Positions and Polarities in Contemporary Systemic Practice

Sara Barratt is a Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist and team leader of the Fostering, Adoption and Kinship Care Team at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust where she also teaches on the Masters Training and the Systemic Supervision course. In her independent practice she consults to systemic psychotherapists, local authority social work teams and works with individuals, couples and families in General Practice. Charlotte Burck is a Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist, Trainer and Researcher in the Child and Family Department of the Tavistock Clinic, London. Her books include 'Gender and Family Therapy' (with Gwyn Daniel), 'Gender, Power and Relationships' (with Bebe Speed)), 'Mirrors and Reflections: Processes of Systemic Supervision' (edited with Gwyn Daniel) and 'Multilingual Living: Explorations of Language and Subjectivity'. Her interests include supervision and consultation, systemic research, and developing clinical work with families who have experienced domestic violence and enduring parental conflict. Ellie Kavner is a Consultant Family Therapist in the Child & Family Department of the Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust and is Trust-Wide Head of Discipline, with both a clinical and training responsibility, including professional training in the Masters in Systemic Psychotherapy and courses for organisations in leadership and management. She holds special clinical and training interests in familial violence and early years.

The Systemic Thinking and Practice Series was co-founded in 1989 by series editors David Campbell and Ros Draper to promote innovative applications of systemic theory to psychotherapy, teaching, supervision, and organizational consultation. David Campbell's striking ability to articulate very complex ideas in simple and engaging ways helped many others to connect to the ideas which underlie systemic family therapy and systemic consultation. As well as honouring his work, this volume exemplifies many of the key aims of the Systemic Thinking and Practice Series series, covering as it does theory and practice, teaching research, consultation, and supervision, as well as new and creative applications to the world beyond therapy. It has much to offer to a wide readership of psychotherapists and others interested in multiple ways of applying systemic ideas.'David Campbell was one of the pioneers of the systemic approach, and this volume, inspired by the Festschrift celebrating his work shortly before he died, offers readers the opportunity to read about innovative contemporary projects and developments in the field of systemic thinking and practice across a broad spectrum of professional contexts. The group of international contributors describe the influence of David Campbell on their practice, creating a "collage" of the ideas and applications that formed the core of his own systemic thinking and practice, and of the many diverse shapes and hues that reflect transformational change and the importance of the observing self. Readers will find it hard not to develop their understanding of the power of staying curious whether as a therapist, supervisor, trainer, researcher or organisational consultant. This volume bears all the hallmarks of a book to challenge, provoke, and stimulate the reader.'- Ros Draper, co-founder of the Systemic Thinking and Practice Series'I knew David Campbell for more than twenty years. We shared those passionate, creative and generative years when the systemic approach became a theoretical framework for interventions in many different contexts. This book witnesses and documents in depth all of this.'- Laura Fruggeri, Professor of Psychology of Family Relations, University of Parma

• Series Editors’ Foreword , Introduction , Reflections on development of ideas: personal and contextual. David Campbell in interview with Charlotte Burck , Therapy and Theory , Keeping cool in thinking and psychotherapy , Having a cup of tea with David Campbell: now for something completely different , Relationship to questions over time: David Campbell in interview with Charlotte Burck , The road taken: a brief history of a dialogic family therapy , Supervision and Training , Passions and positions: selfhood in supervision , From Milan to the Tavistock: the influence of systemic training on child and adolescent psychiatrists , Towards a culture of contribution in supervisory practice: some thoughts about the position of the supervisor , Research , Systemic research and research supervision: David Campbell in interview with Charlotte Burck , Learning from research processes and dilemmas: young people’s experience of parental mental illness , Semantic polarities: two interpretations for one concept , Consultation , Evolving applications of systemic ideas. Towards positioning and polarities: David Campbell in interview with Charlotte Burck , Dialogue: keeping in touch , Uncoding landscapes: systemic shapes, maps, and territories , The ultimate ethical position is to keep talking: dealing with difference in teams, in supervision, and in therapy , Applying systemic thinking in pastoral contexts