A nonlinear dynamic systems approach to psychological interventions

The conventional view on (psychological) interventions follows a linear input–output model, which is that the more of a certain intervention there is then the better the outcome will be. However, ample clinical phenomena (e.g., sudden gains and losses) and research findings question the validity of this paradigm. In this chapter we present an alternative framework, based on complex self-organizing systems, to conceptualize clinical change and psychological interventions. It is important to note that the framework for interventions we present here is a general framework that applies to the treatment of children, adolescents, and adults. There is no reason to expect that the general principles that we discuss work differently for different age groups. In the first part, we will discuss psychotherapy as dynamic support of clients’ self-organizing processes and we will outline generic principles that provide the conditions for self-organization to occur. Next, we will illustrate the time-based sensitivity of psychotherapeutic change dynamics by means of a mathematically based simulation model. Last, we will present a case study to emphasize the importance of personalized and process-sensitive feedback for clinical practice.