What Is Positive Systems Approach?

 

Positive Systems Approach (PSA) begins with a simple but important idea: behaviour does not occur in isolation. When a child or adult is struggling, the behaviour we see is often only the most visible part of a much larger picture.

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Traditional approaches to challenging behaviour can sometimes focus too narrowly on the behaviour itself—how to stop it, reduce it, or replace it. PSA encourages us to ask a broader question: What is happening in this person's life, and within the system around them, that may be contributing to the behaviour?

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Behaviour is influenced by characteristics of the individual, but it is also shaped by relationships, expectations, communication, environments, routines and the responses of other people. A meaningful understanding of behaviour therefore requires us to look in both directions: at the person and at the system surrounding the person.

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This shift in perspective is important because it changes the question from:

 

 

“How do we get this person to stop behaving this way?”

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to:

 

 

“What might this behaviour be telling us, and what can we change to make success more likely?”

 

PSA does not excuse harmful or disruptive behaviour, nor does it suggest that expectations should simply disappear. Instead, it provides a practical framework for understanding why a behaviour may be occurring and where opportunities for positive change may exist. Sometimes change involves teaching the individual new skills. At other times, the more effective intervention may involve changing expectations, communication, routines, relationships or aspects of the environment itself.

 

Looking at the Whole Picture

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Positive Systems Approach organizes this broader assessment around 14 interconnected factors—seven relating primarily to the individual and seven relating to the system around them. These factors are not intended as a checklist in which one factor “causes” a behaviour. Rather, they provide a structured way of considering the different influences that may be interacting to create or maintain a difficult situation.

 

The 7 Individual Factors

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The Individual Factors encourage us to consider what the person brings to the situation—their abilities, needs, experiences, vulnerabilities and current capacity to cope. They help us move beyond simply describing what the person is doing toward understanding what may be happening for the person.

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The 7 System Factors

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The System Factors shift the lens outward. They ask us to consider the environments, relationships, expectations and patterns of interaction surrounding the person. This is particularly important because the system is often where adults have the greatest opportunity to create meaningful change.

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Rather than asking only how the individual must change, PSA also asks:

What can we change around the person that might make the desired behaviour easier, more successful and more likely to occur?

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Taken together, the 7 Individual Factors and 7 System Factors provide the foundation of Positive Systems Approach. They encourage us to replace blame with understanding, to look for patterns rather than isolated incidents, and to develop interventions that address the whole situation rather than simply the behaviour we happen to see.