From Strategizing to Nonintervention: Toward Irreverence in Systemic Practice*

Within the field of marriage and family therapy, a debate has emerged regarding issues of control and noninstrumentality Concerned with the limitations inherent in the idea of power, many therpists/theoreticians have suggested the adoption of a less instrumental position. Oscillating processes, such as the swing from power to nonistrumentaliyth, are inevitable in the emergence of any discipline and are useful to the extent that these processes do not become so symmetrical that they induced rigidity in thinking. Therapists must be able to act unconstrictingly; However, they must also take responsibility for their actions. Believing too strongly in either strategizing or nonintervening in the therapeutic process can be constraining to say the least. This article will offer a new position called “irreverence” in the therapeutic process of systemic therapy.