Originally most forms of psychotherapy focused on the individual client and their individual problems. However later researchers stressed the importance of looking beyond the individual - to their relationships and to the wider social systems they live in. The ‘systemic view’ is interested in how these factors impact on individual well-being and distress. This film tells the story of the development of systemic ideas and provide an understanding of how the client context is of value for counsellors and psychotherapists across all therapeutic approaches, as any individual client is inevitably embedded within a social system.

This animation was developed by Dr Andreas Vossler, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the Open University, and Damn Fine Media.