Postmodern, Social Constructionism, and Systems Theory in Therapy

Let’s begin with defining what a system is and what a theory is.

Theories are developed/constructed to understand a phenomenon and, at times, to challenge and extend existing knowledge, perhaps critical assumptions. According to Wikipedia (2018), “a system is a regularly interacting or interdependent group of units forming an integrated whole.” Therefore, when you initially consider what is the theory of a system, you are interested in understanding the phenomenon of a particular system (the relationships). In fact, you might have heard in your course work that Systems theory proposes the sum is greater than its part.

In the field of Marriage and Family Therapy, the professionals are trained and typically use a systemic lens/thinking approach based on Systems Theory when working with their “client/s” considering the different systems; in essence, the professional considers how “things” (object, idea, situation/event, etc.) and people are organized and affect another (interactional cycles), similarly to cybernetics philosophy. The systemic professional recognizes the need to understand the client in their context (systems), as people and ideas are socially constructed.

The systemic clinician makes several assumptions about the client and the identified “problem;” clients have strengths and are resilient. They are a part of several systems that they affect, affecting them conversely. As for the “identified problem,” the clinician believes it is the product of certain interactional cycles, hence the need to understand the contexts, including cultural beliefs. The clinician assumes and is interested in the unique outcomes and exceptions to the “problem,” as change is inevitable, and “the problem is the problem” and not the client. Furthermore, from this stance, change has a ripple effect; a small change can create other changes (within and across systems).

Social constructionism is an epistemology noting that knowledge, your truth, and essentially who you are, is constructed by your social interactions (environment and experiences). There are several pilers to this construct, such as language, discourse, and position affecting reality and influences identity accordingly. A person’s discourse and language serve as their lens, filtering information (experiences) and ascribing meaning. These concepts became the foundation for activating the postmodernist view in therapy.

Postmodernism challenges the idea that there is one truth held by modernist (uni-verse) but instead recognizes truth as subjective (multi-verse). Even throughout the history of science in any field, at some point, the “truth” can be rejected, as it is not possible to account for all variables, plus there is always human error, given all individuals have unique constructs that influences what they do or don’t, what they believe or don’t, which affects any outcome. According to Anderson (1997), in therapy Postmodernists assume

• The importance of maintaining a skeptical and questioning attitude toward knowledge in the form of grand or meta-narratives and universal truths that we have inherited.
• The impossibility that grand narratives or universal truths can be generalized or have applicability across peoples, cultures, or situations.
• The importance of local knowledge – the knowledge, expertise, truths, etc. that is created within a community of persons who have first-hand, personal understandings of themselves and their situation.
• Knowledge is an interactive process in which all parties contribute, and what is created is unique and has relevancy and usefulness for that community of persons.
• Knowledge cannot be literally discovered or passed on to another person.
• Language, in its broadest sense—any means we use to try to communicate, articulate with ourselves and with others--is the vehicle through which we create knowledge.
• Language, therefore, is viewed as active and creative rather than as static or representational.
• Knowledge and language are relational and generative.
• Transformation is inherent in the inventive and creative aspects of knowledge and language--dialogue. The transformation is unpredictable as the dialogue itself is unpredictable.

Postmodernism is based on systemic and social constructs. There is no “absolute” truth in line with that would also mean Postmodernists would recognize their own limitations (blindsided) accordingly. All three of these approaches are valid; there is no debate that one is better than another, but instead, these recognize the complexities of all organisms.