Positions and Polarities in Contemporary Systemic Practice

This book provides a rich collection of the work that has been informed by the ideas of the eminent family therapist and clinical psychologist, Dr David Campbell who died in August 2009. Contributors are drawn from different fields and describe models they have developed for organizational consultation, training, therapy and research. The book includes a range of important topics, key ideas which thread through contemporary theoretical frameworks, a research study into young people's experience of parental mental illness, and the application of Dr Campbell's use of semantic polarity theory in supervision, research and clinical practice. The innovative consultancy model developed by David Campbell with Marianne Groenbaek is elaborated here. Personal accounts of work in different contexts include a priest consulting within his community, the use of self in training systemic psychotherapists, the experience of consultation in academic settings, and a narrative of a training course for psychiatrists. Interspersed with these chapters are David Campbell's own reflections concerning the development of his ideas and practice over time.

Sara Barratt

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