Systems-Centered Training: An Illustrated Guide for Applying a Theory of Living Human Systems

Abstract

A s a clinician and consulting psychologist who thinks from a systems perspective, Systems-Centered Training: An Illustrated Guide for Applying a Theory of Living Human Systems was enlightening to read as it deepened my understanding of their model and inspired new ideas about human development and transformational change. The reader takes a journey into the development and application of systems-centered theory (SCT), captured in visual illustrations presented over the course of the book. This journey covers much territory and continuously points the reader toward emerging innovations in the theory and its application. The reader will likely appreciate, as I did, the way in which the authors capture the organic nature of how SCT evolved and grew from its inception to now. Readers who have some background knowledge of general systems theory will have an edge over the reader who is new to the theory itself. The authors take a historically based approach to explicate the theory and practice of SCT. They emphasize that there is an ongoing dialogue between the theory and actual practice as one informs the other. I appreciated the humility that came across as the authors revealed how their trainees taught them about needed changes in both theory and application. The openness to learning and changing is at the heart of what it means to be a living human system and the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 73: 174–181, 2023 © 2023 The American Group Psychotherapy Association, Inc. ISSN: 0020-7284 print/1943-2836 online DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207284.2023.2165363