Depth system

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Depth systems as a cross-context professional working method and management method is an extension of systemic therapy and counseling procedures. The following elements are methodically integrated: (1) classic systemic (family) therapy , (2) reconstructive work based on the principles of objective hermeneutics , (3) coopetition as an expression of the dialectical relationship between cooperation and competition and as a central one Element (4) Vipassana meditation in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin and as taught by SN Goenka for the development of inner mindfulness and wisdom. The Vipassana meditation serves as an instrument for the coordination of the unconscious perception in order to achieve a dimension of depth that is not considered possible with conventional therapeutic-advisory procedures.

History of origin

The development of the depth system began in the early 1990s with the work of Gerhard Scholz and Sergio Mantovani in the therapy of drug addicts. It began with the observation that the underlying level of drug addiction is an addiction at the level of existence. Addiction does not (only) consist of the desire for substances, but primarily of the (longing) addiction for physically tangible sensations that substances trigger in the body. Consequently, it is about a deep-seated unconscious reaction pattern: wanting to have more pleasant and not wanting to have unpleasant physical sensations.

This understanding of addiction can also easily be applied to non-substance-related addictions such as gambling, online activities, sexuality, excessive preoccupation with one's own appearance, food, sport etc. and the secondary phenomena such as power and prestige.

From 2001 the model was expanded and initially transferred to intervening case management (especially high-cost cases). Further areas into which the depth system has been translated are the areas of leadership and the coaching of high-potentials in sports (competitive and top athletes). Since 2010, a day center in Zurich has been working according to the principles of the depth system with the aim of offering its clientele structures in which they can build up their motivation and develop long-term career prospects.

The deep systemic model and its changes

At the beginning of the work with severely drug addicts, a model was designed based on four pillars: (1) everyday life as therapy versus therapy as everyday life, (2) systemic individual, couple and family therapy, (3) differentiated self-help concepts and (4) meditation techniques (Anapana-sati and Vipassana according to SN Goenka). The entirety of these elements was laid down in the statutes of the start again association under the term depth system .

Later work in other contexts (e.g. case management, management, talent development) required an expansion of the model. The Vipassana meditation moved into the center here, as it actually represents the transformative element. Through Vipassana meditation the ability can be developed to increasingly come to a direct and unadulterated perception of oneself. The focus is on one's own efforts to maintain the most equanimity possible, which is opposed to the habitual level of addiction. This results in a more undistorted view of one's own inner world from a subjective point of view. Mediated via the sensory organs, the outside world is perceived increasingly undistorted. As a result, individual freedom of action increases, as decisions are less shaped by internal habitual reaction patterns, but can be acted on in a case-related manner. The freedom of action gained in this way flows into the implementation of the principles of coopetition, qualification and understanding of context.

In the further development beyond the field of addiction therapy, the differentiated self-help concepts in the dialectically conceived coopetition were incorporated. Coopetition refers to the fact that professional contexts always and simultaneously show aspects of cooperation and competition. Both must be integrated with each other in order to be able to act professionally efficiently and effectively. The systemic therapy applied in the original addiction therapy concept was translated into qualification and contextual understanding. Qualification means that in professional work contexts, technical qualification is a necessary starting point, but not a goal. Understanding of context refers to the reconstructive ability based on objectively hermeneutical principles of case analysis to combine all available information on a case in such a way that the core challenge crystallizes.

The three cornerstones are translated into terminology and implementation depending on the context. This is based on the assumption that, depending on the context, an adaptation of the basic structural model must be made in order to be able to deal with a context appropriately. Vipassana meditation as the actual transformative element remains constant.

method

The ongoing practice of working through one's own mental-somatic models through Vipassana meditation according to SN Goenka is central to deep systemic work. This ensures that in addition to the permanent further development of the professional qualities of case reconstruction, qualification and coopetition, the transformational processes in the depths of the mind are also maintained. Vipassana meditation can be learned in 10-day introductory courses. These enable you to continue practicing independently afterwards.

Scientific evaluation

Between 1992 and 1998 the addiction therapy center start again (Zurich / CH), which works according to deep systemic principles, was scientifically evaluated on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office of Justice ( FOJ ). This study was funded by the FOJ - with the task of examining whether therapy instead of punishment in the area of ​​severe drug addiction is a promising model. A conservative success criterion was applied to operationalize the therapeutic success. The study combines qualitative with quantitative methodology in the sense of mixed methods : case reconstructions were carried out using objective hermeneutic analyzes and the probabilities of success in small samples were calculated using Bayesian statistics.

The main result of the study is that around 2/3 of the clients who completed the therapeutic program could be rated as success in terms of the conservative success criterion applied. No significant differences could be found between the sexes or between clients who completed the therapy on their own initiative or as part of a judicial measure. Vipassana meditation was shown to be a predictor of preventing severe relapse, but not a predictor of success. Based on the empirical results, the author Urban Studer comes to the conclusion that the facility works as a whole, i.e. that the underlying overall therapeutic concept and not an isolated individual factor is responsible for the success.

Between 2007 and 2010 a qualitative follow-up study was carried out with former clients of the addiction therapy center start again in order to reconstruct their biographical career retrospectively after they left inpatient and outpatient therapy. Based on objective hermeneutic analyzes, a model for the exit from addiction could be derived. This model was applied to the post-therapeutic career of the examined clients and allowed the derivation of principally verifiable prognoses. The model includes the sequence of (1) small steps, (2) small changes, (3) transformation of vulnerabilities according to resources and (4) dissolution of the dependence on resources versus vulnerabilities. The clients examined were able to advance to level (3) and one client showed signs of level (4).

A systematic scientific evaluation for the areas of case management, leadership and coaching of high-potentials in the sport area is still pending.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Scholz, G. (1992). Vipassana meditation and drug addiction. A study of the withdrawal from the rule of the attraction drug. Zurich.
  2. ↑ Studer, UM (2007). Goal: back to work. fitimjob magazine , Oct / Nov, pp. 28–31.
  3. ↑ Scholz, G. (2015). Depth systemic leadership - Humberto Maturana thought and lived further. Learning Organization - Journal of Relational Management and Organization, 88, 16-29.
  4. ↑ Hildenbrand, B. (1992). Everyday life as therapy. Bern: Huber.
  5. ↑ Statutes of the start again social enterprise URL: Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.startagain.ch
  6. ↑ Oevermann, U. (2000). The method of case reconstruction in basic research as well as clinical and educational practice. In: K. Kraimer (Ed.): The case reconstruction. Understanding of meaning in social science research , pp. 58–156, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
  7. ^ Wernet, A. (2000). Introduction to the interpretation technique of objective hermeneutics. Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag.
  8. ^ Gürtler, L., Studer, U. & Scholz, G., (2012). Awareness and Wisdom in Addiction Therapy. The In-depth Systemics Treatment of Mental-somatic Models. Pariyatti Press.
  9. ↑ Studer, UM (1998). Desire, addiction, and depth systems. Case study of the addiction therapy center for drug addicts start again in Männedorf and Zurich from 1992 to 1998. Report to the Federal Office of Justice. Zurich. URL: https://www.bj.admin.ch/dam/data/bj/sicherheit/smv/modellversuche/evaluationsberichte/37.pdf
  10. ^ Studer, U. (2006). Probability theory and inference: How to draw consistent conclusions from incomplete information. Qualitative Research in Psychology , 3 , 329-345.
  11. ↑ Studer, U. (1996). Probability as Logic: The formal structure of consistent reasoning. Technical Report. Interim report to the Federal Office of Justice (BAJ) from December 1996. Zurich.
  12. ↑ Gürtler, L., Studer, U., & Scholz, G., (2010). Depth system. Volume 1. Life practice and theory. Finding ways out of addiction. Münster: Monsenstein and Vannerdat.