Systemic Approach – First Steps (online training course for educators, coaches and trainers)
E-learning
7-28 April 2026 | online, Netherlands
A 4-session online training course that will support you to learn the basics of the Systemic Approach and apply it in the context of education. You learn practical tools, such as mapping practices and using systemic questions.
“Systemic work is relational work! We explore the world as a web of dynamic connections between dynamic elements.”
This training course is specifically designed for people who work with people – youth and community workers, educators, teachers, coaches, trainers, and facilitators. You will learn the basics of the Systemic Approach of working with people and gain concrete tools for your practice.
By the end of the course, you will gain:
- A clear understanding of what a system is — and how people, teams, organisations, and societies function as living systems rather than isolated parts
- The ability to shift from linear thinking (“cause–and–effect”) to a systemic perspective, allowing you to see hidden dynamics, patterns, and interconnections
- A practical grasp of the 5R Model of Systems, helping you analyse situations through relationships, roles, rules, resources, and results
- Knowledge of the core systemic principles and how they influence behaviour, conflict, and growth
- The skill to ask powerful systemic questions that reveal what is really happening beneath the surface — in coaching, education, facilitation, leadership, and everyday life
- Hands-on experience with systemic mapping practices, enabling you to visualise complex situations and identify leverage points for change
- Greater clarity when facing complexity, transitions or stuck situations — both personally and professionally
- Increased capacity to hold complexity without rushing to solutions, building confidence, presence, and depth in your work with people
- Tools you can immediately apply in coaching, education, leadership, community work, and personal decision-making
- A foundation for deeper systemic work, including constellations, organisational development, and collective processes
The course consists of:
- 4 online sessions in a group context with exercises, theory nuggets, moments to share, and practice. Each session is 90 minutes and takes place on Zoom.
- Access to an online library with resources you can easily download and use in your daily life and work.
- Certificate for attendance, issued by EnvironMental Foundation.
Facilitator: Joanna Nikolova
Joanna is a systemic coach and educator, director of the EnvironMental Foundation, and an entrepreneur. Her main passion is to support L&D professionals in their development and career growth.
With an educational background in Cultural Anthropology and Communication, and 12 years of experience in leading groups and working with people, her expertise is in designing impactful learning programs for youth and adults.
In the last 6 years, Joanna has been practicing systemic coaching. She has completed certification in Systemic Somatic Practices, Systemic Coaching, Moving Questions, and Facilitating Business Constellations. Joanna has been working individually with clients and also with groups, developing tools for systemic education and coaching.
Why Systemic Approach?
The systemic approach is essential because it helps us understand that people, challenges, and behaviors do not exist in isolation, but are always part of larger systems — families, teams, organisations, cultures, and societies. In education and coaching, it invites us to explore relationships, roles, hidden dynamics, and patterns that shape behaviour. This shift creates deeper learning, more sustainable change, and greater responsibility, as people begin to see how their actions influence the whole system. In life, systemic thinking allows us to navigate complexity with clarity, reduce blame, and respond with awareness rather than reaction, helping us make wiser decisions in times of uncertainty and transition.
Why systemic thinking matters?
- It reveals hidden patterns and dynamics that linear thinking often misses
- It shifts focus from individual to collective
- It helps educators and coaches work with context, relationships, and meaning, not just symptoms
- It supports sustainable change, rather than short-term solutions
- It strengthens empathy, perspective-taking, and inclusion
- It builds the capacity to hold complexity without oversimplifying
- It empowers people to see their place, impact, and agency within a larger whole
- It helps us live and lead with more awareness, balance, and integrity
- No prior background in Systemic work is needed—just a willingness to explore, play, and dive deeper into this way of looking at the world.
The group will be held in English, and we have 12 available places.
More information at: SALTO