Still eating the menu? On the abstractions of professional practice

We inhabit a world of abstractions. Menus are not the meal. Maps are not their territories. However, proficiency in relating to abstractions ‘as if’ they are synonymous with their referents is, arguably, a part of the professional worlds of health and social care. We enter a world of menus. We may find ourselves invited to relate to these descriptions as if they were the things in themselves. This is ‘depression’ (and this isn’t) this is ‘psychological therapy’ (and not this), this is ‘Learning Disability’ (but not this), this is (well, you can add your examples). These symbols relate to one another and create a world of theory and practice. A world of meaning, of maps. Systemic therapy and practice offer a plethora of ways of bringing forth multiple maps with those who consult with us. This paper returns to this foundational constructivist presupposition of map and territory and suggests it might be worth revisiting.. The paper focuses on exploring moments when we might forget that symbol systems are not the same as the things they symbolise, asks how this might occur and what might be done about it. My examples are focused on my experiences of working in learning disability services. You may want to consider examples from your contexts of professional practice.