energy-flow system
any system in which the component organisms or entities convert energy into forms that can be used by the other organisms or entities, such that there is a constant energy flow through the entire system. An ecosystem is perhaps the clearest example of an energy-flow system. In psychology, Sigmund Freud’s early models of the psyche were essentially energy-flow models, in which libido was employed by the instincts to bring thoughts to consciousness while simultaneously employed by other parts of the psyche to keep them out of consciousness. More recently, a field known as energy psychology has emerged, which attempts to treat trauma and emotional problems by intervening in the energy flow of the body.