Raphael J. Becvar, retired endowed chair in marital and family therapy, was a licensed psychologist, licensed marriage and family therapist, and an approved supervisor with many years of experience in both academic and private practice contexts. He has authored and co-authored many books and articles in professional journals. His particular focus is on philosophical/metaperspectives on mental health and the practice of therapy and a widely recognized teacher of systems theory and family therapy.

Dorothy Stroh Becvar, Professor Emerita in the School of Social Work at St. Louis University, was a licensed marital and family therapist, and a licensed clinical social worker. She published extensively and presented workshops and taught courses, both nationally and internationally, on a wide variety of topics. She was also president/CEO of the Haelan Centers(R), a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to promoting growth and wholeness in body, mind, and spirit. Dorothy died on August 31, 2021.

Lynne Reif, licensed professional counselor, began her career working with at-risk youth in the foster care system. In 2000 she became a middle school counselor and continues in that role today. Lynne has extensive background in working with children and families and was a part of the Leadership Team that created and ran the Empowering Young Women conferences hosted by the University of Missouri St. Louis for 20 years. In 2012, she traveled to Uganda to co-teach a first of its kind course in school counseling to educators there, and to work with girls in the schools. This experience significantly expanded her cultural awareness and understanding of the significance of context in the lives of children.

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Sally St. George and Dan Wulff

Preface

Raphael J. Becvar

Introduction

Chapter 1: About Theories

Chapter 2: Systems Theory/Cybernetics: A Paradigm Shift

Modernism

Postmodernism

Constructivism

Social Constructionism

First-Order and Second-Order Cybernetics

Chapter 3: First-Order Cybernetics: Definitions of Concepts

Boundaries

Communication/Information Processing

Context

Entropy and Negative Entropy

Equifinality

Homeostasis, Morphostasis, and Morphogenesis

Open and Closed Systems

Positive and Negative Feedback

Recursion

Relationship

Wholeness

Summary and Conclusion

Chapter 4: Second-Order Cybernetics: Definition of Concepts

Autopoiesis

Consensual Domains

Epistemology of Participation

Feedback

Non-Purposeful Drift

Openness and Closedness

Reality as a Multiverse

Structural Coupling

Structural Determinism

Wholeness and Self-Reference

Summary and Conclusion

Chapter 5: Family Interpretive Systems/Stories

Chapter 6: Family Development Through the Life Cycle

Chapter 7: The Family as System

Chapter 8: A Critique and Defense of the Systems Perspective

Chapter 9: Patterns to Ponder

Chapter 10: Implications for Family Therapy

Stability and Change

General Principles

Engaging the Family, Assessment, and Therapeutic Goals

Pragmatics

Final Thoughts

Chapter 11: In Conclusion

References

Index

About the Authors