Published: October 2026

Keywords:
Flatland, Edwin Abbott Abbott, Systemic Approach, Training, Supervision, Supervision Tool, Second-Order Cybernetics, Communication Patterns, Observation, Imagination.

Kalogeropoulou Maria

Kalogeropoulou Maria, Psychologist, Systemic Therapist, maria.kalogeropoulou.psy@gmail.com

Kontou Natalia

Kontou Natalia, Psychologist, Systemic Therapist, nataliadkontou@gmail.com

Orphanoudakis Manos

Orphanoudakis Manos, Psychologist, Systemic Therapist. emmanuelorphanoudakis@gmail.com

Abstract

In the history of systemic thinking and therapy, Second-Order Cybernetics has had a strong influence. The idea that reality is co-constructed through communication, and that systems self-organise and interact, has been pivotal in shaping a non-directive therapy that accounts for the observer’s active participation in the phenomena under observation. Based on the premise that descriptions of systems within therapy are organised around the constraints and choices offered by each observational vantage point, and abandoning the idea of a universal panoramic view, we aim to create a conceptual tool to highlight different communication patterns and alternative descriptions that broaden options within the therapeutic context. We draw inspiration from Edwin Abbott Abbott’s book "Flatland", a science fiction story about shifting between ways of observing the world based on spatial dimensions, and we attempt to incorporate imagination into the observational process. This article presents this perceptual tool at a workshop organised by the journal "Metalogos" in Thessaloniki in May 2026.