Integrating Constructivist and Systemic Metatheory in Family Therapy

Abstract

In this article, we critically review the epistemological transition from a modernist or first-order cybernetic approach in which subject-object dualism is implicitly assumed and enacted within the therapeutic relationship, to the current postmodern, second-order approach. Problems associated with both epistemological persuasions are examined. We propose a theoretical way out of the epistemological corner defined by a former naive realism, on the one hand, and the current potential for a nonfunctional relativism, on the other. This route is created through an integration of systemic and constructivist metatheory whereby therapist knowledge, as fallible as it may be, is afforded a rightful place within the therapy relationship. Moreover, participant-observation is considered a necessary extension to the postmodern emphasis on therapist reflexivity because it reinstates the importance of therapist knowledge (i.e., objectifications of family dynamics and experiences). It is suggested that the willingness to engage in the process of intersubjective meaning creation, guided by the therapist and the client, but driven by the client's own knowing and experiencing, is central to the success of therapy.It was not too long ago that a fatalistic shadow had been cast over the field of family therapy: "The systemic paradigm [is] slowly dissolv[ing] into incoherence" (Erickson, 1988, p. 234); "as the systems era disintegrates" (Goolishian and Anderson, 1992, p. 35). With proclamations such as these, the very foundation of family therapy had been thrown into question. The era of postmodernism had arrived, and, for a time,

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“…and Fergus et al . [ 82 , 83 , 86 - 88 ]. Their framework for understanding and treating distressed relationships integrates family systems and constructivist theory pertaining to how partners make meaning, and how such meaning-making processes influence their interpersonal dynamic.…”

Third‐Order Thinking in Family Therapy: Addressing Social Justice Across Family Therapy Practice

“…Third-order thinking encourages us to continue to recognize our own social location and viewpoint as an essential component of therapy (Fergus & Reid, 2002) but goes beyond this stance. Taking a third-order perspective means taking a metaview of systems of systems to map relationships between society, ourselves, and families.…”

Self-Other Positioning in Obesity: A Pilot Study Using Repertory Grid Technique

“…Our choice was underpinned by the following considerations: a) the object of the current research is not the meaning construction process (which may be mainly individual as theorized by constructivists or familial-social as claimed by constructionists), but on the outcome of this process; b) the semantic dimensions identified using RET correspond to the so-called "narrated semantic polarities" (i.e. to explicit opposites expressing a relatively stable "self-narrative"), considered by Ugazio herself to be equivalent to Kelly's personal constructs [40]; c) RET has been shown to provide a precise mapping of the different positions characterizing the relational and semantic universe of a subject and is also used in constructivist family therapy: Within Personal Construct Psychology many authors [33,34,35,[54][55][56] have developed concepts that take into account the family context in which personal constructs originate and evolve and use RET to study family construct systems and the positions adopted by individual members within them. In this regard, Procter [35; p. 32], in reference to his Family Construct System theory, introduces the notion of the "construct as positional".…”