Systems-Centered Therapy (SCT®)

and its Interpersonal Neurobiology:

Lowering Scapegoating and

Developing Our Social Brains

Susan P. Gantt, Ph.D., ABPP, CGP, DFAGPA, FAPA

Director, Systems-Centered® Training and Research Institute

Emerita Faculty, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,

Emory University School of Medicine

sgantt@systemscentered.com

www.systemscentered.com

youtube.com/SystemsCentered

Houston Group Psychotherapy Society

Annual Institute

April 21-22, 2017

Orientation to Systems-Centered® Theory and Training

Yvonne M. Agazarian

Systems-Centered Theory Living human systems survive, develop, and transform from simple to complex through a developing ability to recognize differences and integrate them. Systems-centered theory explains how living human systems contain their energy within functional boundaries and direct it towards their goals: the primary goals of survival and development and the secondary goals of environment mastery. Systems-centered theory can be applied clinically to individual, group, couples and family therapy. It can also be applied to all levels of the system in organizations. Systems-Centered Training Systems-centered training teaches how to understand and influence living human systems and how to take up one’s role as an agent of change, both for the self and for other living human systems. Members in systems-centered training learn how to bring their energy into the here-and-now and focus it on the goals. This is accomplished by crossing the boundaries from the outside into the inside, from the past and the future into the present, from fantasy into reality, and into the role of membership. Innovations in Systems-Centered Theory and Training SCT® members learn through experience. By exploring rather than explaining, members learn to tell the difference between comprehensive understanding (words first, experience second) and apprehensive understanding (experience first, words second). Learning this skill leads to “containing” the energy that frustrations and conflicts arouse rather than discharging, binding, or constricting it in defenses of symptoms. Energy in SCT groups is understood as the ability to work towards the goals between, within, and among all the different living human systems in the hierarchy of systems. In SCT training groups, all members work in functional subgroups rather than work alone. Subgroups contain both sides of every issue in the group-as-a-whole which frees the individual to choose which side of the conflict has therapeutic salience for their work.

FUNCTIONAL AND STEREOTYPE SUBGROUPING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FUNCTIONAL AND STEREOTYPE SUBGROUPS

FUNCTIONAL SUBGROUPS

all subgroups

join around similarities

and split around differences

functional subgroups

contain and explore differences

instead of stereotyping

and scapegoating them

functional subgroups

join around similarities

and split differences between them

functional subgroups "contain" all conflict

within the group-as-a-whole

each subgroup discovers

new differences

by exploring the similarities within them

so each subgroup discovers

new similarities

by exploring the differences between them

when the differences within each subgroup

join with the similarities between each

subgroup

the group-as-a-whole transforms into a new

group

able to work differently from the old group

Re-integrating around similarities.

after deliberately splitting around differences

moves the group-as-a-whole

along the path to its goal

functional subgrouping

upsets the social order

by making a place for everyone

and letting everyone find their place

to make the social system work

STEREOTYPE SUBGROUPS

all subgroups

join around similarities

and split around differences

stereotype subgroups come together

around obvious similarities

like black and white,

male and female, them and us

everybody knows

how to make stereotype subgroups

everybody knows

what to do and what to say

to make top dogs,

under dogs

and little dogs

everybody knows

how to keep the ups up

and the downs down

everybody knows

how to keep the ins in

and the outs out

everybody knows

how to make scapegoats of each other

Stereotype subgroups

discriminate differences

and won't integrate them

stereotype subgroups

manage the hatred and fear

that is aroused by differences

by creating a social pecking order

by having a place for everyone

and keeping everyone in their place

to make the social system stable

LEARNING DESCRIPTIVE REFLECTION Step one in Functional Subgrouping

THREE 15 MINUTE EXERCISES

Divide into groups of three, and assign yourselves as an A and a B and a C. Each of you will take a turn.

Find a group pen! A takes the pen and talks to B. C takes the role of observer.

10 minutes (or less – not more!)

START: A holds the pen and says something to B. B’s job is to earn the pen by reflecting what A said. IF…A feels B missed the message or part of it, A asks B to

reflect it again. B tries again. If B has difficulty, B asks A to say it again.

A and B continue to negotiate until A feels understood. (If A & B get stuck, a useful question for B to ask is

“what is the heart of your message?”) WHEN…A feels that B got the message, then A gives B the pen.

5 Minutes (or less – not more!)

Surprises, Learnings, Satisfactions, Dissatisfactions, Discoveries

Observer C starts with surprises, learnings, satisfactions, dissatisfactions, and discoveries and is then joined in the exercise by A & B.

NEXT: repeat 15 minute exercise with B holding the pen and talking to C, with A as observer. NEXT: repeat 15 minute exercise with C holding the pen and talking to A, with B as observer.

Agazarian 2010© Please use these exercises only for yourself. You are not yet qualified to practice on anyone else.

http://dericbownds.net/uploaded_images/prefrontalstress.png

DEVELOPING THE GROUP MIND THROUGH

FUNCTIONAL SUBGROUPING:

LINKING SYSTEMS-CENTERED TRAINING (SCT)

AND INTERPERSONAL NEUROBIOLOGY

Susan P. Gantt, Ph.D.

Emory University School of Medicine and

Systems-Centered Training and Research Institute

Yvonne M. Agazarian, Ed.D.

Systems-Centered Training and Research Institute

International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Special Issue: Neurobiology and Building

Interpersonal Systems: Groups, Couples and Beyond, (60), 4, pp. 515-544.

doi: 10.1521/ijgp.2010.60.4.515 Print ISSN: 0020-7284 Copyright © Guilford Publications Inc. 2010 All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

This article introduces the systems-centered concept of the “group mind” by linking

systems-centered thinking and interpersonal neurobiology, building on Siegel’s definition

of mind as the process of regulating the flow of energy and information. Functional

subgrouping, the systems-centered group method for resolving conflicts, discriminates

and integrates the flow of energy and information within and between group members,

subgroups, and the group-as-a-whole, thus potentiating survival, development, and

transformation. This article uses the interpersonal neurobiological framework to discuss

functional subgrouping as a tool for developing the group mind: considering how

functional subgrouping facilitates emotional regulation, creates a secure relational

context, and potentiates neural integration.

This article is available to download on the SCTRI website at

www.systemscentered.com/Systems-Centered/Readings

(Reproduced with permission of the publisher.)

To order a copy of this journal:

Contact Kim Williams at Guilford Publications

Email Kim.Williams@guilford.com or call +1(212) 431-9800 x242

Cost $27.50

SCT® and Systems-Centered® are registered trademarks of Dr. Yvonne M. Agazarian

and the Systems-Centered Training and Research Institute, Inc., a non-profit organization.

International Journal of Group Psychotherapy

Volume 60 October 2010 Number 4

SPECIAL ISSUE:

Neurobiology and Building Interpersonal Systems:

Groups, Couples and Beyond

SPECIAL ISSUE EDITORS:

Susan P. Gantt, Ph.D.

Paul Cox, MD

Introduction………………………………………………………………. Susan P. Gantt, Ph.D.

Paul Cox, MD

Integrating Interpersonal Neurobiology

with Group Psychotherapy……………………………………………….. Bonnie Badenoch, MA, LMFT

Paul Cox, MD

Developing the Group Mind

through Functional Subgrouping:

Linking Systems-Centered Training (SCT)

and Interpersonal Neurobiology…………………………………..……… Susan P. Gantt, Ph.D.

Yvonne M. Agazarian, Ed.D.

Mirror Neurons:

Their Implications for Group Psychotherapy…………………………….. Victor L. Schermer, MA

Group Psychotherapy and Neuro-Plasticity:

An Attachment Theory Perspective……………………………………… Philip J. Flores, Ph.D.

Introducing Couples to Group Therapy:

Pursuing Passion through the Neo-Cortex……………………………….. Don Ferguson, Ph.D.

COMMENTARY

Reflections on Mind, Brain and Relationships

in Group Psychotherapy:

A Discussion of Bonnie Badenoch and Paul Cox’s paper

“Integrating Interpersonal Neurobiology with Group Psychotherapy”….. Daniel J. Siegel, Ph.D.

COMMENTARY

Group and the Social Brain:

Speeding Toward a Neurobiological

Understanding of Group Psychotherapy…………………………………. John W. Denninger, MD, Ph.D.

Systems-Centered® Training: Suggested Readings

Spring 2017

Agazarian, Y.M. (1997). Systems-centered therapy for groups. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Re-printed in paperback (2004). London, UK: Karnac Books. Agazarian, Y.M. (2001). A systems-centered approach to inpatient group psychotherapy. London, UK: Jessica Kingsley. Agazarian, Y.M. (2006). Systems-centered practice: Selected papers on group psychotherapy. London, UK: Karnac Books. Agazarian, Y.M. (2010). Systems-centered theory and practice: The contribution of Yvonne Agazarian (Edited by SCTRI.) Livermore, CA: WingSpan Press. Reprint (2011). London, UK: Karnac Books. Agazarian, Y.M. (2012). Systems-centered group psychotherapy: Putting theory into practice. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 62(2) 171-195. doi: 10.1521/ijgp.2012.62.2.171 Agazarian, Y.M. (2012). Systems-centered group psychotherapy: A theory of living human systems and its systems-centered practice. GROUP: The Journal of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society, 36(1), 19-36. Agazarian, Y.M., & Gantt, S.P. (2000). Autobiography of a theory. London, UK & Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley. Agazarian, Y.M., & Gantt, S.P. (2003). Phases of group development: Systems-centered hypotheses and their implications for research and practice. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice, 7(3), pp. 238-252. doi: 10.1037/1089-2699.7.3.238 Agazarian, Y.M., & Gantt, S.P. (2005). The systems perspective. In S. Wheelan (Ed.), Handbook of group research and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Agazarian, Y.M., & Gantt, S.P. (2005). The systems-centered approach to the group-as-a-whole. GROUP: The Journal of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society, 29(1), pp. 163-186. Agazarian, Y.M., & Gantt, S.P. (2014). Systems-centered training with couples: Building marriages that work. Systemic Thinking & Psychotherapy, 5. Agazarian, Y.M., & Peters, R. (1981). The visible and invisible group: Two perspectives on group psychotherapy and group process. London, UK: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Re-printed in paperback (1987). London, UK: Karnac Books. Gantt, S.P. (2011). Functional subgrouping and the systems-centered approach to group therapy. In J. Kleinberg (Ed.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of group psychotherapy (pp. 113-138). Oxford, UK: John Wiley. Gantt, S.P. (2013). Applying systems-centered theory (SCT) and methods in organizational contexts: Putting SCT to work. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 63(2), 234-258. doi: 10.1521/ijgp.2013.63.2.234 Gantt, S.P. (2015). Systems-centered group therapy. In E.S. Neukrug (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Theory in Counseling and Psychotherapy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Gantt, S.P. (in press). Developing groups that change our minds and transform our brains: Systems-centered’s functional subgrouping, its impact on our neurobiology and its role in each phase of group development. Psychoanalytic Inquiry: Today’s Bridge Between Psychoanalysis and the Group World [Special Issue]. Gantt, S.P., & Adams, J.M. (2010). Systems-centered training for therapists: Beyond stereotyping to integrating diversities into the change process. Women & Therapy, 33(1), 101-120. doi:10.1080/02703140903404812 Gantt, S.P., & Agazarian, Y.M. (Eds.) (2005). SCT in action: Applying the systems-centered approach in organizations. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse. Reprint (2006). London, UK: Karnac Books. Gantt, S.P., & Agazarian, Y.M. (Eds.) (2006). Systems-centered therapy: In clinical practice with individuals, families and groups. Livermore, CA: WingSpan Press. Reprint (2011). London, UK: Karnac Books. Gantt, S.P., & Agazarian, Y.M. (2010). Developing the group mind through functional subgrouping: Linking systems-centered training (SCT) and interpersonal neurobiology. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, (60)4, 515-544. doi: 10.1521/ijgp.2010.60.4.515 Gantt, S.P., & Agazarian, Y.M. (2011). The group mind, systems-centred functional subgrouping, and interpersonal neurobiology. In E. Hopper & H. Weinberg (Eds.), The social unconscious in persons, groups, and societies: Volume 1: Mainly theory (pp. 99-123). London, UK: Karnac Books. Gantt, S.P., & Agazarian, Y.M. (2011). Highlights from ten years of a systems-centered large group: Work in progress. Voices: The Art and Science of Psychotherapy, 47(1), 40-50. Gantt, S.P., & Agazarian, Y.M. (2016). Systems-centered group therapy. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207284.2016.1218768 Gantt, S.P., & Badenoch, B. (Eds.) (2013). The interpersonal neurobiology of group psychotherapy and group process. London, UK: Karnac Books. Gantt, S.P. & Badenoch, B. (2017). Systems-centered group psychotherapy: Developing a group mind that supports right brain function and right-left-right hemispheric integration. In R. Tweedy (Ed.) The divided therapist: Hemispheric difference and contemporary psychotherapy. London, UK: Karnac Books Gantt, S.P., & Cox, P. (Eds.) (2010). Introduction to the special issue: Neurobiology and building interpersonal systems: Groups, couples, and beyond [Special issue]. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, (60)4, 455-461. doi: 10.1521/ijgp.2010.60.4.455 Gantt, S.P., & Hopper, E. (2012). Two perspectives on a trauma in a training group: The systems-centered approach and the theory of incohesion. In E. Hopper (Ed.), Trauma and Organizations (pp. 233-254). London, UK: Karnac Books. Moreno, J.K. (2007). Scapegoating in group psychotherapy. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 57(1), 93-104. doi: 10.1521/ijgp.2007.57.1.93 O’Neill, R.M., & Constantino, M.J. (2008). Systems-centered training groups’ process and outcome: A comparison with AGPA institute groups. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 58(1), 77-102. doi: 10.1521/ijgp.2008.58.1.77 O’Neill, R.M., Constantino, M.J., & Mogle, J. (2012). Does Agazarian’s systems-centered functional subgrouping improve mood, learning and goal achievement?: A study in large groups. Group Analysis, 45, 375-390. doi: 10.1177/0533316412448287

O’Neill, R.M., Gantt, S.P., Burlingame, G.M., Mogle, J., Johnson, J., & Silver, R. (2013). Developing the systems-centered functional subgrouping questionnaire-2. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 17(4), 252-269. doi: 10.1037/a0034925 O’Neill, R.M., Murphy, V., Mogle, J., MacKenzie, M.J., MacGregor, K.L., Pearson, M., & Parekh, M. (2013). Are systems-centered teams more collaborative, productive and creative? Journal of Team Performance Management, 19(3/4), 201-221. doi: 10.1108/TPM-04-2012-0015 O'Neill, R.M., Smyth, J.M., & MacKenzie, M.J. (2011). Systems-centered functional subgrouping links the member to the group dynamics and goals: How-to and a pilot study. GROUP: The Journal of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society, 35(2), 105-121.

For more information, visit the SCTRI website at www.systemscentered.com

or the SCTRI YouTube Channel at youtube.com/SystemsCentered

or contact Susan Gantt at sgantt@systemscentered.com

SCT® and Systems-Centered® are registered trademarks of Dr. Yvonne M. Agazarian and the Systems-Centered Training and Research Institute, Inc., a non-profit organization.