Family system

It was argued that the stability of the family system is maintained through self-correcting processes, and when you try to change anything, these processes are activated. The idea that the family or any other group is a system supported by the feedback process added another dimension to the explanation of human behavior.

“A stunning understanding has come that people seem to do what they do in response to the actions of other people; the concept of free will began to be seen in a new light. ” Family members were helpless in the face of a constantly recurring pathological sequence in which they are involved, against their will, and despite their desire to behave differently.
The main advantage of the theory of systems is that it allows, noticing repetitive sequences, to reliably predict certain events in the patient's family. Its main drawback for psychotherapy is that it is not a theory of change, but a theory of stability, eliminating the personal responsibility of patients included in the system. Therefore, it served as a hindrance to the psychotherapist, as it inspired the conviction that any attempt to correct the behavior of at least one family member would inevitably cause resistance of the entire system, due to self-regulation mechanisms. In addition, this methodology sought to describe family members as equals, as “responding units”, and this made planning the reorganization of the family hierarchy much more difficult.
All the psychotherapist could do, guided by the theory of systems, was to plan his work in such a way as to cause a crisis in the family. Then she will need to restructure in a random way to cope with this crisis. Or, the therapist can make a small change and continually strengthen it until the system is reformed to adapt to this change.