From 1974 Helm Stierlin taught in Heidelberg. Around him grew the Heidelberg group of family therapists. A 2006 article on his work describes their subject as problems of the family system that show themselves in the behavior of one person, im individuellen Verhalten sich ausdrückenden Systemproblemen.
On 22 November 2019 the Federal Joint Committee decided to make systemic therapy for adults a benefit of the statutory health insurance. In January 2024 it decided to extend this to children and young people. The committee says the method looks nicht auf die einzelne Person, sondern auf die Interaktionen zwischen Mitgliedern der Familie, not at the single person but at the interactions between members of the family.