Systemic board (2D and 3D)

Systemic board 2D and 3D

Some topics are hard to put into words: conflicts in a team, tangled family dynamics, the feeling of standing in the wrong relation to something. The systemic board – also called a family board – solves exactly that problem. Not by explaining, but by looking: the people involved, and equally abstract things such as “the job”, “the fear” or “the new role”, are arranged spatially on a board in relation to one another.

The power of the method lies in its spatial language: closeness and distance show connection or strain, lines of sight reveal what someone is oriented towards, order and position make hierarchies and belonging visible – and an obstacle in the middle of the path sometimes explains more than hours of talking analysis. The board does not show how the system ought to be, but how it feels from the inside.

From there the picture is sharpened step by step: what changes if one figure takes a step forward? What emerges when the client puts herself in a figure's place and looks at the whole from that perspective? Often a small movement on the board is enough to set off a large movement inside – new solutions rarely come from more thinking, but from a changed perspective.

What the systemic board editor can do

• Figures and symbols: people (also in classic square, round and neutral forms), plus animals, plants, objects, rooms and furniture, leisure and travel, emotions and values – each in its own group. The search field takes you straight to an element, such as “dog”, “anger” or “loyalty”.
• Posture and line of sight: people can be placed stooping, kneeling, sitting, with open arms, with a clenched fist or waving. The “nose” shows where a figure is looking; you turn it by its handle, with the Q and E keys, or via “direct gaze at …” and a click on the target.
• Values as a medal with an emblem – loyalty as rings, reliability as an anchor, justice as scales. You can name your own values freely.
• Stacking: drag an element onto a chair, bed, sofa or table – it then stands on it and travels with it when you move the support.
• Connections are optional and differentiated: relationship, close, loose, distant, conflict, disturbed, broken off and effect. Lines can be bent around an element, graded in thickness and placed in front of or behind the figures.
• Several pictures: “+ picture” copies the arrangement – so the present state, the intermediate steps and the solution all live in one file.
• Making change visible: on request, each figure's earlier position is shown dashed with an arrow. That way you see not only the result but the movement – often the decisive moment in the method.
• Comparing two pictures: side by side, with swappable sides; you edit the highlighted board.
• Showing and hiding: connections and names can be hidden temporarily – useful when a picture should work without labels at first.
• Deceased people or animals can be marked, which is often necessary for family topics spanning generations.
• Your own meanings: you define what your colours mean, and it appears in the legend. The focus person, “me” for instance, can be highlighted.

What the systemic board is good for

For individual coaching, team supervision and organisational questions: for family and couple topics, conflicts, decisions involving several people, or whenever the question “Where do I actually stand?” is in the room. It is neither therapy nor an oracle, but a tool for bringing experience out into the open, recognising patterns and working on the picture together until the solution takes shape in the space.

The spatial version

How the 3D version works – with a change of perspective into the view of each individual figure and a picture series to close – is described in detail on the page 3D systemic board. There you can literally look at the system through a figure's eyes, and that shifts perception once more compared with the view from above.

An important qualification

In coaching, the systemic board serves as a model for reflection and conversation, not as a diagnostic instrument. A constellation establishes nothing and proves nothing. Coaching is not psychotherapy (§ 1 (3) of the German Psychotherapy Act) – where distress is severe, therapeutic help is the right path.

Your data stays with you

Both editors are single HTML files that run entirely in your browser. They load nothing from the internet and send nothing – which is essential for constellations containing the names and conflicts of real people. Your work lives in your own files on your own computer. The tools are free of charge and are free software under the GNU General Public License (GPL-3.0-or-later).

Related tools

For kinship across generations there is the genogram editor, for someone's personal network the social atom editor, and for inner parts my inner team. All tools are listed under Resources.

If you would like to work with a systemic board – alone or with guidance – get in touch for a free initial consultation. For conflicts within a team I support you with conflict management, for questions of development with team development.