A systemic conceptualization workshop in Chennai, India: Training and evaluation

The purpose of this study was to introduce a systemic way of thinking to counselors in Chennai, India through workshops, to study the change in conceptualization in the participants, to explore "what" helped participants gain systemic conceptualization and the cultural relevance of systemic thinking in India. A pilot study was first conducted that assessed the training needs of counselors in Chennai, India. The results of that study indicated that training in systemic ways of thinking may be beneficial to less experienced clinicians. The study used a mixed methodology to answer the research questions. The quantitative part used an experimental pre-post design to study the change in conceptualization in participants. Four 3-day workshops were conducted for social work students and two 2-day workshops were conducted for professional counselors in General Systems Theory and Structural Therapy. The Family Therapy Exercise (FTE) by Breunlin, D., et al., (1983) was used to collect data. The instrument was adapted to suit the Indian context and its validity was tested. The results showed that the participants who underwent the training did experience a significant increase in their systemic thinking. The results also revealed that participants in the experimental group with prior systems training and who were in the second year of the program showed a significant increase in systemic thinking after the workshops than the others. The qualitative part of the study used focus group interviews and session-to-session open-ended questions to collect data. The results of the study identified the "concepts," the training "activities" and "methods" that helped participants think differently. Several themes were also identified about the cultural relevance of the theory and techniques to the Indian social context and the barriers that counselors may face in using them.