ABSTRACT
Systems on disintegrating trajectories often have histories, structures, and boundaries that have led to calcification and polarization. In many cases, this results in these systems responding to any changes, pressures, or threats in the environment with intensity. This calcification, polarization, and intensity serves to create more points of competing autonomy between the elements of the system resulting in more calcification, polarization, and intensity. If this trajectory isn’t changed, these systems may break apart – resulting in a loss of autonomy of what once was the entire system.
Systems on thriving trajectories are robust and flexible. These systems have redundancy of components, uncouple threat from response, and use their exchanges with the environment to build community. They are on trajectories that serve to maintain and increase their autonomy.
Systemic diagnosis is key to systemic intervention. If we don’t diagnose the history, structure, and boundary of a system, it’s likely that our interventions will neglect one of these components. If an intervention model does not include tools to address each aspect of the system, it shouldn’t be considered a systemic intervention.
