Knowing and not knowing: systemic ideas in therapy

ABOUT THE EPISODE

What we cover

Family therapist Ged Smith explores knowing and not knowing in systemic therapy, with practical examples for stuck sessions.

• Working with uncertainty
• Questions in systemic practice
• Embedded questions
• Playful approaches with children

What can a not-knowing stance offer when therapy feels stuck?

Family therapist Ged Smith and Natalie explore knowing and not knowing in systemic practice. Letting go of the pressure to produce an immediate expert answer can make more room for uncertainty, context and perspectives that have not yet been heard.

A not-knowing stance does not mean the therapist has no knowledge or responsibility. It means using expertise with curiosity, staying alert to assumptions and allowing the client's relationships and meanings to shape where the conversation goes.

How can questions and playfulness open new possibilities?

The episode considers questions in systemic practice, including embedded questions, as ways of inviting reflection rather than extracting a correct answer. A carefully framed question may help the client notice connections or alternatives that were harder to see from inside a familiar account.

Playful approaches with children are also part of the conversation. Playfulness still needs to fit the client and the moment, but it can broaden the ways ideas are expressed and explored when ordinary verbal discussion has become limited or stuck.

Related listening: For another conversation about understanding people in the context of relationships, listen to An Innovative Way of Explaining Attachment Theory, including the tiger-and-teddy metaphor and attachment across the lifespan.