DMFT-7501: Foundations of Relational/Systemic Intervention

Shumway, S. T., Kimball, T. G., Korinek, A. W., & Arredondo, R. (2007). A family systems based model of organizational intervention. Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 33(2), 134-148.
This article reviews how marriage and family therapists are well suited to systems consultation because of their family therapy training. A family-systems-based model of intervention for working with an employee assistance program is presented.

Weber, T. T., McDaniel, S. H., & Wynne, L. C. (1987). Helping more by helping less: Family therapy and systems consultation. Psychotherapy, 24(3), 615-620.
The conceptual framework of systems consultation is presented, and various examples of systems consultation in action are provided. The article introduces the concept of systems consultation and provides an overview of a framework for therapists who wish to engage in systems consultation.

Kim, D. H. (1999). Introduction to systems thinking. Pegasus Communications, Inc.
Read pages 1-10.
This article provides an overview of systems thinking, characteristics of systems, their importance, and systemic behavior.

McDowell, T. (1999). Systems consultation and Head Start: An alternative to traditional family therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 25(2), 155-168.
The author presents a review of how family therapists can offer organizational consultation as systems consultants. A multidimensional model for providing comprehensive mental health consultation to Head Start programs is provided, and the skills necessary for MFTs to work as systems consultants are explored.

Von Schlippe, A., & Schweitzer, J. (2015). Systemic interventions. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Read Chapter 3: A Systemic Understanding of “Problems”, Chapter 4: Genograms, Organigrams, System Diagrams, and Chapter 10: Interventions in Systemic Team and Organizational Consultation.

Lee, J., & Danes, S. M. (2012). Uniqueness of family therapists as family business systems consultants: A cross-disciplinary investigation. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 38(1), 92-104.
This article includes a review of how consulting approaches of family therapists who work with family businesses differ from business consultants. It discusses the contribution family therapists bring to an interdisciplinary consulting team.

Boardman, J., & Sauser, B. (2013). Systemic thinking: Building maps for worlds of systems. John Wiley & Sons.
This resource provides a structured overview of systemic thinking and how systems influence each other and contribute to problem-solving. It reviews systemic thinking, discusses a framework and techniques for understanding and looking at new ways to solve problems and create solutions.