Reflecting team

The Reflecting Team is a method of reflection in systemic therapy developed by Tom Andersen . This involves a guided reflection by several therapists who are also present. The special thing about it is that the therapists (partly) who are also present reflect on the therapy process and thus also the clients behind a one-way window in the observation room - with the consent of the clients.

Action

A therapeutic conversation takes place in the therapy room between the psychotherapist and the client or clients . From a systemic point of view, they create a therapeutic system consisting of their interactions or communications . In a second room, the observation room, there is a therapeutic team who can observe and hear the therapy process through a disposable pane. One variation is the so-called focusing team . The therapeutic team sits directly in the room with the therapist and client. This variation is often chosen for pragmatic reasons, whereby various disruptive factors of the participant observation are not taken into account and thus the concept of the reflecting team becomes scientifically worthless.

The Reflecting Team does not usually take an active part in the conversation, but does listen attentively. After a certain time the positions are changed. The members of the reflecting team now think aloud about the conversation process they have observed and exchange ideas regarding the clients. Client and therapist listen to the thoughts of the reflecting team, which are expressed in an appreciative , supportive and helpful manner. Then the clients talk to the therapist about their thoughts that arose while listening. The change from the interview level to the reflection level can take place several times.

In this way, an additional level of observation and external perspective can be generated: the therapist who works with the client can receive information from observers who are not part of this therapeutic relationship that would not be accessible to him without this setting .

target

The setting can be used to achieve therapeutic goals. The therapeutic team can support the therapeutic system in the therapy room from the observation room (in the sense of a deliberate disturbance of the circularity ). This supportive addition can range from a simple interruption of the session to complex messages for the client.

The increased effort (several therapists) leads to a greater variety of perspectives, reduces therapeutic errors and one-sidedness and enables effectiveness. With this method, among other things, systemic therapy implements its analysis that covers several perspectives.

literature

• Schlippe, A. von & Schweitzer, J .: Textbook of systemic therapy and counseling . 10th edition. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2003, ISBN 978-3-525-45659-0 , Chapter: Cooperation instead of intervention: The reflective team.
• Tom Andersen: The reflective team. Dialogues and dialogues about dialogues. Modern learning, Dortmund 1990.
• Jürgen Hargen & Arist von Schlippe (eds.) The game of ideas. Reflective team and systemic practice. borgmann, 1998, ISBN 978-3-86145-157-0
• Sühlsen, Thorsten: Research as a system. Recursive reflection as a method of educational science, Waxmann Verlag, Münster 2017, ISBN 978-3-8309-8641-6

Web links

Brief description in the method pool of the University of Cologne