Chap 9 - Bowenian

Question 1

Bowenian Family Therapy/Transgenerational family therapy

Answer 1

• Among the first systemically based approaches for working with families
• Although there is an emphasis on family history, it is also geared towards the present

Question 2

Murray Bowen

Answer 2

• In 1951, he began requiring mothers of disturbed children to live in the same hospital setting as their offspring (Menniger Clinic)
• Interest grew in the “mother-patient symbiosis” – intense bond that develops between a parent and child that doesn’t allow either person to differentiate himself/herself from the other

Question 3

When working at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Boiwen noticed that…

Answer 3

characteristics exhibited by schizophrenic families were similar to symptoms in many dysfunctional families

Question 4

Once Bowen moved to Georgetown (D.C.) he…

Answer 4

• personally detriangulated himself from his parents by going home and reacting cognitively/neutrally to sever issues family members presented to him
• Professionally, he clarified his theory, began the Georgetown Family Center Symposium, expanded the Georgetown Family Center to off campus quarters, and initiated the founding of the American Family Therapy Association (AFTA)

Question 5

Premises of the Bowenian Theory

Answer 5

• Bowen was influenced by events in his own personal life history, especially difficulties with his family of origin
• Thought that unless individuals examine and rectify patterns passed down from previous generations, they are likely to repeat these behaviors in their own families
• Possibilities of repeating certain behaviors is more likely if family members are either emotionally overinvolved (fused) or emotionally cut off (psychologically/physically)
• Key element is that there is a chronic anxiety (both physically and emotionally) in all of life that comes with the territory
• In the midst of anxiety, predictable family patterns occur

Question 6

Fused

Answer 6

family member are emotionally overinvolved

Question 7

Eight basic concepts to addressing chronic anxiety/emotional processes

Answer 7

o	Differentiation of self
o	Nuclear family emotional process
o	Multigenerational transmission process
o	Family projection
o	Triangles
o	Cutoffs
o	Sibling position
o	Emotional processes in society

Question 8

Differentiation of self

Answer 8

ability of persons to distinguish themselves from their family of origin at an emotional/intellectual level (togetherness and individuality). The level of differentiation exists on a continuum

Question 9

Autonomy

Answer 9

ability to think through a situation clearly

Question 10

Undifferentiated

Answer 10

implies emotional dependency on one’s family members even if one is living away from them (referred to as fused, though it once was undifferentiated family ego mass)

Question 11

Nuclear family emotional process

Answer 11

emotional forces in families that operate over the years in recurrent patterns

Question 12

Emotional reactivity

Answer 12

when feelings overwhelm thinking, thus drowning out individuation

Question 13

Cutoff

Answer 13

when members of a family avoid each other, either physically or psychologically because of an unresolved emotional attachment

Question 14

Fusion

Answer 14

merging of intellectual and emotional functions so that an individual does not have a clear sense of self and others

Question 15

Ability to take an I-position

Answer 15

make statements that express feelings and thoughts in a personal/responsible way that encourages others to do the same

Question 16

Multigenerational transmission process

Answer 16

coping strategies and patterns of coping with stress that are passed from generation to generation
• Theorized that in marriage, people tend to select partners at their own level of differentiation
• Therefore, they are able to establish and maintain clear individuality and at the same time are able to have an intense, mature, nonthreatening, emotional closeness

Question 17

Pseudoselves

Answer 17

“pretend” selves often in those with low levels of differentiation who have trouble establishing intimacy

Question 18

Family projection

Answer 18

couples producing offspring at the same level of differentiation as themselves
• Spouses who are low on differentiation of self keep an emotional distance from each other
• Therefore, anxiety is manifested by: marital conflict, physical/emotional illness in one spouse, projection of the problem onto children, or combos of these

Question 19

Triangles

Answer 19

can occur between people/things; consist of a state of calm between a comfortable twosome and an outsider (can be healthy or unhealthy)
• Frequent way of dealing with anxiety in which tension between two persons is projected onto another object

Question 20

Detriangulate

Answer 20

to get rid of a triangle by separating one’s feelings from their intellect through asking questions about thoughts and constructing a type of family tree (multigenerational genogram)

Question 21

Cutoffs

Answer 21

when individuals distance themselves from their families physically or psychologically in order to manage unresolved emotional issues with family members

Question 22

Sibling position

Answer 22

individuals can develop fixed personality characteristics based on their functional birth order (more closely a marriage replicates a couples’ sibling position in the family of origin, the better the chances are for success)

Question 23

Emotional processes in society

Answer 23

technique Bowenian therapists use to lead family members into gaining a perspective on how well society as a whole is doing
• Characterized by either progression or regression

Question 24

Treatment Techniques

Answer 24

• Genograms
• Going home again
• Detriangulation
• Person-to-person relationships
• Differentiation of self
• Asking questions

Question 25

Genograms

Answer 25

o Visual representation of a person’s family tree depicted in geometric figures, lines, and words
o Include info related to at least three generations of a family and its members’ relationships with each other
o Helps people gather info, hypothesize, and track relationship changes in the context of historical and contemporary events
o Helps clinicians gather large amounts of info in a relatively short amount of time
o Data scanned for: repetitive patterns (triangles, cutoffs, and coalitions), coincidences (death of members or age of symptom onset), and the impacts of change and untimely life cycle transitions such as off schedule events (major life events occurring at different times than is the norm)

Question 26

Going home again

Answer 26

o Return home in order to get to know their family of origin better
o With this type of info, individuals can differentiate themselves more clearly

Question 27

Detriangulation

Answer 27

o Process of being in contact and emotionally separated operating at two levels
• Person resolves his/her anxiety over family situations and doesn’t project feelings onto another
• Help individuals separate themselves from becoming a focus when tension or anxiety rises in a family
o Family members are free to voice their concerns and try out new ways of acting

Question 28

Person-to-person relationships

Answer 28

o Two family members relate personally to each other about each other (don’t talk about others and don’t talk about impersonal issues)
o Helps promote individuation (autonomy) and intimacy

Question 29

Differentiation of self

Answer 29

o Degree to which a person is able to distinguish between the subjective feeling process and the more objective intellectual (thinking) process
o Healthy emotional detachment or the ability to maintain objectivity by separating affect from cognition
o Failure to differentiate results in fusion – don’t have clear sense of self, uncomfortable with autonomy in relationships, wish to psychologically merge with another, and have difficulty tolerating differ4ences of opinion

Question 30

Asking questions

Answer 30

o Main tool of Bowen therapists

o Allows them to learn to understand the reactions of those in their family better

Question 31

Role of the Therapist in Bowenian therapy

Answer 31

• Differentiation of the therapist is crucial (objectivity and neutrality are very important)
• Must undergo own emotional change before being able to work with families (personally resolved family of origin concerns)
• Often involved in coaching/teaching at more cognitive levels
• Teach family members to transcend emotionalism by setting examples as reasonable, neutral, self-controlled adults
• Therapists become interpreters with their clients in assessing and working through multigenerational patterns of fusion and cutoffs

Question 32

Bowenian Process and Outcome

Answer 32

• Family members will understand intergenerational patterns and gain insight into historical circumstances that have influenced the way they are currently interacting
• Focus on changing intergenerational inferences operating with the current family
• Issues related to fusion and unconscious relationship patterns should be cleared up
• Focus of where change is emphasized is the individual/couple (whole family usually isn’t seen)
• Rather, individuals are targeted even though the emphasis of this approach is systemic (changing one person influences the family)

Question 33

Unique Emphases of Bowen Family Therapy

Answer 33

o Calls attention to family history and the importance of noticing and dealing with past patterns in order to avoid repeating these behaviors in interpersonal relationships
o Theory and therapy are inseparable (extensive, complex, and intertwined)
o Systemic in nature, controlled in focus, and cognitive in practice
o Can be used extensively with individuals or couples (most comprehensive theory of individual functioning from a family systems perspective)

Question 34

Comparison of Bowenian with other theories

Answer 34

o Well-establish and heuristically appealing
o Not entirely supported
• Feminists criticize approach for being too male-oriented and politically conservative
• Lack of research testing Bowen’s claim that his theory is universal
• Stress on importance of the past encourages some families or family members to examine their history rather than deal immediately with present issues
• Promotes insight over action
o The theory underlying the approach is its own paradigm (setting up research questions to verify this way of working with families is challenging)
o Requires much time/money from the client (number of people who can benefit from it is limited)

Question 35

Bowenian terms (from the handout)

Answer 35

Differentiation of the self
Nuclear Family Emotional System
Family Projection Process
Multigenerational transmission
Triangles
Sibling position
Societal Regression