Some principles of an ecological model of the person as a consequence of the therapeutic experience with systems

How do systems therapists' ideas of an individual differ from those of individually oriented therapists? Systems therapists are less interested in stable personality structures than in the contextual variability of a person's behavior. They think that although partnership may restrict, it also triggers the personality's development and shapes and models self-realization. The coevolution of partners can neutralize neurotic dispositions and can have a healing effect. On the other hand, it is the individual who largely decides in what systems he or she will participate, and to what extent and in which manner. In modern, Western society, personal regulations through social systems are becoming increasingly weaker, and the possibility for individuals to realize themselves in interactions is more and more restricted. According to an ecological model of the person, self-realization has to rely on relations to other persons in order to make it more real.