Cybernetic theory does not explain family and couple process: Systems theory and dialectical metatheory

The theoretical foundation of family and couples therapy has been general systems theory, most notably that of Bertalanffy. However, there is a serious flaw between how theorists have been explaining what therapists have been seeing. This is primarily due to the use of the closed system concepts of cybernetics to explain open systems. This article briefly presents Bertalanffy's distinction between open and closed systems, reviews how closed system concepts came to be applied to families and couples, discusses the dilemmas this has created, and argues that the dialectical metatheory of Weeks and of Bopp and Weeks allows a more uniform approach to therapy.