Interpersonal Systems Theory

What is Interpersonal Systems Theory?

Interpersonal systems theory is a new theory which shows how relationships and groups are alive and explains how they work as living entities or systems. Seeing relationships as systems means seeing the living connections and processes between people and their environment as opposed to focusing on static parts. Like other living things, relationships and groups breathe, consume resources, work, play, get stressed, expel waste products, suffer, rest, and may or may not reproduce.

For over 50 years, systems theory proponents such as Ludwig von Bertalanffy and Fritjof Capra have explored the common dynamics of the systems of life, such as boundaries, change cycles and energy dynamics. Interpersonal systems theory applies systems thinking to help us understand a broad array of interpersonal behaviors and this opens up a whole new world of understanding of life forces working in relationships and groups, and why they grow and thrive, or become dysfunctional.

Interpersonal Systems Theory explains that a flow of energy connects people in relationships and this flow pressures them and everything else in the environment to change and adapt. People cope with this pressure by creating patterns and seeking to find dynamic balances. Communication is the major tool for managing those balances within and between people and relationships.