BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE NATURAL
SYSTEMS INSTITUTE
PHILOSOPHY AND APPROACH
By
Edwin L. Young, PhD
The logo for Natural Systems is the 'Duplex Pyramids' at the top. It is meant to symbolize a true holistic approach. The upper, inverted Pyramid, symbolizes External Systems and the lower Pyramid symbolizes Internal Systems. External Systems have to do with social structures such as cultures, social institutions, agencies, buildings where human interactions occur like homes or schools and the like and even types of situations that typically occur in these places. Internal systems have to do with what is inside the person such as knowledge, perception, intentions, feelings and the like. The Intentionality Processes are also inside the person. However, in this system they serve to integrate the content of the top and bottom pyramids. An in-depth description of the meaning of the Logo follows.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF NATURAL SYSTEMS
In Natural Systems, we are concerned with the interaction between the External Systems and the Internal Systems. The Internal Systems of the person are exquisitely sensitive to changes in the External Systems. The extremities of the upper and lower Pyramids are the most enduring or slowest to change. The most adaptable or flexible areas of the two Pyramids are at the point where the peaks touch. Therapeutic and Correctional modalities have traditionally focused on changing the individual person during their tenure in an institution. It is when residents are immediately involved in a modality that they seem to change most quickly. This creates the illusion of the success of the modality. When the residents leave the institution and enter the environments and settings that produced the ineffective or destructive Internal Systems and behaviors, this apparent success disappears and they revert to their former maladaptive patterns. Not only so, but after seemingly successful sessions with a counselor in the institution, the resident eventually resumes their problem behavior.
The Natural Systems Philosophy was developed to address the profoundly mistaken assumption that therapeutic and correctional modalities must focus exclusively on the peak of the lower Pyramid. Operating on the opposite assumption that it is primarily the upper Pyramid that is the key to effecting enduring change in the person, Natural Systems began to focus on creating enduring changes in External Systems and Structures. For many years, from 1962 to 1994, I experimented with using the developing Natural Systems approach in restructuring twelve institutions of various types. Click this hyperlink "(For an account of my early life that channeled me toward social activism and a list of these twelve institutions.)". From August 1993 to March 1994, the principles of Natural Systems began to be employed in restructuring the total structure of a juvenile correctional institution, the Harris County Youth Village. Over these forty-six years, from 1962 to the present, I gradually and continuously developed the Natural Systems Philosophy and I have at long last am writing its current and perhaps final rendition in "The Natural Systems Philosophy".
It has been a long and hard journey, this life as a reformer. I faced ruthless opposition from many vicious, high-ranked, and powerful leaders and doubt and resistance from the numerous leagues of the low-ranked and ‘officially’ least powerful. On the other hand, I cherish the memories of the brave-of-heart mentors who believed in and stood by me as I forged over the uncertain and risky horizons. Today, as an old man reminiscing and recording, I not only admire, but I worship the new and many undaunted, clarion-voiced shakers and movers arising and forging their way out the debris of broken skeletons left from our antiquated, ossified cultural institutions.
Along this long journey as a solitary reformer, I had to teach myself how to think and imagine. I had to learn to sit still and patiently, persistently look inward and discover ways to break the barriers in my mind, to understand my inner processes, to expand my understanding of the structures of world and their effects on others, to mentally experiment with perspectives, to envision new possibilities, and to take the chances involved in trying radically new approaches. As I did so, I recorded what I learned and I abstracted and codified these mental processes. I did this so that I could share these insights with others and open the way for them to participate in restructuring our world and its culture and myriads agencies and institutions. I did this so that others might be facilitated in breaking the molds and traditions of ossified and ineffective conventions, institutions, and personal ways of perceiving and being and behaving. I did this in order to help others create new ways for a new, more positive world; a world that could be more promising for a thriving earth and its human creatures and for all creatures. You can find the codification of this mental journey in the site called "13. Creativity and Managing the Conscious Mind".
THE APPROACH
A major aspect of the application of the Natural Systems Philosophy is a Philosophy of Management. A roadmap for implementing this management philosophy in an institution is presented in the "Outline for Natural Systems Management Approaches" and "Outlines for Training and Development of Staff" as well as "3. Parents" involved with programs like "Stars and Stripes". A roadmap is presented for implementing a Natural Systems type approach to "8. Organizing Neighborhoods".
You are now entering the definition of “The Natural Systems Institute's Correctional Treatment Program”
THE NATURAL SYSTEM'S DUPLEX PYRAMIDS
Under the title above, you will notice there are two pyramids, the top one being inverted. This is the logo of The Natural Systems Institute. The logo is called the Duplex Pyramids. They have a very special significance for Natural Systems and understanding them is the key to understanding the 'approach' of Natural Systems. In addition, Natural Systems includes a 'Model of the Processes of Intentionality' that is used to help understand how people integrate the substance of these two pyramids.
The top, inverted, pyramid represents external structures and systems. External structures have levels. For example, the most global level would be the universe, next would be the earth; then America; Texas; your city; your neighborhood; your agency; your institution; your department; your position and roles you play; the various settings in your institution; situations that arise in those settings; relationships; and, finally, the verbal and physical behaviors involved in the interaction between two people. You can choose, or create, and change, as needed, the external levels and their content that you will use in the analysis of the problem you are exploring.
For an elaborated version of the Duplex Pyramid model, Click: "Duplex Pyramids Elaborated with Labels". Also, for a graphic depiction of the Natural Systems Duplex Pyramids' levels of structure and the systems within each, click "8. Organization- Perspectives on Levels of Structures and Systems within Structures". The following sites: "8. Structures" and "8. Systems" and particularly "8. Conceptualization of the Dynamics of Systems" include descriptions, analysis, and critiques of how the structures and systems of our national culture shapes the characteristics of our institutions of government and politics; corporations; human services agencies; health care system; crime and legal and justice systems; education, research, and styles of learning; recreation, entertainment, and sports; media and marketing; occupations and business; nutrition; clothing and cosmetics; romance, sex, marriage, and family and child rearing; dreams, fantasies, and wishes; interpersonal relations; religion; race and ethnic relations; population distribution of cities; the management of money; the way our history is written; and even our international relations. An understanding of Systems within Structures is particularly important. When one understands these systems and how they shape peoples' behavior and personalities, then it becomes possible to experiment with changing systems to elicit more positive results. In the top Pyramid, possible structures are suggested for each level. However, the systems within structures are equally if not more critical to the task of restructuring organizations.
For example, consider neighborhood communities. Try "6. comparing two distinctly different communities" such as one exclusive, upper middle class neighborhood with an inner city, impoverished neighborhood. Take five dimensions such as "'6. Openness', 'Personal', 'Organized', 'Productive', and 'Rewarding'" and using your best estimate try to place both communities on a rough numerical scale, like from one to ten, on each of these dimensions. You may see some comparisons that I have made at: "6. The Structure of the Teen's Neighborhood Community and How It Shapes Their Personalities". Now try to imagine how the minds, personalities, and behavior of the denizens of these respective neighborhoods would be influenced, molded if you will, by these dimensional characteristics. Now think of the characteristics of these communities as being a structure, or rather as one level within a hierarchy of levels, and that this level of structure. for each community, also has a complex interlocking set of systems which can also be characterized by the aforementioned dimensions. Now imagine that you have the power to change these respective communities. You can see that having an understanding of their structure and systems gives you an advantage in knowing where and how to intervene. You perspective on how these communities function and how they can be changed has broadened and deepened and your effectiveness as a change agent should greatly increase. You are at the initial stage of understanding Natural Systems.
Please note that the labels within the pyramids on the slides are to be changed at the discretion of the analyst and tailored to the analytical needs of the analyst.
The bottom pyramid represents the internal structures and processes; that is to say, the structures and processes inside of the person. For example, with respect to structures, you could have roles, relationships, and the interaction between two people from the point of view of and experience of just one person in a dyad. Then you could have observable physical and verbal behavior from the point of view inside a person. You could examine cognitive processes; emotions and feelings; perception or the way the person sees their world; and, finally, the person's life history as recorded in their minds and formed into both schemata of their world and behavioral schemes. Schemata and schemes are recorded in their minds to guide their actions within the external structures of the world.
Using 'structures' in your analysis of the inner person is static approach. There needs to be a dynamic addition to the Duplex Pyramids. Intentionality serves this purpose. A model of intentionality was developed to illustrate how a person dynamically integrates the top and bottom pyramids and time. Click the following to view "The Model of Intentionality".
The Model of Intentionality was slow to develop. Like the Duplex Pyramids, particularly the top pyramid representing the External Structures and Processes, the processes of intentionality grew out of the first experiences of reforming the Admissions Ward of the Big Spring State Hospital, Big Spring, Texas in 1962. I sensed that the changes I was making in the structure of the ward were inducing changes in particular aspects of the patients' inner world or intra-psychic world that were exhibited in their behavior. These observations lingered in my mind over the years. As was the case with ruminations about the external structure, there also emerged a crude model of distinct inner processes. Year after year, the model was refined in its formulation, was subjected to extensive research, and reached its final form that you viewed in the preceding graphic. The research experiment testing this model yielded overwhelming support for it. These results are to be found in my doctoral dissertation "Testing a Model of Intentionality Using the Writing Process".
The Structures and Systems of the top pyramid and the Structures and Processes of the bottom pyramid are integrated by the Processes of Intentionality. The functions of the basic 'Intentional Processes' will be described in much greater detail when you click the next hyperlink below. As an introduction, here are some very loose and general descriptions of the intentional processes that were used as guides in designing the program.
You could examine,
or attend to, the processes of perception of a single individual, or on how they
uniquely tend to perceive their
world.
You could examine the unique way a person retrieves schemata and schemes just referred to in the external structures.
You could examine the way the person tends to assess their schemata of the external world and their internal world.
You could examine
the pleasure and pain sensations and feelings the person experiences and the way
these hedonic reactions
shape their personality and steer their navigation through the
world.
You could examine how this steering occurs. From the Natural Systems perspective, it seems to occur through a kind of categorizing of the experiences whereby some experiences, pain or pleasure, are incorporated and some are dis-incorporated while some we could say are pseudo-incorporated or pseudo-dis-incorporated. These pseudo categories are like faking it inside the head but leads to faking it in relation to others. Some pain and pleasure sensations and feelings are simply the subject of ongoing hopeful curiosity or pessimistic questioning, or just left open-ended. Finally, some, whether physically painful or pleasant, have to be repressed. In other words, peoples' inner worlds are chopped up or parceled into these various states. The way the content of the world falls into these states or categories forms their worldview.
You could examine the content of how they envision the future as based on these states of "incorporation". You could also examine how they envision what might possibly happen in the future and what they might possibly do in the future. These are highly significant inner processes.
You could examine how they use these processes to select the criteria that will make them feel fulfilled. This is a fulcrum concept as, although it is hidden, often from the people themselves, this process, nevertheless, is the guiding principle of their life. Resolving the discrepancy between the demands of external structures and their inner criteria for fulfillment by making decisions and then setting goals is a crucial process. Often a person will go through all of these processes up to this point of setting criteria for fulfillment and then will have a sense of 'foreshadowing' of how it is going to turn out. This foreshadowing that may be bleak or optimistic, while the actual outcome could be quite different from their foreshadowing. Often people can tell you about this experience of fulfillment or lack of it and matching or not matching their foreshadowing. However, we are getting ahead of ourselves here.
Once they have gone through all of these processes, which occur very rapidly, they usually engage in the adventure of trying to achieve their goal and then, at the end, experiencing degrees of that sense of fulfillment that comes from their reaching their criteria.
Normally they will meet obstacles and barriers along the way and will have to disengage, review, or mirror what they have done and how they have done it, as well as what they have encountered along the way, revise some part of their strategy or plan and then re-engage.
Finally, the person will come to the completion phase in which they have had varying degrees of success or failure. Sometimes, at this point, they will make revisions once again but then, in the end, they will always store their experiences in a memory bank of schemata and schemes for future use.
For a detailed description of the individual processes of intentionality in the model, click "Intentionality Model Definitions".
As time went on and I experimented with restructuring one institution after another, I became convinced that specific aspects of a structure elicited somewhat specific changes in the inner person. From 1968 to 1982, I became increasing clear about the relations and interactions between the external structures and systems, the internal structures and processes, and finally the specific processes of intentionality.
In 1982, I entered the PhD Educational Psychology program at the University of Texas with the stated purpose of researching a Model of Intentionality that by then was developed well and clearly. In the fall of 1986, I formulated a dissertation proposal entitled "Testing a Model of Intentionality Using the Writing Process". Two years latter, I submitted an eight-hundred-page dissertation under that title. The statistical analysis of my propositions, my hypotheses, about the model was overwhelmingly significant. Out of over ten-thousand statistical tests, more than eighty present were significant. I now felt confident that I had a fairly good grasp, not only of what the processes were and how they interacted with one another, but, more importantly, I felt sure that I could design a structure for an institution that would definitely produce positive changes in the inner person of each member of the entire resident population. I was sure that these changes would be clearly observed in their behavior.
In 1993 at the Harris County Youth Village, I finally got the opportunity to put my theories (actually hunches) to work. Within about eight months of starting to try to design and implement the program, "Stars and Stripes" was inaugurated. Within six months of inauguration, it became abundantly clear that the program was an overwhelming success, far beyond what I had expected.
The Focus Is On the Processes
of Intentionality
As They Are Shaped by the Program Design
and Measured Using Behavioral Changes
in the Direction of Increased Maturity as the Criteria
Below is a very brief description of the way one would go about discerning and influencing a person's, in this case a resident's, intentional processes. Using these simple definitions of operable aspects within an institution, a program designer would know where to focus within the person. This should help the designer to focus on aspects of the external structures of the institution that would mostly like elicit changes in specific aspects of the resident's intentional processes. One must make, to use the term loosely, a leap of faith when creating the design. The only way to feel that one had been correct or to evaluate the degree of correctness in their hunches was to examine performance indicators. This approach is extraordinarily lacking in the rigor one expects in a psychological experiment. However, when the proof shows up so well in the pudding, that is to say the performance indicators, who am I to get pedantic about scientific correctness. That being said, here is the rationale for changing from a medical model of curing symptoms to a maturity model. The stages of maturity are presented. Finally, the manner in which the program facilitates growth in maturity is presented.
Designing Programs that are
Reoriented
‘Away from a ’Medical
'Illness and Cure Model'
and ‘from’ a 'Justice
'Crime and Punishment Model'
and ‘Toward’ a 'Maturity
and Structural Change Model'
If one objectively and dispassionately examines individual psychotherapy, psychiatry, and counseling from the points of view their impact on or effectiveness with respect to short and long term positive change and from the point of view of relative costs and benefits, my conclusion is, and yours may once you study the "Stars and Stripes" results. I have never seen a treatment outcome with respectable statistics. In the short term, clients tend to report that they feel better. Such results tend to dissipate in the long term. This is particularly true of brief therapy modalities. Furthermore, typically feeling better is not accompanied by significant behavioral changes. If a patient is put on psychotropic medications, they typically remain on some kind of psychotropic medication or medications for many years. The cost of one patient who pays their therapist from $25 to $300 for one hour per week and continues doing this for years, is paying a lot of money with little more to show for it than 'not feeling bad'. Contrast this with "Stars and Stripes" where residents stay for an average of four months and receive no traditional, individual treatment or psychotropic medications. On average over three-hundred felonious, juvenile delinquent residents will go through the program. Their behavior changes for the better. Just imagine, before "Stars and Stripes" seventy percent of residents were on psychotropic drugs. After the program had been implemented for about six months, only five percent were on such medications. Yet, the behavior of all of the residents vastly improved. Why was this? I am not contending that these residents did not have brain chemistry imbalance. Rather, I am contending that there is an exquisite relationship between the structures of their environment, the structure of the program, and the residents’ brain chemistry. This relationship was such that it not only reoriented their behavior but reconfigured their neurotransmitters. Furthermore, any genetic predispositions toward aggression, impulsivity, sexual predation, deviousness, deception, or other more serious and criminal behavior are now shown to be capable of being overridden by a well-designed, positive institutional program. In addition, Lack of mental capacity may limit, somewhat, one's potential levels of achievement in some areas. However, in spite of any such possible limitations, they eagerly mastered several grade levels in school and showed no signs of ADHD while doing so. Furthermore, only a small percentage, around fifteen percent, recidivate when they return to the community. These observations mean that not only is this institution and its "Stars and Stripes" program far more cost (much less costly) beneficial (far greater and lasting behavioral results), but it demonstrates that there is a strong, viable alternative to traditional treatment and correctional approaches.
Furthermore, this approach should be adaptable to a far greater range of settings or circumstances.
Finally, this approach can work with both the mentally ill and the criminal offender, something traditional approaches have not been able to do. Private therapists only see offenders if therapy is required as a part of their conditions for probation or parole. Correctional institutions are notorious for under staffing therapists and their performance is notoriously substandard and ineffective. In the 1970s, President Nixon ordered a nationwide study of rehabilitation and treatment programs in correctional institutions. The results revealed that they were appallingly unproductive and futile. Nixon managed to have funding cut off for such rehabilitation programs on a nationwide basis. The majority of socially detrimental behavior disorders stem from offenders rather than the mentally ill. Ironically, it is only among the motivated, miserable, mentally ill that paying clients are found.
Part of the explanation for the advantages of Natural Systems is that this approach focuses on both the design of external structures and systems and also focuses on the internal and intentional processes of persons while setting as its mission the enhancement of the maturity of the person and the maturity of their behavior in an enduring way, not to treat personality disorders or illnesses.
Every facet of the Stars and Stripes program is designed to work together toward eliciting more mature responses. The organization and management of the institution; the jobs and roles of the staff; setting the mission, goals, and objectives of the institution; the manner of evaluating the performance of the institution; the performance evaluation of the staff; the manner of setting goals for each resident; the manner of evaluating the progress of the resident; the manner of setting and meshing schedules for setting goals and evaluating and acknowledging progress toward and achievement of goals; the creation within both staff and residents of a sense of community and mutual facilitation of responsibility for enhancing and maintaining the quality of community life; the manner of recording and communicating and even celebrating the progress toward and achievement of goals by both residents and staff.
All of these facets are designed to facilitate progress in the "10. critical developmental aspects of progress in adolescent maturity". When you go to this hyperlink, you will find an extensive description of six stages of adolescent process in maturity. A final section exhaustively describes "10. five categories of the highest level of adult maturity". This section on the categories of the highest level of maturity is complemented by the sub web site called "5 Psychological Self Help". This program is really meant to be used with small groups of adults by applying the techniques detailed in the latter part of “9. A New Paradigm for Psychological Treatment Based on Natural Systems” (This is a book that is a work in progress)
Since every aspect of the institution is involved in the program and operates on a twenty-four seven basis, no aspects of the residents’ lives are neglected in this drive toward facilitation of maturity. There are no gaps in their daily schedule that would make a regression toward less mature behavior likely. The result is that all of the intentional processes are challenged to mature together in and integrated fashion. Therefore, positive structures and systems are created that cause mutual facilitation toward maturity for the entirety of people involved in the institution.
As the youth progress through stages toward their goals of greater maturity, the achievement of a stage is recognized with an increase in rank, signified by an emblem. "Each rank entails a new role with new and more mature role responsibilities" and, therefore, a new identity. The new identity is accompanied by an increased identification with the institution. When youths leave the institution they carry inside them the identity they achieved which is has been incorporated as a part of their self-concept. The result is that all of the intentional processes are challenged to mature together in an integrated fashion and their highest attained rank and its role behaviors tend to persist when they return to their home community.
Natural Systems, with its Duplex Pyramid, uses these external structures and systems and internal structures and processes to bring a holistic perspective to the human problems we face. It provides a framework that can guide those who have the responsibility to design programs. With the Duplex Pyramid approach, one can approach a problem by systematically looking at the external structures and systems and the internal structures and processes all together and then consider how each element of the Duplex Pyramid will influence the other. This is the opposite of the more fragmented, narrow approaches that are often taken in similar problem solving situations in the modern, complex, commercial and scientific worlds. This seems to be the more natural and 'human-friendly', as well as, in the end, the more practical, approach.
In order to achieve the mission of Natural Systems, all of the staff, management, professional, and line staff, must be trained. The program for training them can be found at the following hyperlink: “Training for Implementing a Natural Systems program like “Stars and Stripes".
As modern society itself has become so complex and fragmented, it is now not natural (or rather not easy) to take the natural approach. Natural Systems is an attempt to bring back the 'human-friendly', natural approach. However, now it has to be re-learned and, as it were, updated to the complexity of the modern world. Consequently, The Natural Systems Institute is dedicated to (re-)educating leaders in the human services areas in this holistic, human-friendly, method of analysis of social problems as well as the design of human programs so that their methods are based on the Duplex Pyramids. The structures and systems of institutions and organizations can be restructured to facilitate optimal, healthy growth in maturity with respect to both the intentionality processes and the internal structures and processes, especially inclusive of behavior. This is not an easy task. However, from a cost-benefits analysis, it could be the equivalent of, as a positive transformer of society, the computer revolution.
If you were to invest the necessary time and energy in learning the Natural Systems approach, and how to use it, I feel quite sure the dividends would be surprisingly huge. If you click on the "2 Stars and Stripes" URL in the TABLE OF CONTENTS, OR SUB-WEB SITES, WITHIN THE NATURAL SYSTEMS INSTITUTE, at the bottom of this introduction, and reading and examining all of its content, and especially the section on performance indicators from the Harris County Youth Village, you will clearly see the dramatic results that can be achieved using the Natural Systems Approach. The same astounding results occurred at the school which was a part of the Harris County Youth Village. "4 School Violence" describes how Natural Systems was applied to the discipline and teaching approach at an unusually difficult educational setting.
The Natural Systems philosophy and approach is comprehensive and has been demonstrated to have a highly positive effect in a wide variety of types of institutions and community settings as well as with families. This being the case, it would behoove the national and the states' governments to consider creating commissions for the modernization of the justice system.
The following hyperlinks relate to additional perspectives when considering modernizing the justice system.
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