General systems theory: Practical and theoretical implications for group intervention

Kissen, Morton

doi:10.1007/bf01456485

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…In other words, they constitute a linear summing and not a complex systemming 1 , 1 The term summing implies a simple set of individual entities which do not interact sufficiently enough with each other to produce a complex whole with emergent properties (systemming). For example, a hydrogen atom and an oxygen atom side by side are simply two different atoms next to each other speaking in terms of traditional systemic theory (Kissen, 1980). But why does the facilitator/catalyst of a group process (whether in a therapeutic or educational setting) need not to be alone but surrounded by a group of peers?…”

Section: Coevolution and Groups: You Need A Community To Intervene In...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Petros Polychronis and the epistemology of life

Brailas¹

2023

Preprint

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In living systems, the complex whole that emerges through the multi-level interactions and synergies among the individual constituent parts is able to interact with those parts the very moment they compose it. Depending on the dynamic interplay between them and being in constant dialogue with their wider environment, the whole and the parts are capable of modifying their behavior, adapting, and coevolving. The complex synergies that develop in a far from equilibrium state give rise to a particularly rich and often unexpected collective dynamic behavior. This article is an autoethnographic epistemological inquiry. Through the work and praxis of Petros Polychronis, child psychiatrist, systemic psychotherapist, and director of AKMA for twenty years, and through my relationship with him, I present the main pillars of an epistemology of living systems. The concepts of co-evolution, destabilization, crisis, dissipative structures, strange attractors, bifurcation point, entropy, and rhizome were, among others, for Petros Polychronis not just abstract theoretical conceptions but invaluable practical intervention tools for the empowerment and the sustainability of human systems at the personal and collective level.

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Section: Coevolution and Groups: You Need A Community To Intervene In...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Petros Polychronis and the epistemology of life

Brailas¹

2023

Preprint

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Group Dynamics: A Modern Redefinition of their Therapeutic Significance as Boundary Processes

Kissen

1982

The Individual and the Group

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Exploring general systems processes in group settings.

Kissen¹

1981

Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice

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Group dynamics are re-defined in this paper as boundary processes having distinctive systems and object relations properties. A historical analysis is offered which leads to a modern functional definition of group dynamics as communicative signals requiring some form of intervention or response from the therapist. The boundary properties of both the original group dynamic process and the leader's ultimate response need to be articulated from a systems vantage point. The most effective and systems opening forms of intervention require a solid comprehension and grasp on the part of the therapist of the significant dynamic processes occurring within the group. A systems approach offers the contemporary group therapist numerous strategic options and a greater variety of intervention possibilities in his response to the dynamic processes taking place in his groups.

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General systems theory: Practical and theoretical implications for group intervention

Cited by 4 publications

References 12 publications

Petros Polychronis and the epistemology of life

Petros Polychronis and the epistemology of life

Group Dynamics: A Modern Redefinition of their Therapeutic Significance as Boundary Processes

Exploring general systems processes in group settings.

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