Systemic approaches understand problems in a contextual framework and focus on understanding and shifting the current dynamics of relationships, families, and even work settings. The roles and behaviors that people take on in a particular family or context are understood to be determined by the unspoken rules of that system and interaction among its members. Change in any part of the family system or group is the route to changing symptoms and dynamics, whether or not the “identified patient” is specifically involved in those changes. In this type of therapy, the “identified patient” in a family – the one seen by family members as having the problem — is viewed by the therapist as part of a larger system that is creating or sustaining this problem. This approach can be particularly useful when one member of a family seems resistant to therapy or to change; it opens up other avenues for intervention. (Taken from PsychCentral)