Sitting with uncertainty to create a rich nourishment for clinicians: Developing a systemic family therapy clinic for psychosis in community adult mental health team

Abstract

PHOTO CREDIT: Priscilla Du PreezSystemic practice can be a rich source of fuel for services, nourishing clinicians and families. To us, systemic thinking supports the creation of space, taking pause, being with and seeing the bigger picture. It is about multiplicity, of idea, of voices, of people and cultures coming together to make sense together. In a culture which is struggling under the weight of austerity, the pandemic and ongoing limitations of practice due to staff shortages and limited resources at a time of extreme demand, we need something to open ourselves and our clients to new possibilities and build trust and safety.This paper will describe systemic family therapy within a secondary care community mental health team. You will hear the voice of Jo, a consultant clinical psychologist and systemic psychotherapist and Funmi, an assistant psychologist in the team. We will discuss decision-making in this work and explore the experiences of the reflecting team, highlighting the value of a systemic approach in secondary adult mental health. The straightest route is not always the most effective or nourishing, sometimes it takes the windy path to get the richest source of progress.