The current models that we use in systemic family therapy came out of office/clinic-based practice. To date, there is no model specifically orientated to systemic family therapy in the home. As a systemic family therapist, I argue that non-traditional approaches may need to be considered; and that systemic family therapy models should come closer to reflecting discourses that have shades of global influences. My interest in the area emerged from a position of ignorance – making assumptions that the tools used in the clinic could easily be colonised into a family’s home – but I found that the models often used in the clinic do not necessarily transfer easily into the home. an adaptation of a systematic review was conducted that undermined the notion that therapists are ‘knowing’ with particular skill and competency to work in the home. I ask the question: How do I improve upon my systemic family therapy practice to work in families’ homes? African oral traditional ideas (AOTI) are broadly explored to consider the notion of self and bodily feelings as a source of knowledge. Through the use of AOTI I created an approach known as Seselelame, foregrounding a new practice stemming from ideas that are not home grown within the systemic family therapy perspectives, to support my practice within the home. the inquiry offers the following contribution of new knowledge to family systemic therapy: conceptualization of a method (Seselelame) that incorporates the idea of self in the context of awareness of feelings in the body; a method that incorporates African oral traditional ideas and thus expanded the traditional Western view of family/systemic therapy; contextualization of the significance of home as a source of knowledge; the Seselelame model was used as an analytical tool alongside a systemic constructionist analytical model to compare and contrast the data produced. The findings conclude that the inquiry has implications for the practice and teaching of systemic family therapy, which will eventually be published once the thesis is completed.

L’hospitalisation d’un enfant pour une chirurgie cardiaque à cœur ouvert est un événement majeur dans la vie d’une famille. L’appréhension de l’acte chirurgical peut avoir de graves conséquences psychologiques et engendrer une anxiété élevée chez l’enfant, mais également chez ses parents. De nombreuses interventions ont été mises à l’essai afin de réduire cette anxiété préopératoire, mais il n’existe pas à ce jour de données probantes concernant le meilleur moyen de préparer ces familles à la chirurgie. Une étude qualitative d’inspiration phénoménologique dont le cadre de référence est le modèle d’intervention familiale de Wright et Leahey, (2013) a été effectuée, afin d’évaluer une préparation à la chirurgie par le jeu mettant en scène une poupée. À cette fin, des entretiens systémiques semi-structurés ont été menés auprès de dix familles ayant bénéficié de la préparation. L’étude a pris place au sein du service M3 de l’hôpital Marie Lannelongue. Les résultats de la recherche montrent que les familles dont l’enfant est hospitalisé pour une chirurgie cardiaque présentent un réel besoin en informations qui dépend de leurs expériences antérieures, de leur vécu et de leurs croyances. L’activité par le jeu doit donc s’adapter à ces paramètres afin de préparer efficacement les familles à la chirurgie. Cette étude permet de mieux comprendre l’expérience de ces enfants ainsi que de leurs parents. De plus, elle suggère des améliorations généralisables à d’autres interventions, afin que des services de soins puissent par la suite améliorer ou bâtir leurs propres programmes de préparation à la chirurgie. / Hospitalization of a child for open heart surgery is a major event in a family's life. Apprehension of the surgical procedure can have serious psychological consequences and cause high anxiety in the child, but also in his parents. Many interventions have been tried to reduce this preoperative anxiety, but there is no evidence to date on the best way to prepare these families for surgery. A phenomenological qualitative study with a reference framework of Wright and Leahey's family intervention model (2013) was conducted to evaluate a preparation for surgery using doll play. To this end, semi-structured systemic interviews were conducted with ten families who benefited from the preparation. The study took place within the M3 department of Marie Lannelongue Hospital. The results of the research show that families whose children are hospitalized for cardiac surgery have a real need for information that depends on their past experiences, experiences and beliefs. Activity through play must therefore adapt to these parameters in order to effectively prepare families for surgery. This study provides a better understanding of the experiences of these children and their parents. In addition, it suggests generalizable improvements to other interventions so that care services can subsequently improve or build their own surgical preparation programs.