Developed by the Brief Therapy Center of Palo Alto ( Dick Fisch , Paul Watzlawick & John Weakland ), the systemic and strategic model is derived from systemic logic and aims to bring about change, whatever the situation, both behaviorally only in terms of experience.

Training in the strategic systems approachThe main characteristics

  • A more interactional and relational than individual perspective, which makes it possible to consider the behavior in the relational dynamics in which it appeared and to contextualize the nature of the problem, 
  • A strategic logic which, through the implementation of strategies, generates change,
  • An approach centered on the analysis of the problem as it functions today: for a problem to persist, the person must put in place things that feed it, mechanisms that were meant to be regulations but that actually allow the problem to persist, 
  • A constructivist vision of the human being based on the fact that everything is built from experience and that there is no absolute truth. Since "the world as we perceive it is our invention" ( Heinz von Foerster ), the approach will then focus on reading the world through the reality of the person from the beliefs and values ​​that it updates as it goes. as experiences progress,
  • A non-normative and non-pathologizing approach: it is a matter of bringing the person towards a balance that will provide them with well-being and that makes sense to them, by setting aside our own frames of reference. 

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The founding premises

Every person interacts with an environment which is constantly changing and which leads them to adapt to the difficulties they encounter in order to maintain their balance (principle of homeostasis). 

- Homeostasis is one of the properties of systems. It defines the position of equilibrium that can exist in a system. Most of the time, the process regulates itself and allows a resolution of the difficulties. But sometimes a difficulty becomes a persistent problem because it is handled inadequately repeatedly. Then the problem becomes the solution that is put in place.  

- Regardless of its origin, nature and duration, a problem only persists if it is maintained by the behavior of the person and/or those around him (= attempted solutions). If the behavior that is fueling the problem is changed or eliminated, then the problem disappears or otherwise evolves. The different modes of intervention are used to unblock a system in which the person is "stuck" to allow him to live something different, to have a "Corrective Emotional Experience".

How does a systemic and strategic therapy consultation work?

How does a systemic and strategic therapy consultation work?

For this to be possible and for the patient to agree to implement what is offered to him, it is necessary to follow the different stages of the strategic intervention detailed by Nardone & Watzlawick: 

  • First consultation and building the therapeutic relationship 
  • Problem definition 
  • Agreement on therapy goals 
  • Identification of the Perception-Reaction System now the problem 
  • Development of change strategies and implementation of techniques
  • Conclusion of therapy