SCT Online Clinical Symposium Program

---

01 | An Introduction to Systems-Centered Training’s Functional Subgrouping

Trainer(s): Susan P. Gantt, PhD, CGP, ABPP, AGPA-DF, FAPA

This workshop introduces the theory behind functional subgrouping (FSG). FSG is a core method in SCT and is used in groups as well as individual or couples therapy. Functional subgrouping builds a communication pattern which increases understanding and enables differences to be explored more easily. We will work together in the here-and-now to explore our experience using functional subgrouping.

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical; Clinical Pastoral Education Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Didactic Day(s): , Session 1 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Describe the theory that functional subgrouping implements
• Identify 2 behaviors that put functional subgrouping into practice
• Demonstrate how to reflect another person’s input

Presentation Content

Agazarian’s (1997) theory of living human systems, with its systems-centered approach to group practice, represents a developed and comprehensive systems theory applied to groups, individuals and couples. A theory of living human systems has defined theoretical constructs and operational definitions that implement and test the theoretical hypotheses in its practice. This theory and its methods are accepted among group practitioners as evidence-based by SCTRI’s 2010 recognition for “Outstanding Contributions in Education and Training in the Field of Group Psychotherapy” awarded by the National Registry of Certified Group Psychotherapists. SCT methods are regularly cited or included in handbooks and reviews of group psychotherapy practice. There is also significant peer-reviewed published support for the theory and its practice, including over 45 articles in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Group Dynamics, Small Group Research, Organizational Analysis, Group Analysis, GROUP, and other scientific journals as well as numerous books.

The systems-centered approach to group and organizational work has been in the field for over 30 years. Its practice includes techniques that have been linked in research to successful strategies for improvement in group and individual psychotherapy, for example, modifying cognitive distortions, increasing group cohesion, lowering scapegoating, and reducing somatic defenses.

This workshop will work with flight/fight by establishing reality-testing and the capacity to explore rather than explain or enact. This lays the groundwork for being able to explore issues related to diversities and past adaptive survivor roles as they emerge in the here-and-now of the group experience. Exploring experiences of differences increases the group’s capacity for discriminating and integrating differences as resources for the group’s development so that differences, e.g., racial, sexual orientation, cultures, etc., and the responses to differences can be explored instead of enacted.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (Eds.) (2021). Systems-centered training: An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems. New York, NY: Routledge.

Gantt, S. P. (2025). A commentary on “Contemporary theories of group psychotherapy: A systems approach to the group-as-a-whole.” International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 75(1), 137-146. doi: 10.1080/00207284.2024.2429386

Gantt, S.P., & Agazarian, Y.M. (2017). Systems-centered group therapy. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 67(sup1), S60-S70. doi: 10.1080/00207284.2016.1218768

Macnaughton, I. (2019). Self, other, and the system. In O. Gunnlaugson, C. Scott, H. Bai & E.W. Sarath (Eds.), Catalyzing the field: Second-person approaches to contemplative learning and inquiry (pp. 107–126). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

O’Neill, R.M., Byram, C.A., Mogle, J., & MacKenzie, M.J. (2024). Are system-centered boards more collaborative, productive, and creative? A partial replication, and a pilot exploration of how. GROUP: The Journal of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society, 48(4), 11-29. doi:10.1353/grp.2024.a962317

Presenters

Susan P. Gantt, PhD, CGP, ABPP, AGPA-DF, FAPA. Susan P. Gantt is a psychologist in private practice and coordinated group psychotherapy training in psychiatry at Emory University for 29 years. She chairs the Systems-Centered Training (SCT) and Research Institute; teaches SCT in the USA, Europe and China; and leads training groups in Atlanta, San Francisco, and The Netherlands. She has co-authored four books with Yvonne Agazarian, co-edited The Interpersonal Neurobiology of Group Psychotherapy and Group Process with Bonnie Badenoch, and received the 2011 Alonso Award for Excellence in Psychodynamic Group Psychotherapy. Her latest book is Systems-Centered Training: An Illustrated Guide for Applying a Theory of Living Human Systems (Agazarian, Gantt & Carter, 2021).

---

02 | Using SCT Methods and "Informed Consent" to Flow with Challenging, Potentially Suicidal Clients

Trainer(s): Richard M. O'Neill, PhD, FAClinP, ABPP

Rich O'Neill will discuss the SCT methods for centering and undoing clinician and client anxiety and using "Informed Consent" to clarify clinician/client role responsibilities and build relationships with challenging, potentially suicidal clients to improve treatment outcomes while limiting malpractice liability. Workshop members will role-play SCT methods and the Informed Consent model, and use SCT's functional subgrouping to develop the skills and build satisfying relationships with each other around these issues.

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Didactic; Demonstration; Sharing of Experience Day(s): , Session 1 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Apply the SCT method of "Centering" with myself and clients to manage emotionally challenging situations
• Use SCT methods of "Undoing Cognitive Distortions" to lower anxiety and solve problems in the present
• Use the "Informed Consent" model to clarify role responsibilities with potentially suicidal clients

Presentation Content

Several legal decisions established the "principle of patient autonomy..." which is the basis of the medical-legal concept of "Informed Consent" (Ochsner, 2011). The informed consent model is hypothesized to be a driving force in building a therapeutic alliance with challenging clients, including those potentially suicidal, and thus improve therapeutic outcomes while reducing the possibility of a malpractice suit (Gutheil et al., 1986).

O’Neill and colleagues have shown that groups run with SCT methods are more collaborative, productive and creative, and have higher engagement, less avoidance, less conflict, better inter-member relationships, and more overall learning and goal achievement than groups using various other communication structures. Research specifically examining the SCT method of functional subgrouping has shown that group members find it a positive experience and that it relates to better morale over time, more overall learning and more goal achievement.

The "Informed Consent" model, used with SCT methods for reducing anxiety and joining with clients around what we have in common (i.e., functional subgrouping), may improve outcomes and increase the collaborative experience of both clients and their consultants. Using SCT methods in this workshop, we will role-play establishing "Informed Consent" with challenging clients. And, in the group-as-a-whole, we will use functional subgrouping to build shared purpose and collegiality as we explore the experience of integrating SCT practices with the informed consent model. We will aim for flow and fun in the workshop, and more of the same using SCT methods and informed consent in our work outside.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (Eds.) (2021). Systems-centered training: An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems. New York, NY: Routledge.

Bazzano, L.A., Durant, J., & Brantley, P.R. (2021). A modern history of informed consent and the role of key information. Ochsner Journal, 21(1), 81-85. doi: 10.31486/toj.19.0105

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2022). Flow: The psychology of happiness. London, UK: Penguin, Rider Classics.

O’Neill, R.M., Murphy, V., Mogle, J., MacKenzie, M.J., MacGregor, K.L., Pearson, M., & Parekh, M. (2013). Are systems-centered teams more collaborative, productive and creative? Journal of Team Performance Management, 19(3/4), 201-221. doi: 10.1108/TPM-04-2012-0015

Shah, P., Thornton, I., Kopitnik, N.L. Informed Consent. [Updated 2024 Nov 24]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430827/

Presenters

Richard M. O'Neill, PhD, FAClinP, ABPP. Rich O'Neill has been a psychotherapist working frequently with clients in danger for 40 plus years as a faculty member in the SUNY Upstate Medical University and has never been sued. He won a Student Academy Award in 1976, has presented in the media since 1985 including 10 years with his brief "Checkup from the Neckup" radio and YouTube spots, 5 years with his "Healthy Decisions" weekly TV segment, 18 seasons with the PBS-affiliated TV show he launched, hosts and co-produces, "Cycle of Health" (wcny.org/cycleofhealth), and for 2 years with his "Checkup from the Neckup" radio show and podcast (wcny.org/communityfm) on using psychology to improve everyday life. He consults now with individuals, partners, and groups on achieving greater health, happiness, and success.

---

03 | Working with Low Energy in Clinical Practice

Trainer(s): Merete Holm Brantbjerg, Psychomotor Trainer, MPF and Kolbjørn Vårdal, Psychotherapist MEABP, MA

This workshop will focus on how to understand low energy states – also called hypo-states or understimulated neurological systems and work with them in practice. Modification of low energy in muscles will be presented as a bodily way of regulating anxiety. We will explore the outcome of this modification both for individual group members and for the group. We will also differentiate between different levels of low energy

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Didactic; Sharing of Experience; Demonstration Day(s): , Session 2 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Use simple joint-movements or micro-activations of muscles to support bodily presence and modify low energy
• Assess the impact of using joint movements or micro-activations of muscles as a way of regulating anxiety
• Identify low energy states as a normal bodily defense mechanism that reduces access to sensations, emotions and impulses

Presentation Content

Hypotonus and hyporesponse are concepts used in psychomotor physiotherapy and in some body-oriented psychotherapy modalities. The concept gives name to a state of giving up and flaccidity in muscles and connective tissue – a defensive strategy that involves a low degree of numbing, resulting in reduced access to emotions and impulses. (Brantbjerg, 2019).

In neurologically based training (sensorimotor training) working with hypo-response can be conceptualized as a form of neural upregulation of understimulated neurological systems. Targeted sensory and proprioceptive input recalibrates neural feedback loops that have become hypo-responsive or de-differentiated through disuse, injury, or chronic stress (Freire & Seixus, 2024; Lanius et al 2025).

Hypoarousal is a high activation in the parasympathetic nervous-system. It is today included in most trauma-therapeutic modalities – widening the model of fight-flight-freeze to also include the possibility of going into a deep collapse or shut-down as part of potential survival-reactions in human beings (Rothschild, 2021; Lanius et al, 2025).

In SCT the concept of hyporesponse was introduced in 2007 by Merete Holm Brantbjerg. The concept was named “low energy” to use a more everyday life language. Yvonne Agazarian, Susan Gantt and Merete Holm Brantbjerg brought the concept of low energy into a defense modification protocol, that is still part of the SCT Foundation manual. In SCT the low energy protocol is placed as a parallel to modifying tension – so the 2 protocols together are used to reduce somatic defenses (Agazarian, 1997).

The systems-centered approach to group and organizational work has been in the field for over 30 years. Its methods incorporate techniques linked to successful strategies for improvement in group and individual psychotherapy, for example, modifying cognitive distortions, increasing group cohesion, lowering scapegoating, and reducing somatic defenses (Agazarian, 1997).

In Relational Trauma therapy working with hypo-states – that includes both hypo-response and hypo-arousal – is a key element. Owning and regulating hypo-response is used to improve resilience and inner authority – and through that lowering arousal (Brantbjerg, 2019). Experience shows that regulation of hypo-response optimises safety – through improved access to coping skills – and reduces fear.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M. (1997). Systems-centered therapy for groups. New York, NY: Guilford. Re-printed in paperback (2004). London, UK: Karnac Books.

Brantbjerg, M.H. (2019). Widening the map of hypo-states: A methodology to modify muscular hypo-response and support regulation of autonomic nervous system arousal. Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, 15(1), 53–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/17432979.2019.1699604

Freire, I., & Seixas, A. (2024). Effectiveness of a sensorimotor exercise program on proprioception, balance, muscle strength, functional mobility and risk of falls in older people. Frontiers in physiology, 15, 1309161. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2024.1309161

Lanius, R., Harricharan, S., Kearney, B.E., & Pandev-Girard, B. (2025). Sensory pathways to healing from trauma: Harnessing the brain’s capacity for change. New York, NY: Guilford.

Rothschild, B. (2021). Revolutionizing trauma treatment: Stabilization, safety, & nervous system balance. New York, NY: Norton.

 

Presenters

Merete Holm Brantbjerg, Psychomotor Trainer, MPF. Merete Holm Brantbjerg has worked since 1978 as a body-oriented psychotherapist and since 1985 as a trainer in Denmark and internationally. She is a co-founder of Bodynamic Analysis, a body-psychotherapeutic approach developed in Denmark, and she is the founder of Relational Trauma Therapy together with Kolbjørn Vårdal. She is specialized in including hypo-states in trauma-work. She has trained in SCT from 2006-2018 and has adapted and integrated key elements of SCT into a body-oriented trauma-therapeutic methodology.

Kolbjørn Vårdal, Psychotherapist MEABP, MA. Kolbjørn Vårdal holds an MA masters degree in Violence and Traumatic stress and works as a teacher, supervisor and psychotherapist in Oslo. He has specialized in using neurological informed practices for treating PTSD and PTSD with dissociation. Since 2005 he has developed the methodology Relational Trauma Therapy together with Merete Holm Brantbjerg. The last 20 years he has been teaching seminars about traumatic stress.

---

04 | A Systems-Oriented Approach to Spiritual Assessments and Spiritual Care

Trainer(s): Brian Conley S.J. , ACPE Certified Educator, MBA, MAPR

This workshop will explore how various elements of a Theory of Living Human Systems including Role, Goal, and Context and Functional Subgrouping can serve as a basis for spiritual assessments, guiding chaplain interventions in providing spiritual care.

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical; Clinical Pastoral Education Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Didactic; Sharing of Experience; Demonstration Day(s): , Session 2 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Describe three roles a chaplain might employ in providing spiritual care
• Describe how a chaplain shifts roles as the context changes during a spiritual care encounter
• Describe how functional subgrouping can be employed as a tool in the provision of spiritual care

Presentation Content

In his foundational book, The Minister as Diagnostician, Paul Pruyser suggested that ministers ought to be able to give an account of what they are doing and why they are doing it in a way that is recognizable to other professionals. Since that time, numerous models for spiritual diagnosis and assessment have been introduced. The use of a Theory of Living Human Systems as a theoretical basis for supervision has been growing within the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education for over twenty years. Likewise, Chaplains have used elements of this theory to achieve Board Certified Chaplain (BCC) status for many years.

Agazarian’s (1997) theory of living human systems, with its systems-centered approach to group practice, represents a developed and comprehensive systems theory applied to groups, individuals and couples. A theory of living human systems has defined theoretical constructs and operational definitions that implement and test the theoretical hypotheses in its practice. This theory and its methods are accepted among group practitioners as evidence-based by SCTRI’s 2010 recognition for “Outstanding Contributions in Education and Training in the Field of Group Psychotherapy” awarded by the National Registry of Certified Group Psychotherapists. SCT methods are regularly cited or included in handbooks and reviews of group psychotherapy practice. There is also significant peer-reviewed published support for the theory and its practice, including articles in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Group Dynamics, Small Group Research, Organizational Analysis, and Group Analysis.

The systems-centered approach to group and organizational work has been in the field for over 30 years and presented in more than 45 articles in peer-reviewed professional journals as well as numerous books. Its methods incorporate techniques linked to successful strategies for improvement in group and individual psychotherapy, for example, modifying cognitive distortions, increasing group cohesion, lowering scapegoating, and reducing somatic defenses.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (2021). Systems-centered training: An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems. New York, NY: Routledge.

Hemenway, J.E. (2005). Opening up the circle: Next steps in group work for clinical pastoral educators. In S.P. Gantt & Y.M. Agazarian, (Eds.), SCT in action: Applying the systems-centered approach in organizations (pp. 81-97). Lincoln, NE: iUniverse. Reprint (2006). London, UK: Karnac Books.

Henry, N.L., & Gilley N. Spiritual Assessment. [Updated 2024 Jan 11]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK599554/

Gantt, S.P. (2009). The clinical pastoral circle: Using systems-centered methods to develop a clinical pastoral team. In C.F. Garlid, A.A. Zollfrank & G. Fitchett (Eds.), Expanding the circle: Essays in honor of Joan Hemenway (pp. 109-136). Decatur, GA: Journal of Pastoral Care Publications.

Szilagyi, C., Newitt, M., & Nuzum, D. (2024). Chaplain development in clinical pastoral education (CPE) in healthcare settings in England: A mixed methods study. PLoS ONE, 19(9), e0310085. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310085

Presenters

Brian Conley S.J. , ACPE Certified Educator, MBA, MAPR . Brian Conley has over 20 years experience as a chaplain, chaplain educator, and Roman Catholic priest. He currently serves as teacher of theology and chaplain to the faculty and staff at Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine where he works with faculty to develop and integrate Ignatian spirituality into the personal and professional lives of faculty and staff. He also offers a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Maine Medical Center.

---

05 | Using SCT in Talking to Really Big Groups: Media Psychology

Trainer(s): Richard M. O'Neill, PhD, FAClinP, ABPP

Student Academy Award© winner and media psychologist Rich O'Neill will discuss using SCT theory and methods in writing, producing, directing, and performing for radio and TV, generating related financial resources, building media teams, reducing his and team members’ anxiety and tension, and enhancing presentations non-verbally. Participants are invited to review Rich’s and his teams’ work prior to the workshop (see links below), write their own media psychology spot, and volunteer for coaching on performing it with SCT skills relevant to all public presentations.

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical; Personal Development Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Didactic; Sharing of Experience; Demonstration Day(s): , Session 2 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Describe the SCT method of "Centering" to calm myself for writing and performing
• Describe the SCT method of “Vectoring” to focus my resources on writing a TV/radio/print media presentation
• Describe the SCT methods of “Centering,” “Undoing Anxiety,” and “Undoing Tension” to discover and perform physical movements that bring my presentation’s words to life

Presentation Content

Agazarian’s (1997) theory of living human systems, with its systems-centered training (SCT) method, is a comprehensive systems theory approach to group and individual therapy, personal and partner development, and team building. The theory defines constructs and operational definitions that implement and enable testing of systems-centered hypotheses in practice. The systems-centered approach to group therapy and organisational work has been in the field for over 30 years. It’s acceptance by group practitioners is evidence-based by SCT’s 2010 award for “Outstanding Contributions in Education and Training in the Field of Group Psychotherapy” from the National Registry of Certified Group Psychotherapists. SCT methods are regularly cited or included in handbooks and reviews of group psychotherapy practice. There are more than 45 peer-reviewed articles supporting the theory and its practice, including articles in Group Dynamics, Small Group Research, Organizational Analysis, the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, and Group Analysis. Recently, O’Neill, Byram, Mogle, & MacKenzie’s (2024) research replicated and extended earlier findings on SCT’s effectiveness for teams’ and their members’ collaboration, productivity, and creativity.

In this workshop, Rich will discuss and demonstrate how SCT concepts and methods for centering, undoing anxiety, undoing tension, vectoring, and team-building are useful in creating media psychology presentations. Members will be invited to perform a spot with coaching from Rich on skills relevant to all public presentations.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (Eds.) (2021). Systems-centered training: An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems. New York, NY: Routledge.

Gantt, S.P., & Badenoch, B. (2020). Systems-centered group psychotherapy: Developing a group mind that supports right brain function and right-left-right hemispheric integration. In R. Tweedy (Ed.) The divided therapist: Hemispheric difference and contemporary psychotherapy (pp. 149-180). London, UK: Karnac Books.

O’Neill, R.M., Byram, C.A., Mogle, J., & MacKenzie, M.J. (2024). Are system-centered boards more collaborative, productive, and creative? A partial replication, and a pilot exploration of how. GROUP: The Journal of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society, 48(4), 11-29. doi:10.1353/grp.2024.a962317

WCNY TV Show Cycle of Health: https://www.wcny.org/cycleofhealth

WCNY Radio Show Checkup from the Neckup: https://www.wcny.org/checkup-from-the-neck-up

YouTube.com: Medical Student Minute. (for example, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/A3ZYkSNaXHk)

Presenters

Richard M. O'Neill, PhD, FAClinP, ABPP. In 1976, Rich won a Student Academy Award© for a documentary about a school which inspired disadvantaged students to flourish. Central to his career as a psychologist has been integrating clinical and research knowledge including SCT into media psychology presentations. He has done over 1000 such including TV news interviews, for 10 years wrote and taped weekly "Checkup from the Neckup" radio and YouTube spots, for 5 years did a live weekly "Healthy Decisions" TV news segment, and then launched and now co-produces and hosts a health and happiness public TV show "Cycle of Health" (airing weekly for the past 18 seasons at wcny.org/cycleofhealth). In 2023 he started producing and hosting a radio show/podcast "Checkup from the Neckup" (https://www.wcny.org/checkup-from-the-neck-up). He simultaneously launched, produces, directs and co-writes "Medical Student Minute" (YouTube.com: Medical Student Minute). In the latter, medical students present “The coolest thing I’ve learned in med school is…” and relate it to personal health.

---

06 | The Temptation of Inner-Person Work versus Inter-Person Work in Coaching

Trainer(s): Patricia Aerts, BA, LVSC Organisational Coach, Register Coach and Janneke Maas, MSc, EIA Senior Practitioner Coach

This workshop introduces a systems-centered perspective on individual coaching, emphasizing the importance of focusing on the inter-person rather than the inner-person level in organizational contexts. Participants will use the person-as-a-system map to explore how goals shift between inner- and inter-person work and how this differs from therapeutic aims. They will identify driving forces that support their coaching role and restraining forces that limit effectiveness. Practical strategies to help coachees move toward inter-person goals will also be explored.

Category: Presentation Track: Personal Development; Clinical Pastoral Education; Clinical Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Didactic; Sharing of Experience Day(s): , Session 3 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Describe how the Person-as-a-System Map defines the difference between inner-person goals and inter-person goals in the context of coaching
• Identify one restraining force and one driving force that affect my effectiveness at the inter-person level in coaching
• Identify at least one intervention I can apply in my coach role to help the coachee move from inner- to inter-person

Presentation Content

Agazarian’s (1997) theory of living human systems, with its systems-centered approach to group practice, represents a developed and comprehensive systems theory applied to groups, individuals and couples. A theory of living human systems has defined theoretical constructs and operational definitions that implement and test the theoretical hypotheses in its practice. This theory and its methods are accepted among group practitioners as evidence-based by SCTRI’s 2010 recognition for “Outstanding Contributions in Education and Training in the Field of Group Psychotherapy” awarded by the National Registry of Certified Group Psychotherapists. SCT methods are regularly cited or included in handbooks and reviews of group psychotherapy practice. There is also significant peer-reviewed published support for the theory and its practice, including articles in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Group Dynamics, Small Group Research, Organizational Analysis, and Group Analysis.

The systems-centered approach to group and organizational work has been in the field for over 30 years, presented in more than 45 articles in peer-reviewed professional journals. Its methods incorporate techniques linked to successful strategies for improvement in group and individual psychotherapy, for example, modifying cognitive distortions, increasing group cohesion, lowering scapegoating, and reducing somatic defenses.

In this workshop, participants will use the person-as-a-system map and the role-goal-context framework to explore their role as a coach within organizations. The session focuses on aligning coaching practices with the organizational context at the inter-person level and supporting the shift from inner-person work to effective inter-person coaching.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (Eds.) (2021). Systems-centered training: An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems. New York, NY: Routledge.

Gantt, S.P. (2013). Applying systems-centered theory (SCT) and methods in organizational contexts: Putting SCT to work. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 63(2), 234-258. doi: 10.1521/ijgp.2013.63.2.234

Gantt, S.P., & Agazarian, Y.M. (2017). Systems-centered group therapy. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 67(sup1), S60-S70. doi: 10.1080/00207284.2016.1218768

Wheelan, S.A. (2016). Creating effective teams: A guide for members and leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Presenters

Patricia Aerts, BA, LVSC Organisational Coach, Register Coach. Patricia Aerts is a team, leadership & organizational coach/trainer in organizations for about 30 years. She works with (management) teams, leaders and professionals, building a climate for collaboration, leadership and system development. As a Licensed Systems-Centered Practitioner, she is training in the York SCT training week in the UK & at the SCT conference in the USA , runs an ongoing group Applying SCT at Work in the Netherlands and Co-leads an international group in Eastbourne (UK). Patricia was part of the 2024 SCTRI OD online Conference System as Conference Lead.

Janneke Maas, MSc, EIA Senior Practitioner Coach. Janneke Maas works as a team coach and leadership system development trainer in the Netherlands. She works with teams, individuals, and organizations. The core of her work is freeing up energy for work and relations that support work and fun while working. She also educates people that want to become a team coach and learn the trade. Janneke is a trainer in the York SCT training week in the UK and at the SCT conference in the USA , she runs an ongoing group Applying SCT at Work in the Netherlands. Janneke is part of the SCT Conference system as Co-Director and leader of the Program Planning Group for the Annual SCT Conference and is a Licensed SCT practitioner.

---

07 | Exploring and Emerging Together: Functional Subgrouping and Co-Regulation at the Edge of the Unknown

Trainer(s): Rick Campa, PhD, CGP

Exploring opens boundaries to new experience. In contrast, explaining orients us to the past and what we already know. Exploring is an obvious preference, therefore, when survival, development, and transformation is the goal. Functional subgrouping creates a climate of similarity and attunement within the inter-personal field to regulate threat-arousal reactions that are a natural and involuntary response to not knowing.

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical; Clinical Pastoral Education; Personal Development Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Didactic; Sharing of Experience Day(s): , Session 3 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Describe three elements of centering
• Describe how subgrouping from within the inner-person system differs from subgrouping from within the inter-person system
• Differentiate between hyper- and hypo-arousal states and specific centering techniques to regulate each

Presentation Content

New experience arouses an involuntary threat-arousal response within the autonomic nervous system as a natural response to not knowing. Co-regulation of these autonomic states through functional subgrouping builds member, subgroup, and whole-group resources for containing and exploring experience as the alternative to enacting threat-reactions of flight, fight, freeze, or withdrawal. Centering and functional subgrouping contain our reactions to help contain and remain open enough to explore differences. This discussion builds on the neurobiological underpinnings of co-regulation, centering, and functional subgrouping to explore and expand resources and to contain reactions to difference and develop a new relationship to not knowing.

Agazarian’s (1997) theory of living human systems, with its systems-centered approach to group practice, represents a developed and comprehensive systems theory applied to groups, individuals and couples. A theory of living human systems has defined theoretical constructs and operational definitions that implement and test the theoretical hypotheses in its practice. SCT methods are regularly cited or included in handbooks and reviews of group psychotherapy practice. There is also significant peer-reviewed published support for the theory and its practice, including over 45 articles in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Group Dynamics, Small Group Research, Organizational Analysis, Group Analysis, GROUP, and other scientific journals as well as numerous books.

The systems-centered approach to group and organizational work has been in the field for over 30 years. Its methods incorporate techniques linked to successful strategies for improvement in group and individual psychotherapy, for example, modifying cognitive distortions, increasing group cohesion, lowering scapegoating, and reducing somatic defenses.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (2021). Systems-centered training: An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems. New York, NY: Routledge. 

Brantbjerg, M.H. (2012). Hyporesponse: The hidden challenge in coping with stress. International Body Psychotherapy Journal, 11(2), 94-118.

Gantt, S.P. (2021). Systems-centered theory (SCT) into group therapy: Beyond surviving ruptures to repairing and thriving. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 71(2), 224-252. doi: 10.1080/00207284.2020.1772073.  

Gantt, S.P. (2025). A commentary on “Contemporary theories of group psychotherapy: A systems approach to the group-as-a-whole.” International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 75(1), 137–146. doi: 10.1080/00207284.2024.2429386 

Porges, S. (2011). The polyvagal theory. New York, NY: Norton. 

Presenters

Rick Campa, PhD, CGP. Rick Campa is an SCT trainer and psychologist who lives in Portland, Oregon. He earned his PhD in clinical psychology from Boston University in 1991 and moved to Austin, Texas, where he opened private practice offering long-term psychotherapy to individuals, couples, and groups. In 1998, Rick attended an SCT workshop offered by Yvonne Agazarian and was captivated by subgrouping and the SCT emphasis on exploring rather than explaining. This exposure to the systems-centered approach ignited a passion to learn systems-centered theory which has been central in his profession work for the past twenty-five years. Rick is a licensed SCT Practitioner, Trainer, and Consultant and has been a regular contributor of training at the annual SCT conference for the past ten years. His current interests lay in integrating SCT practice and theory with human evolution and the shift to heart-centered consciousness and empowerment of all living human systems.

---

08 | SCT's Role Concept - Tools for Individual Development

Trainer(s): Börje Svanqvist , BA

We discuss how working with roles in SCT is essential to the goal that brings most people to therapy. The benefits of identifying and working through roles that are restraining from the goal in the present context will be highlighted. The concept of roles as independent from the individual and a bridge from the individual to the context (e.g., organization, family, specific life situations) will be explored. Intervention steps will be introduced and ways to present the role concept to clients/patients.

Category: Presentation Track: Personal Development; Clinical; Theory and Basics Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Didactic; Sharing of Experience; Demonstration Day(s): , Session 3 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Identify three properties for the SCT concept of "role"
• Describe the steps for working with stereotypic roles, meaning role behaviors that are restraining towards the system goal
• Discuss the challenges of introducing how SCT works with roles

Presentation Content

SCT role concept probably is one of the most sophisticated role theories in a tradition from both psychology and sociology. These theories have introduced concepts like “inner roles and social roles.” SCT roles are essential in that they are a primary structure that organizes energy towards a goal. Role are seen as a system and part in a larger system. This view opens new perspectives downplaying behavior as a property of a person and introduces both inner roles as well as roles as members of larger systems. Our roles – compare subgroups in SCT – can be described as functional or stereotypic. Methods like role analysis, contextualizing, and boundary work of the patient/client can influence the role system in the individual. Working with roles in SCT is an essential tool addressing dilemmas that most people seek treatment for in therapy.

Agazarian’s (1997) theory of living human systems, with its systems-centered approach to group practice, represents a developed and comprehensive systems theory applied to groups, individuals and couples. A theory of living human systems has defined theoretical constructs and operational definitions that implement and test the theoretical hypotheses in its practice. SCT methods are regularly cited or included in handbooks and reviews of group psychotherapy practice. There is also significant peer-reviewed published support for the theory and its practice, including over 45 articles in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Group Dynamics, Small Group Research, Organizational Analysis, Group Analysis, GROUP, and other scientific journals as well as numerous books.

The systems-centered approach to group and organizational work has been in the field for over 30 years. Its methods incorporate techniques linked to successful strategies for improvement in group and individual psychotherapy, for example, modifying cognitive distortions, increasing group cohesion, lowering scapegoating, and reducing somatic defenses.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (2021). Systems-centered training: An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems. New York, NY: Routledge.

Delgadillo, J., Deisenhofer, A.-K., Probst, T., Shimokawa, K., Lambert, M. J., & Kleinstäuber, M. (2022). Progress feedback narrows the gap between more and less effective therapists: A therapist effects meta-analysis of clinical trials. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 90(7), 559–567. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000747

Ecker, B., Ticic, R., & Hulley, L. (2024). Unlocking the emotional brain: Memory reconsolidation and the psychotherapy of transformational change. New York, NY: Routledge. 

Gantt, S.P., & Agazarian, Y.M. (Eds.) (2006). Systems-centered therapy: In clinical practice with individuals, families and groups. Livermore, CA: WingSpan Press. Reprint (2011). London, UK: Karnac Books.

Sundlin, A-L, & Sundlin, P. (2014). Taking up your role: How to shift between life and work without losing yourself. Cambridge, MA: Catalyst Communications Press.

Presenters

Börje Svanqvist , BA. Börje Svanqvist is a teacher, school leader, and licensed psychologist now working with counseling/short-term psychotherapy individuals and groups at Capio Health Center in Angered, Göteborg. Previously he was an organization consultant. He is involved in Svenska SCT-föreningen (SCT Sweden) and has been exploring Systems-Centered Theory and methods from 2008.

---

09 | SCT in Psychiatry: Working with "Diagnosis" and "Mental Disorders"

Trainer(s): Nitesh Painuly, MBBS, MD (Psychiatry), PG Dip. in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Dip. in Groupwork Practice (Group Analysis)

This workshop will explore the words "diagnosis" and "mental disorders" through the lens of a theory of living human systems. We will use systems-centered methods in our enquiry with an open question of whether this leads us from the prevalent perception around these words to more useful and practical meanings (operational definitions).

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical; Personal Development; Clinical Pastoral Education Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Sharing of Experience; Didactic; Demonstration Day(s): , Session 1 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Describe 3 ways a Theory of Living Human Systems can be applied to the construct of psychiatric diagnosis and mental disorders
• Apply the SCT method of functional subgrouping and identify 3 challenges to using the method in ”traditional” psychiatric health care
• Desccribe 3 similarities and 3 differences between operationally defined constructs vs.psyciatric diagnosis/mental disorders (e.g., anxiety and depression)

Presentation Content

A theory of living human systems (TLHS) has defined theoretical constructs and operational definitions that implement and test the theoretical hypotheses in its practice. Systems-Centered Training (SCT ) is a practical application of this theory. This workshop is an invitation to see the psychiatry world of diagnosis and mental disorders through the lens of TLHS by using SCT methods, and find out if this helps us to deal with this world with a more sense of choice and agency.

SCT methods are regularly cited or included in handbooks and reviews of group psychotherapy practice. There is also significant peer-reviewed published support for the theory and its practice, including over 45 articles in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Group Dynamics, Small Group Research, Organizational Analysis, Group Analysis, GROUP, and other scientific journals as well as numerous books.

The systems-centered approach to group and organizational work has been in the field for over 30 years. Its methods incorporate techniques linked to successful strategies for improvement in group and individual psychotherapy, for example, modifying cognitive distortions, increasing group cohesion, lowering scapegoating, and reducing somatic defenses.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (2021). Systems-centered training: An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems. New York, NY: Routledge.

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). doi: 10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787.

Frances, A. (2023). ICD-11 + DSM-5 = A diagnostic babel. In P. Tyrer (Ed.), Making sense of the ICD-11 for mental health professionals (pp 17-24). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Presenters

Nitesh Painuly, MBBS, MD (Psychiatry), PG Dip. in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Dip. in Groupwork Practice (Group Analysis). Nitesh Painuly grew up in India where he completed his medical and specialist psychiatry training. He has been living in England since 2006 where has worked as a consultant psychiatrist in the National Health Service (NHS) across various settings(e.g., community psychiatry, in-patient, early intervention in psychosis, eating disorder services, etc.). At present he works as a consultant psychiatrist in psychotherapy in a Therapeutic Community for individuals with diagnoses of personality disorders and complex trauma. He has been training in SCT methods and techniques since 2013 and recently completed Intermediate Leadership: Mentor Training.

---

10 | SCT: Building Emotional Skills for Spiritual Intelligence

Trainer(s): Rick Campa, PhD, CGP

Systems-centered training and therapy (SCT) offers a structured opportunity to explore a series of developmental challenges that build skills for information processing, regulation of the autonomic nervous system, and increased permeability between thinking and feeling. The integration of these resources supports the capacity to take up functional roles, exercise common sense, and builds a foundation for spiritual intelligence.

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical Pastoral Education; Clinical; Personal Development Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Didactic Day(s): , Session 1 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Describe at least one emotional skill developed in SCT groups working in the Authority Phase
• Explain at least one definition of emotional intelligence
• Explain at least one definition of spiritual intelligence

Presentation Content

Through the practice of functional subgrouping and the emphasis on exploring rather than explaining, systems-centered training and therapy offers opportunities to explore a series of developmental challenges that build skills for information processing, regulation of the autonomic nervous system, and increased permeability between thinking and feeling. Functional permeability in the boundary between thinking and feeling allows us to sit at the edge of the unknown and discover new information beneath what we think. Referred to as “bottom-up” processing in SCT, functional permeability between comprehension and apprehension creates access to intuition and non-local information contained within the hierarchy of information systems in which our consciousness is nested. While not a primary goal of systems-centered training or therapy, emotional skills developed through the SCT process build foundational skills for spiritual intelligence and accessing the Divine within us all.

In this talk, we will review how the systems-centered map for phases of development is a pathway to weakening restraining forces to contain and explore our energy. This pathway is the alternative to splitting-off information from conscious awareness through the mechanisms of projection, projective identification, and dissociation. These defensive processes keep us stable at the expense of development. Expanding our capacity to contain and explore our energy are explicit goals of systems-centered work and also build resources necessary for accessing non-location information historically labeled as mystical, ecstatic, or Divine. At the level of local information, skills to contain and explore energy developed in the SCT process are essential for determining what is true and for knowing what matters.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (2021). Systems-centered training: An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems. New York, NY: Routledge. 

Church, D. (2025). Spiritual intelligence: Activating the 4 circuits of the awakened brain. Fulton, CA: Energy Psychology Press.  

Gantt, S.P. (2021). Systems-centered theory (SCT) into group therapy: Beyond surviving ruptures to repairing and thriving. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 71(2), 224-252. doi: 10.1080/00207284.2020.1772073.  

Hawkins, D.R. (2020). The map of consciousness explained: A proven energy scale to actualize your ultimate potential. New York, NY: Hay House. 

Porges, S. (2011). The polyvagal theory. New York, NY: Norton.

Presenters

Rick Campa, PhD, CGP. Rick Campa is an SCT trainer and psychologist who lives in Portland, Oregon. He earned his PhD in clinical psychology from Boston University in 1991 and moved to Austin, Texas, where he opened private practice offering long-term psychotherapy to individuals, couples, and groups. In 1998, Rick attended an SCT workshop offered by Yvonne Agazarian and was captivated by subgrouping and the SCT emphasis on exploring rather than explaining. This exposure to the systems-centered approach ignited a passion to learn systems-centered theory which has been central to his profession work for the past twenty-five years. Rick is a licensed SCT Practitioner, Trainer, and Consultant and has been a regular contributor of training at the annual SCT conference for the past ten years. His current interests lay in integrating SCT practice and theory with human evolution and the shift to heart-centered consciousness and empowerment of all living human systems.

---

11 | Introducing SCT Theory and Methods to a Therapeutic Community Treatment Model: Learnings from 10 Years of Using SCT

Trainer(s): James Peightel, MD

This workshop will explore strategies used and lessons learned in a project introducing SCT concepts and practices in a program for women with chronic homelessness, complex trauma backgrounds, and substance abuse. The 9-12 month "Womanspace" program utilizes various modalities and requires 5 group meetings per week. The introduction of phase-specific SCT norms and practices in our groups will be discussed by a panel of staff and consultants. Video interviews with community members will be viewed. A novel force field exploration with workshop participants will follow.

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical; Clinical Pastoral Education; Personal Development Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Didactic; Demonstration; Sharing of Experience Day(s): , Session 1 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Demonstrate 3 different centering exercises to start therapeutic groups
• List 3 core components that define a therapeutic community
• Identify 3 distinct features of Complex-PTSD

Presentation Content

Agazarian's (1997) theory of living human systems, with its systems-centered approach to group practice represents a developed and comprehensive systems theory applied to groups. This theory and its methods are accepted among group practitioners as evidence-based, and there has been significant peer-reviewed published support for the theory and its practice including over 45 articles in numerous professional publications. The systems-centered approach to groups and organizational work has been in the field for over 30 years. 

The evolution of the contemporary Therapeutic Community (TC) for addictions over the past 50 years may be characterized as a movement that has gone from the margins to the mainstream. This treatment approach and philosophy has been thoroughly studied and refined for various populations and for a variety of problems. 

The importance of understanding trauma and using trauma-informed approaches in treatment has become a central theme in understanding addiction, affect dysregulation, and other impulsive behaviors. The conceptualization of Complex-PTSD as a diagnosis has had significant recent research and has aided in tailoring specific treatment approaches.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M. (1997). Systems-centered therapy for groups. New York, NY: Guilford. Re-printed in paperback (2004). London, UK: Karnac Books.

Agazarian, Y. M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (Eds.) (2021).Systems-centered training: An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems. New York, NY: Routledge.

Anderson, J., Trevella, C., & Burns, A.M. (2024). Interventions to improve the mental health of women experiencing homelessness: A systematic review of the literature. PLoS ONE 19(4), e0297865. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297865

Brewin, C.R. (2020). Complex post-traumatic stress disorder: A new diagnosis in ICD-11. BJPsych Advances, 26(3), 145-152. doi: 10.1192/bja.2019.48

Wendt, D.C., & Gone, J.P. (2018). Complexities with group therapy facilitation in substance use disorder specialty treatment settings. Journal of  Substance Abuse Treatment, 88, 9-17. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2018.02.002

Presenters

James Peightel, MD. Jim Peightel is a general and addiction psychiatrist with over 25 years experience serving Philadelphia in a wide range of treatment settings. He has a BA in Physics, and completed his medical training at Temple University and remains on the teaching faculty there. His work has focused on team-based treatment approaches, novel program development, and systems-oriented integration of services for the chronic mentally ill, homeless, and disenfranchised. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Leadership Council, a fellow in the APA, and a recipient of Philadelphia Psychiatric Society’s Robert Jones award honoring a psychiatrist for lifelong commitment and service to the chronically mentally ill. He has participated in health system cultural exchange contingents in various locales including Hungary, Cuba, China, Russia, South Africa, and Myanmar. He began training with Yvonne Agazarian during residency in 1989, became a member of SCTRI in 1996, and is a current member of the SCTRI Board.

---

12 | Exploring Group Phase of Development-Related Role Behaviors, While Having Hilarious Fun

Trainer(s): Berry Trip, BSc, BIG, AGB and Peter Slenders, MSc.

In this workshop, participants will act out assigned role behviors in simulated meetings or group sessions in a way that is designed to be humorous and fun. By alternating between driving and restraining role behaviors, participants will recognize these behaviors more easily.

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical; Personal Development Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Didactic; Sharing of Experience; Demonstration Day(s): , Session 2 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Compare at least one driving role behavior (e.g., reality-testing, exploring) and one restraining role behavior (e.g., speculating, explaining) in the flight phase
• Describe how group members change their communication patterns when they recognize phase-related behavior
• Describe one way having fun helps to open an indivual’s boundary to learn

Presentation Content

Recent studies have shown that fun and humor can be an invitation to open our boundaries if applied in relation to the context (Csikszentmihalyi, Abuhamdeh & Nakamura, 2005; Lucardie, 2014). This research has shown how fun and enjoyment can invite humans to open their boundaries to new information when applied in relation to the (learning) context.

In this workshop participants will run simulation meetings and/or group sessions, while getting a specific role behavior assignment. By alternating between driving and restraining behavior the group learns to recognize these behaviors easier, as some will be hilarious not fitting to the member as the group will see. Also they start to recognize that restraining can be in service of the group as it stabilizes the group. This workshop is inspired by Richard O’Neill’s afternoon workshop during the 2024 SCT Annual Conference “Using SCT to Make More Humor, Fun and Flow in Your Work and Life" and inspired by the role descriptions that are adapted from Yvonne Agazarian by Susan P. Gantt and presented during the 2006 SCT Annual Conference.

Agazarian's (1997) theory of living human systems, with its systems-centered approach to group practice represents a developed and comprehensive systems theory applied to groups. This theory and its methods are accepted among group practitioners as evidence-based, and there has been significant peer-reviewed published support for the theory and its practice including over 45 articles in numerous professional publications. The systems-centered approach to groups and organizational work has been in the field for over 30 years.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (2021). Putting the phases of system development into practice. In Y.M. Agazarian, S.P. Gantt & F.B. Carter (Eds.), Systems-centered training. An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems (pp. 207-229). New York, NY: Routledge.

Lucardie, D. (2014). The impact of fun and enjoyment on adult’s learning. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 142, 439-446. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.07.696

O'Neill, R.M., Murphy, V., Mogle, J., MacKenzie, M.J., MacGregor, K.L., Pearson, M., & Parekh, M. (2013). Are systems-centered teams more collaborative, productive and creative? Journal of Team Performance Management, 19(3/4), 201-221. doi: 10.1108/TPM-04-2012-0015

Sundlin, A.-L., Söderhjelm, T.M., & Sandahl, C. (2022). Making rapid shifts in work roles – an essential teamwork skill. An exploratory study of facilitating and inhibiting factors. Team Performance Management, 28(7/8), 461-475. doi: 10.1108/TPM-01-2022-0003

Tews, M.J., Michel J.W., & Noe, R.A. (2017). Does fun promote learning? The relationship between fun in the workplace an informal learning. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 46-55. doi: 10.1016/j.jvb.2016.09.006

Presenters

Berry Trip, BSc, BIG, AGB. Berry Trip has worked as a Physical Therapist since 1992 in Rehabilitation Healthcare as well as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/psychosomatics, group therapy and in interdisciplinary teams that are self-organized. He has specialized in clients with medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS), including chronic fatigue, depression, burn out and lately post-covid. He also coaches individuals, teams, couples and transdisciplinary working groups. Member of SCTRI, KNGF, NVGP, currently treasurer of SCT-NL and is company owner: TeamKunst.nl and co-worker in ToGetThere.org and GGZWageningen.nl.

Peter Slenders, MSc. . Peter Slenders is a certified coach in the Netherlands (PHBO) and has worked as trainer, (team)coach and therapist with adults and children since 2003. He has led programmes for personal and group development in primary schools and Health Care. He uses a systems orientation to support inter- and transdisciplinary groups, self steering teams and couples with their challenges in communication and collaboration towards their goals. Peter runs a private practice for coaching and couples therapy and is a teamcoach in the Netherlands. He has been studying SCT since 2009; has completed the Authority Issue Group; and is presently in the process of becoming a Licensed SCT Practitioner. He is a Board member of SCT-NL and a member of SCTRI. Peter is company owner of: Relatiestroom.nl, and co-worker in ToGetThere.org, Energized.org.

---

13 | Introducing Role, Goal and Context as the Basis for Clinical Supervision

Trainer(s): Brian Conley S.J. , ACPE Certified Educator, MBA, MAPR

This workshop will introduce one method for introducing the themes of role, goal, and context as a basis for ongoing clinical supervision in a Clinical Pastoral Education context. Participants will then share their experience of other ways of introducing the the theoretical basis that informs the practice clinical supervision.

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical; Clinical Pastoral Education Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Didactic; Demonstration; Sharing of Experience Day(s): , Session 2 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Describe one way that the interplay between role, goal, and context can serve as the basis for clinical supervision
• Describe one way that the concepts of role, goal, and context can be introduced to a group seeking clinical supervision
• List two advantages and two disadvantages of introducing theory into a group seeking clinical supervision

Presentation Content

The importance of clinical supervision is recognized across clinical disciplines. Effective supervision requires the professional to align the roles taken on in supervision with the goals of the supervision as well as the goals of the context in which the clinical practice occurs. The use of a Theory of Living Human Systems (Agazarian, 1997) as a theoretical basis for supervision has been growing within the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education for over twenty years.

Agazarian’s Theory of Living Human Systems, with its systems-centered approach to group practice, represents a developed and comprehensive systems theory applied to groups, individuals and couples. A theory of living human systems has defined theoretical constructs and operational definitions that implement and test the theoretical hypotheses in its practice. This theory and its methods are accepted among group practitioners as evidence-based by SCTRI’s 2010 recognition for “Outstanding Contributions in Education and Training in the Field of Group Psychotherapy” awarded by the National Registry of Certified Group Psychotherapists. SCT methods are regularly cited or included in handbooks and reviews of group psychotherapy practice. There is also significant peer-reviewed published support for the theory and its practice, including articles in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Group Dynamics, Small Group Research, Organizational Analysis, and Group Analysis.

The systems-centered approach to group and organizational work has been in the field for over 30 years and presented in more than 45 articles in peer-reviewed professional journals as well as numerous books. Its methods incorporate techniques linked to successful strategies for improvement in group and individual psychotherapy, for example, modifying cognitive distortions, increasing group cohesion, lowering scapegoating, and reducing somatic defenses.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (2021). Systems-centered training: An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems. New York, NY: Routledge.

Gantt, S.P. (2009). The clinical pastoral circle: Using systems-centered methods to develop a clinical pastoral team. In C.F. Garlid, A.A. Zollfrank & G. Fitchett (Eds.), Expanding the circle: Essays in honor of Joan Hemenway (pp. 109-136). Decatur, GA: Journal of Pastoral Care Publications.

Harris, S. (2018). Chaplains' roles as mediators in critical clinical decisions. AMA Journal of Ethics, 20(7), E670-674. doi: 10.1001/amajethics.2018.670

Hemenway, J.E. (2005). Opening up the circle: Next steps in group work for clinical pastoral education (CPE). Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling, 59(4), 323-334. doi: 10.1177/154230500505900402

Szilagyi, C., Newitt, M., & Nuzum, D. (2024). Chaplain development in clinical pastoral education (CPE) in healthcare settings in England: A mixed methods study. PLoS ONE, 19(9), e0310085. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310085

Presenters

Brian Conley S.J. , ACPE Certified Educator, MBA, MAPR . Brian Conley has over 20 years experience as a chaplain, chaplain educator, and Roman Catholic priest. He currently serves as teacher of theology and chaplain to the faculty and staff at Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine where he works with faculty to develop and integrate Ignatian spirituality into the personal and professional lives of faculty and staff. He also offers a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Maine Medical Center.

---

14 | Undoing Anxiety Using the SCT Protocol - A Co-Presentation by Therapist and Client

Trainer(s): Mike Maher, MA, UKCP and Colin Edwards,

This workshop will describe the 11-year treatment of Colin, who presented with debilitating anxiety and who is now free of chronic anxiety. The client and therapist together will demonstrate two key interventions - centering and undoing anxiety from negative predictions and explore the experiences together, and the SCT approach to understanding and undoing anxiety will be described.

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Didactic; Demonstration; Sharing of Experience Day(s): , Session 2 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Describe the SCT theory of anxiety from negative predictions
• Describe the systems-centered protocol for centering
• Describe the impact of the SCT undoing anxiety protocol applied over a treatment lasting 11 years

Presentation Content

Systems-centered training has been widely accepted in group psychotherapy and organizational development contexts. Its methods link to conditions that correlate with successful outcomes in group work - functional subgrouping increases group cohesion and lowers scapegoating.

Agazarian’s (1997) theory of living human systems, with its systems-centered approach to group practice, represents a developed and comprehensive systems theory applied to groups, individuals and couples. A theory of living human systems has defined theoretical constructs and operational definitions that implement and test the theoretical hypotheses in its practice. There is also significant peer-reviewed published support for the theory and its practice, including articles in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Group Dynamics, Small Group Research, Organizational Analysis, and Group Analysis. The systems-centered approach to group and organizational work has been in the field for over 30 years, presented in more than 45 articles in peer-reviewed professional journals. Its methods incorporate techniques linked to successful strategies for improvement in work with groups and individuals.

This presentation is a rare opportunity to offer a front-row seat in the treatment of Colin, who in the course of his treatment was freed from chronic anxiety, and hear his perspective on the experience.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (Eds.) (2021). Systems-centered training: An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems. New York, NY: Routledge.

Gantt, S.P. (2018). Developing groups that change our minds and transform our brains: Systems-centered's functional subgrouping, its impact on our neurobiology, and its role in each phase of group development. Psychoanalytic Inquiry: Today's Bridge Between Psychoanalysis and the Group World [Special Issue], 38(4), 270-284. doi: 10.1080/07351690.2018.1444851

Gantt, S.P., & Badenoch, B. (2020). Systems-centered group psychotherapy: Developing a group mind that supports right brain function and right-left-right hemispheric integration. In R. Tweedy (Ed.) The divided therapist: Hemispheric difference and contemporary psychotherapy (pp. 149-180). London, UK: Karnac Books.

Presenters

Mike Maher, MA, UKCP. Mike Maher is an experienced psychotherapist, trainer and organisational consultant. He is Director of the Systems-Centered Training and Research Institute and is a licensed SCT Practitioner. Mike runs SCT training groups in the Netherlands and Denmark and works in private practice in the UK and online across the world. He has presented at many international conferences and his work has been regularly published.

Colin Edwards, . Colin Edwards is co-presenting in the role of expert by experience. He has had a long history of generalised anxiety and has been in systems-centered therapy with Mike Maher for 11 years.

---

15 | Functional Subgrouping: How It Helps Us Change Our Brains and Build Groups That Are Neuro-Regulating

Trainer(s): Susan P. Gantt, PhD, CGP, ABPP, AGPA-DF, FAPA

SCT’s functional subgrouping is a neural exercise that develops our social brain and enables differences to be more easily integrated instead of scapegoated making it easier to both see others and be seen. This workshop explores how functional subgrouping creates mindful group systems that lower reactivity, increase emotional containing resonance, and heighten new neural integrations

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical; Clinical Pastoral Education Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Didactic Day(s): , Session 3 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Describe how functional subgrouping develops the group system and potentiates greater neural integration
• Identify “yes, but” communications that signal reactivity to differences and hyper arousal
• Describe how functional subgrouping increases social engagement and ventral vagal coregulation

Presentation Content

Agazarian’s (1997) theory of living human systems, with its systems-centered approach to group practice, represents a developed and comprehensive systems theory applied to groups, individuals and couples. A theory of living human systems has defined theoretical constructs and operational definitions that implement and test the theoretical hypotheses in its practice. This theory and its methods are accepted among group practitioners as evidence-based by SCTRI’s 2010 recognition for “Outstanding Contributions in Education and Training in the Field of Group Psychotherapy” awarded by the National Registry of Certified Group Psychotherapists. SCT methods are regularly cited or included in handbooks and reviews of group psychotherapy practice. There is also significant peer-reviewed published support for the theory and its practice, including over 45 articles in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Group Dynamics, Small Group Research, Organizational Analysis, Group Analysis, GROUP, and other scientific journals as well as numerous books.

The systems-centered approach to group and organizational work has been in the field for over 30 years. Its methods incorporate techniques linked to successful strategies for improvement in group and individual psychotherapy, for example, modifying cognitive distortions, increasing group cohesion, lowering scapegoating and reducing somatic defenses. Recent work in SCT has also incorporated research in interpersonal neurobiology that has enabled a deeper understanding of how SCT methods are impacting the neurobiological processes in the change process.

Supporting References

Bentzen, M. (2018). The neuroaffective picture book: An illustrated introduction to developmental neuropsychology. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.

Gantt, S.P. (2019). Implications of neuroscience for group psychotherapy. In F.J. Kaklauskas & L.R. Greene (Eds.), Core principles of group psychotherapy: An integrated theory, research, and practice training manual (pp. 156-170). New York, NY: Routledge.

Gantt, S.P. (2018). Developing groups that change our minds and transform our brains: Systems-centered’s functional subgrouping, its impact on our neurobiology, and its role in each phase of group development. Psychoanalytic Inquiry: Today’s Bridge Between Psychoanalysis and the Group World [Special Issue], 38(4), 270-284. doi: 10.1080/07351690.2018.1444851

Tweedy, R. (Ed.) (2020). The divided therapist: Hemispheric difference and contemporary psychotherapy. London, UK: Routledge.

Presenters

Susan P. Gantt, PhD, CGP, ABPP, AGPA-DF, FAPA. Susan P. Gantt is a psychologist in private practice and coordinated group psychotherapy training in psychiatry at Emory University for 29 years. She chairs the Systems-Centered Training (SCT) and Research Institute; teaches SCT in the USA, Europe and China; and leads training groups in Atlanta, San Francisco, and The Netherlands. She has co-authored four books with Yvonne Agazarian, co-edited The Interpersonal Neurobiology of Group Psychotherapy and Group Process with Bonnie Badenoch, and received the 2011 Alonso Award for Excellence in Psychodynamic Group Psychotherapy. Her latest book is Systems-Centered Training: An Illustrated Guide for Applying a Theory of Living Human Systems (Agazarian, Gantt & Carter, 2021).

---

16 | Applying the Person-as-a System Map to a Clinical Pastoral Education Verbatim Discussion

Trainer(s): Angelika A. Zollfrank , MDiv, BCC, ACPE, HEC-C

In this workshop we will apply the Person-as-a System Map to a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) verbatim discussion. The workshop system will explore how energy is organized in the inner-person, inter-person, and whole system. Participants will learn how the person-as-a-system map can be applied in working towards the goals of spiritual care, CPE learning, and ACPE outcomes.

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical Pastoral Education Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Demonstration; Didactic Day(s): , Session 3 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Describe the person-as-a-system map
• Apply the person-as-a-system map to a CPE verbatim seminar
• Assess the driving and restraining forces of a CPE learning system towards relevant ACPE outcomes

Presentation Content

The importance of clinical supervision is recognized across clinical disciplines. Effective supervision requires the professional to align the roles taken on in supervision with the goals of the supervision as well as the goals of the context in which the clinical practice occurs. The use of a Theory of Living Human Systems (Agazarian, 1997) as a theoretical basis for supervision has been growing within the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education for over twenty years.

Agazarian’s (1997) theory of living human systems, with its systems-centered approach to group practice, represents a developed and comprehensive systems theory applied to groups, individuals and couples. The theory of living human systems has defined theoretical constructs and operational definitions that implement and test the theoretical hypotheses in its practice. This theory and its methods are accepted among group practitioners as evidence-based by SCTRI’s 2010 recognition for “Outstanding Contributions in Education and Training in the Field of Group Psychotherapy” awarded by the National Registry of Certified Group Psychotherapists. SCT methods are regularly cited or included in handbooks and reviews of group psychotherapy practice. There is also significant peer-reviewed published support for the theory and its practice, including articles in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Group Dynamics, Small Group Research, Organizational Analysis, and Group Analysis.

The systems-centered approach to group and organizational work has been in the field for over 30 years, presented in approximately 45 articles in peer-reviewed professional journals. Its methods incorporate techniques linked to successful strategies for improvement in group and individual psychotherapy, for example, modifying cognitive distortions, increasing group cohesion, lowering scapegoating, and reducing somatic defenses.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (2021). Systems-centered training: An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems. New York, NY: Routledge.

Snowdon, D.A., Sargent, M., Williams, C.M., Maloney, S., Caspers, K., & Taylor, N.F. (2019). Effective clinical supervision of allied health professionals: A mixed methods study. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 1-11. doi: 10.1186/s12913-019-4873-8

Szilagyi, C., Newitt, M., & Nuzum, D. (2024) Chaplain development in clinical pastoral education (CPE) in healthcare settings in England: A mixed methods study. PLoS ONE 19(9), e0310085. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310085

Zollfrank, A.A., & Garlid, C.F. (2012). Clinical pastoral education. In M. Cobb, C. Puchalski & B. Rumbold (Eds.), Oxford textbook of spirituality in healthcare (pp. 429-434). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Zollfrank, A.A., & Garlid, C.F. (2015). Communication education for chaplains. In E. Wittenberg-Lyles, B.R. Ferrell, J. Goldsmith, T. Smith, S. Ragan, M. Glajchen & G. Handzo (Eds.), Textbook of palliative care communication (pp. 382-389). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Presenters

Angelika A. Zollfrank , MDiv, BCC, ACPE, HEC-C. Angelika A. Zollfrank is an ordained Lutheran Pastor, Board-Certified Chaplain (APC) and Certified Educator (ACPE). She works in a free-standing psychiatric hospital as Chaplain and Certified Educator. She has been involved in SCT and SAVI since 2003. She currently supervises three units of CPE annually.

---

17 | SCT Skills in the Wild: Putting our Theory and Methods to Work!

Trainer(s): Susan Beren, PhD

As clinicians, we get stuck in all sorts of challenges in our work. In this workshop, participants will be invited to bring in a case with which they’re struggling – an individual, couple, family or group. We will do role plays of stuck dynamics. As a group, we will then explore the dynamics from an SCT lens. Afterwards, we will do the role plays again and see how/if an SCT perspective shifts the work. Attendees will be encouraged to bring in their flops! We will experiment together.

Category: Presentation Track: Clinical; Personal Development Level: N/A

CE credits: 1.25 Format: Sharing of Experience; Demonstration; Demonstration Day(s): , Session 3 -

Learning Objectives

Based on attending this event, I know, or am able to:

• Describe the difference between taking a perceived failure only personally and seeing it from a systems lens
• State one of your restraining forces to openly talking about and acknowledging your perceived failures with others
• Describe what can be useful about explicitly working through failures with clients

Presentation Content

Agazarian’s (1997) theory of living human systems, with its systems-centered approach to group practice, represents a developed and comprehensive systems theory applied to groups, individuals and couples. A theory of living human systems has defined theoretical constructs and operational definitions that implement and test the theoretical hypotheses in its practice. This theory and its methods are accepted among group practitioners as evidence-based by SCTRI’s 2010 recognition for “Outstanding Contributions in Education and Training in the Field of Group Psychotherapy” awarded by the National Registry of Certified Group Psychotherapists. SCT methods are regularly cited or included in handbooks and reviews of group psychotherapy practice. There is also significant peer-reviewed published support for the theory and its practice, including articles in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Group Dynamics, Small Group Research, Organizational Analysis, and Group Analysis.

The systems-centered approach to group and organizational work has been in the field for over 30 years and presented in more than 45 articles in peer-reviewed professional journals as well as numerous books. Its methods and techniques weaken the restraining forces to the flow of energy/information across the boundaries of the system hierarchy.

This training will be theoretically driven. Through the use of force fields, participants will discriminate between subjective opinions and observable data. As we will be working with clinical material in this training, we will advise participants of and uphold APA and HIPAA guidelines for confidentiality.

Supporting References

Agazarian, Y.M. (1997). Systems-centered therapy for groups. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Re-printed in paperback (2004). London, UK: Karnac Books.

Agazarian, Y.M., Gantt, S.P., & Carter, F.B. (2021). Systems-centered training: An illustrated guide for applying a theory of living human systems. New York, NY: Routledge

Gantt, S.P. (2013). Applying systems-centered theory (SCT) and methods in organizational contexts: Putting SCT to work. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 63(2), 234-258. https://doi.org/10.1521/ijgp.2013.63.2.234

Gantt, S.P. (2021). Systems-centered training for group leaders: Weakening social survivor roles that undermine women (and men) in leadership. In Y.I. Kane, S.M. Masselink & A.C. Weiss (Eds.), Women, intersectionality and power in group psychotherapy leadership (pp. 236-253). London, UK: Routledge.

Gantt, S.P., & Agazarian, Y.M. (2017). Systems centered group therapy. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 67(sup 1), S60-S70 https://doi.org/10.1080/00207284.2016.1218768 

Presenters

Susan Beren, PhD. Susan Beren is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Licensed Systems-Centered Practitioner who has been in private practice in NYC for over 25 years and who has worked in several city hospitals. Susan leads SCT therapy groups in her practice and co-leads an SCT training group. Susan's areas of specialization with clients include anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and trauma. She also specializes in consultation to other therapists in their work with clients and groups, and in SCT consultation.