Some Ways of Being Systemic in a Time of Climate and Ecological Breakdown

Abstract

Sophisticated human societies and their myriad achievements, including family therapy, have developed within a predictable ecosystem and climate that are now breaking down. This paper reflects on the author's work as a systemic family therapist during a week in which global temperatures were the hottest ever recorded. Alternating between episodes of practice and their connection to theory, it describes the influence of the ecological and climate emergencies in therapy with individuals and families, in working alongside and supervising colleagues, and in trying to effect organisational change.