SAVI (pronounced savvy) is the acronym for the System of Analyzing Verbal Interaction whose development began in 1964. SAVI is an observation system that defines and codes 9 classes of verbal behavior both by the theoretical criteria of approaching or avoiding the problems inherent in communicating and by the focus of the communication: person or topic. Discussion of the system's construction, its core theories, and the research conducted with this instrument are detailed. The system is then applied to data from Group A, Session 3 (A. P. Beck [1970]).

This illustrated book shows how "thinking" systems offer new ways of seeing people which can help us see and do things differently. The authors describe how a theory of living human systems was developed and even recently revised. This major revision led to a theory of the person-as-a-system and its role-systems map that helps us see which system in us and in others is running the show. The authors illustrate how life force energy fuels the hierarchy of living human systems and how theory and practice with role-systems can be useful in everyday life. They begin with describing how they have used the new illustrations as a map to locate the contexts of our roles. Using this map has also enabled the authors to identify the role-systems and explore the territory of ourselves and our groups in new ways that deepened our understanding of roles and role locks. This book illustrates systems-centered therapy and training (SCT) theory by offering a practical theory to guide group psychotherapists, leaders and consultants in working with group dynamics.

This book is a collection of preliminary reports from the systems-centered training (SCT) field, demonstrating its value, and introducing the ideas. It covers a range of applications that represent the SCT methods and the systems thinking that underlies SCT practice.

Systems-Centered Therapy (SCT) is an innovative approach to psychotherapy that synthesizes a finely-tuned awareness of the defensive roles of anxiety and depression, with an analysis of the phases of group development. This volume introduces the author's theory of living human systems and explicitly maps out its use in a structured treatment model applicable to work with any population. In rich conceptual detail, the volume presents SCT as a powerful modality that enables clients to safely "sit on the edge of the unknown" and transform their ways of relating to themselves and each other. It will be received with interest by all practitioners and trainees in group and individual psychotherapy.

A rich collection of essays about the inner, shared experiences of participants engaged in second-person approaches to contemplative practice. Catalyzing the Field presents a diverse series of applied case studies about the second-person dimension of contemplative learning in higher education. As a companion volume to the editors’ previous book, The Intersubjective Turn, the contributors to this book explore various pedagogical scenarios in which intentional forms of practice create and guide consciousness. Their essays demonstrate that practice is not only intellectual, but somatic, phenomenological, emotional, and spiritual as well. Along with their first book, Contemplative Learning and Inquiry across Disciplines, the editors craft an essential body of work that affirms the fundamental importance of contemplative practice in institutions of higher learning. “Catalyzing the Field makes an important contribution to contemplative education. I especially appreciate its innovative approaches, practical insights, and potential applications.” — Louis Komjathy, editor of Contemplative Literature: A Comparative Sourcebook on Meditation and Contemplative Prayer

Systems-centered therapy (SCT) brings an innovative approach to clinical practice. Developed by the author, SCT introduces a theory and set of methods that put systems ideas into practice. The collection of articles in this book illustrates the array of clinical applications in which SCT is now used. Each chapter introduces particular applications of SCT theory or methods with specific examples from practice that help the theory and methods come alive for the reader across a variety of clinical contexts. This book will be especially useful for therapists and clinical practitioners interested in sampling SCT, for those who learn best with clinical examples, and for anyone with a serious interest in learning the systems-centered approach.

Systems-centred practice and its theory are one of the most important developments in group psychology in the last forty years. In this book Yvonne Agazarian traces the evolution of her ideas and their application to create a meta-theory, the theory of living human systems. Autobiography of a Theory follows Agazarian as she thinks her way through different stages, creating a theoretical background for SAVI (System for Analyzing Verbal Interaction), which she developed with Anita Simon, developing a theory of the Invisible Group for the book she wrote with Richard Peters and expanding on existing group dynamics theories. With members of the General Systems Committee of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, she joined the challenge of formulating a systems theory for group and arrived at her theory of living human systems from which she derived the methods and techniques of systems-centred therapy for groups and individuals. This fascinating account of her professional life not only documents major developments in group analysis, but also shows how a theory is formulated from intellectual and personal contexts, and how a theory-based practice is generated.