Bowen’s Intergenerational Family Therapy

Question 1

Who are the main founders of Bowen’s Intergenerational Family Therapy?

Answer 1

• MURRAY BOWEN
• Philip Guerin
• Thomas Fogarty
• Monica McGoldrick
• Betty Carter

Question 2

What are the main concepts of Bowen’s Intergenerational FT?

Answer 2

• Increasing client’s awareness of how current behavior is connected to multigenerational processes
• Multigenerational transmission process, Assessing multigenerational patterns, Emotional Triangles, Family Projection Process

Question 3

Describe Differentiation

Answer 3

• Person’s ability to separate intrapersonal and interpersonal distress
• INTRApersonal: Separate thoughts from feelings in order to respond rather than react
• INTERpersonal: Know where oneself ends and another begins w/o loss of self

Question 4

Describe an emotional cut-off

Answer 4

• A person no longer emotionally engages with another in order to manage anxiety

Question 5

Describe Sibling Position and their Typical Roles

Answer 5

• Older Children: Responsibility and authority
• Later-Born Children: Underdog and question status quo
• Youngest Child: Avoids responsibility in favor of freedom
• Cultural background significantly shapes the roles*

Question 6

What are some interventions for Bowen’s Intergenerational FT?

Answer 6

• Primary “technique” is therapist’s ability to embody the theory
• Process questions
• Encouraging differentiation of self
• Genograms
• Detriangulation
• Relational and Relationship experiments
• Going home again
• I-positions

Question 7

Are there multicultural concerns for Bowen’s Intergenerational FT?

Answer 7

• Yes, written as universal but is not, theory will need to be adapted depending on the client
• Need to take culture into account especially when thinking of individualism vs. collectivism