As the works that systemic practitioners are involved in becomes more multifarious, the systemic model itself evolves to different levels of complexity. A model that was once associated almost exclusively with seeing families in therapy has during the last decade developed into a movement that offers potential for practitioners working in the broader domain of human systems. Within this movement there have been several notable papers which offer helpful clarifications for practitioners seeking ways to employ systemic perspectives and practices in different \vays [ego Lang, Little and Cronen (1990)]. This paper is part of that movement in proposing that organizing what a systemic practitioner does around the distinctions of approach, method and technique, offers different possibilities for refinement and development within each level and enhances the potential for a creative relationship between the levels. It is also proposed that by making these distinctions within a model it becomes possible to employ a greater range of methods and techniques while remaining coherent within the practitioner’s preferred theoretical orientation or the model in which they are currently training. Another consequence of this proposal may be that by using the distinctions of approach – method – technique, practitioners may be facilitated to enjoy the feast of techniques that abound in the field of therapeutic practice without the, often feared, consequence of “not being systemic”. Although this model is explicated in terms of the systemic model it could also be used to explore and clarify other therapeutic approaches.
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Approach, Method, Technique- Making Distinctions and Creating Connections
