Systemic board (2D and 3D)

Systemic board 2D and 3D

Some topics are hard to put into words: conflicts in a team, tangled family dynamics, the feeling of standing in the wrong relationship to something. The systemic board (also called the family board) solves exactly this problem – not by explaining, but by looking: the people involved, but also abstract things such as “work”, “fear” or “the new role”, are arranged spatially in relation to one another as figures on a board.

The power of the method lies in its spatial language: closeness and distance show connectedness or strain, viewing directions reveal what someone is oriented towards, order and position make hierarchies and affiliations recognisable, and a blocker right in the way sometimes explains more than hours of talking things through. The board does not show how the system should be – but how it feels from the inside.

The work then proceeds iteratively: what changes when a figure takes a step forward? What does the client say when she puts herself in the figures' shoes and looks at the whole from their perspective? Often a small movement on the board is enough to set off a big movement inside – new solutions often arise not from more thinking, but from a changed perspective. 

The systemic board is suitable for individual coaching, team supervision and organisational questions: for family and couple issues, conflict situations, decisions involving several parties, or whenever the question “Where do I actually stand?” is in the room. It is neither therapy nor an oracle – but a tool for externalising what has been experienced, recognising patterns and continuing to work on the picture together until the solution begins to emerge in the room.