In the Chapter on Systems Theory, we will have gleaned that in a system (such as a family, community, etc.) there is rarely equilibrium, that is, a kind of state where everybody is happy. Or, if there is, it doesn’t last that long.
Rather, life involves constant work, or effort, during which we are using energy to get our needs met. As we are getting our needs met, we encounter others whose needs are getting in the way of our needs.
This, of course, only becomes a problem for us when the energy required to get our needs met exceeds the energy that we have at our disposal.
If it is the other way around, (i.e. the amount of energy we have exceeds the energy we need to get our needs met), our stress is generally healthy, which is life-affirming and satisfying.
In protecting children affected by imprisonment in families that have always struggled to be included, I propose that there is also constant tension – this time within us as practitioners, to determine appropriate and workable strategies to effect positive change.
This tension I will call the Family Support Shamrock – utilising the old Irish symbol which, as I stated above, all Irish people (and many people worldwide) will be familiar.