the past separate from reality. These thoughts generate painful experiences and interactions. In body psychotherapy, we know this as the distinction between primary and secondary experiences. What SCT offers, unlike any other therapeutic stream I know, is a systematic training to let go of this constructed reality in the context of a group. This new reality is thereby not only imagined but actually experienced here and now in the group. Much less is lived out in an SCT group. The Authority issue is endured and deeply explored. The group is trained for a long period of time to initially express irritation and anger only toward the leader, until the group members are skilled at not taking each other's irritation personally. This makes the group safer (because the group members' tendency to attack each other personally is interrupted) and it trains the group to recognize feelings toward authority and to consciously and purposefully explore these feelings. Examining our tendency to attack the leader (rather than simply living it out) is one of the ways of SCT to counteract the creation of the scapegoat dynamic in a group.
Adaptation, rebellion, above and below behavior, dislike of structure, preference for structure, frustration with boundaries, all experiences and feelings in relation to the leader are explored in different subgroups. Through this explicit examination of the authority theme, the group learns to tolerate this (normal) phase of group development; the phase of Crisis-of-hate toward the leader. But few groups develop the ability to tolerate group dynamics and associated feelings and impulses. Groups are normally too anxious, tense, stuck in old roles or character-defense mechanisms, so that when the Crisis-of-Hate arises, it feels too intense to stay hooked. The leader himself (I speak from experience) will be triggered or disempowered at such times if he does not have a clear picture, or is himself still struggling too much with his own unresolved authority issue (even with the necessary training, the temptation to react remains strong). Because in SCT the group is prepared step by step for what is to come, the group is better able to tolerate the dynamics and even to learn lessons from the probing authority theme and the ‘Crisis of Hate. Almost anyone who has participated in training programs knows this dynamic and how difficult it can be. SCT offers leaders and trainers help in understanding and relating to this dynamic.
SCT, the Tavistock method and other systems approaches to group dynamics
Because there are other approaches that use systems theory or the ‘group-as-a-whole’ theory, I will explain where SCT differs. One of the most important differences is the level of activity of the leader and how the leader relates to anxiety in the group. The Tavistock method, based on Bion's work, is the most well-known ‘group-as-a-whole’ approach. In this method, the leader is sometimes extremely inactive or silent. This behavior provokes the authority theme to the extreme, creating a lot of fear in response to the leadership vacuum. This fear is lived out and therefore, in my opinion, usually leads to unproductive results: participants hate groups or, on the contrary, become addicted to the cathartic hatred fostered in certain contexts.
SCT has a totally different theoretical premise and resulting leadership style. Fear is seen as an ‘inhibiting force,’ something that hinders the capacity for group development. Groups that try to push through fear have a difficult and painful road ahead. In SCT, inhibitory forces are reduced in a systematic way, releasing energy for group development. Fear is normally one of the first inhibitory forces to emerge in the group process. Therefore, the leader trains participants how to reduce anxiety.
In general, the leader in an SCT group is very active. The leader has two main tasks: 1. monitor the boundaries of communication, monitor the flow of communication and interrupt interaction patterns that cause turbulence and noise 2. train participants in skills they need to function in the group.
There are parallels in the development of body-focused psychotherapy and SCT in terms of effective leadership and productive group climate. In body-focused-psychotherapy, before we understood the full impact of trauma on the body, clients were encouraged to discharge fear and anger. This has since become obsolete; this method of discharge is not functional and sometimes even re-traumatizing. A group process evokes fear by definition under certain circumstances. People are much better at learning new things when they are not anxious, so a group process with a high degree of anxiety is not productive in most cases. In addition, most of us and our clients come from families, subcultures and cultures driven by fear. Plus that many of the experiences we call ‘group shock’ in body-oriented therapy are related to extreme anxiety experiences. So the need to deal effectively with anxiety in a group is a very important issue.
SCT thinks in terms of stages of development. A group trained over a longer period of time in reducing anxiety and tolerating frustration will be able to explore dynamics at a deeper level and enter the next main stage of development (the Intimacy Stage). The leadership style will need to continue to evolve along with it.
References:
Systems-Centered Therapy for Groups
Yvonne M. Agazarian
ISBN: 1-85575-335-9
SCT in Action;
Applying Systems-Centered Approach in Organizations
Susan P. Gantt & Yvonne M. Agazarian iUniverse, Inc.
ISBN: 0-595-34677-4
A Systems-Centered Approach to Inpatient Group Psychotherapy.
Yvonne M. Agazarian
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN: 1-85302-917-3
Autobiography of a Theory
Yvonne M. Agazarian & Susan P. Gantt
Purchase from Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN: 1-85302-847-9