Gladding Ch. 10 - Bowen Family Systems Theory Flashcards
Murray Bowen
○ Psychiatrist, who was employed at the Menninger Clinic
○ 1951: Required mothers of disturbed children to reside in the same hospital as their child
■ “Mother-patient symbiosis”: the parent and child cannot differentiate from each other since they have such a strong connection.
Murray Bowen, ctd
○ 1954: Bowen moves to Maryland and began working at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) with schizophrenic families realizing similarities between their traits and the symptoms of dysfunctional families
○ Bowen later moved to Washington D.C. to work at Georgetown University ~1970’s:
■ Professionally: Worked on his theory, initiated changes at Georgetown, and worked on founding the American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA)
■ Personally: Returned home and detriangulated himself from his parents
Other prominent thinkers
● Other contributors: Betty Carter, Philip Guerin, Thomas Fogarty, Michael Kerr, Monica McGoldrick, Edwin Friedman, and Daniel Papero
Mother-Patient Symbiosis
the parent and child cannot differentiate from each other since they have such a strong connection.
Guiding Principles
● 8 Basic Concepts: ○ Differentiation of Self: together vs. individuality ○ Nuclear Family Emotional Process (4 factors: emotional reactivity, cut-off, fusion, & the “I” position) ○ Bowen Transmission Process ○ Family Projection ○ Triangles ○ Cutoffs ○ Sibling Position ○ Emotional Process in Society
Treatment techniques & interventions
● Focus: promoting differentiation ○ Self/Family ○ Intellect/Emotion ● When doing couple’s counseling, Bowen family therapy assumes that there is either: ○ Marital conflict ○ Dysfunction in one of the spouses ○ The issue has been transmitted to one or more of their offspring ● Main Techniques Used: ○ Genograms ○ Going Home Again ○ Detriangulation ○ Person-to-Person Relationships ○ Differentiation of Self ○ Asking Questions ○ Talking Directly to the Counselor
Role of the Therapist
● To act as an outside individual who fulfills the role of guide & educator focusing on concerns of boundaries & differentiation.
○ It is important that the therapist remain differentiated
Course, Process, Outcomes
● Successful treatment may look like:
○ Understanding of patterns passed from generations
○ Insight on circumstances that have led to the current interaction within the system
○ Fusion and patterns should be cleared
○ Individuals in a system should have a greater sense of autonomy and self-differentiation
● The individual or couple is the main focus of change
● The entire family is typically not seen, as Bowen Family Therapy believes that by changing one person, the whole system may benefit.
comparison with other approaches
● Emphasizes the importance of family history, some families do not focus on present situations
● Not easy to conduct research
● Demands a high level of investment of time & money
● Attempts to sustain continuous what other theories regard as separate
Multicultural Implications & Limitations
● Criticism from feminists:
○ Male oriented
○ Politically Conservative
● Lacking research supporting whether the theory is universal
● Bowen Family Therapy was created in the United States, where characteristics such as independence and individualism are prominent
○ May not translate well in other cultures or countries with less individualistic perspectives
Bowen’s theory is transgenerational
examines the interactions of families across generations as a way to understand current problems and predict future challenges
heart of treatment
belief that changes in families and their members occur best when the family is examined in the context of its linear and vertical history and development
Natural systems theory
another name for bowen family therapy. among the first, if not the first, systemically based approaches for working with families.
American Family Therapy Academy
founded by Bowen in order to restore a serious research effort in family therapy
how bowen understood the family
as a natural system which could only be fully understood in terms of the fluid but predictable processes between members
fused
emotionally overinvolved
bowen and patterns
unless individuals examine and rectify patterns passed down from previous generations, they are likely tto repeat these behaviors in their own families
key element of Bowen family therapy
there is a chronic anxiety in all of life that comes with the territory of living. this anxiety is both emotional and physical and is shared by all protoplasm.
2 counterbalancing life fources
togetherness and individuality
nuclear family emotional process
the emotional forces in families that operate over the years in recurrent patterns such as becoming disorganized or chaotic during a chrises.
4 factors influence a person’s level of differentiation
- emotional reactivity (feelings overwhelm thinking and drown individuation)
- cutoff: members avoid each other physically or psychologically b/c of unresolved emotional attachment
- fusion: merging of intellectual and emotional functions so that an individual does not have a clear sense of self and others.
- “I” position: ability to make statements that express feelings and thoughts in personal and resonsible ways that econurage others to express opinions
bowen transmission process
coping strategies and patterns of coping w/ stress tend to be passed on from generation to generation.
pseudo individuation/pseudo self
pretend self. fluctuates according to situations and results in fusion of these selves into a “common self w/ obliteration of ego boundaries between them and loss of individuality to the common self.”
family projection
couples tend to produce offspring at the same level of differentiation as themselves
triangle
basic building block of any emotional system and the smallest stable relationship system. consist of a state of calm between a comfortable twosome and an outsider
detriangulation
important in helping people separate feelings from intellect
sibling position
people can develop fixed personality characteristics based on their functional birth order in the family
societal regression
if a society is under too much stress, societal regression will occur because too many toxic forces are countering the tendency to achieve differentiation. in a societal regression, people act to relive the anxiety of the moment rather than act on principle and a long-term view
off-schedule events
major life events such as marriage or death occuring at a time that is different than the norm
detriangulation
the process of being in contact and emotionally separate
person-to-person relationships
2 family members relate personally to each other about each other; that is, they do not talk about others (triangling) and do not talk about impersonal issues
differentiation of self
a health emotional detachment or the ability to maintain objectivity by separating affect from cognitions
asking questions
“magic bullet” and main tool of bowen therapists.
talking directly to the counselor
to discourage emotional reactions to the anxiety experienced in therapy, Bowen instructed family members to look at and talk to the counselor and not to each other. this approach minimizes attempts by family members to triangulate the counselor into the issues at hand and is a key characteristic of Bowen family theory
chief focus and place where change is emphasized
the individual or couple. the whole family is usually not seen.
premises
theory and therapy are the same
family patterns likely to repeat
differentiate oneself from family of origin
uncontrolled anxiety results in family dysfunctionality
formation of triangles is a key manifestation of uncontrolled anxiety
treatment techniques
individual or couple is unit of treatment
prevent triangulation. help client relate more at cognitive, as opposed to emotional level.
stop dysfunctional, repetitive, intergenerational patterns
role of therapist
therapist is a differentiated person who acts a sa coach and teacher and concentrates on boundary and differentiation issues
process and outcome
help family members become more differentiated and fluid in interactions
assist family members in therapy to be more cognitive and understand intergenerational patterns
unique aspects
emphasizes intergenerational relationships and patterns. in-depth theory of familly relationships. systemic and cognitive theory that provides a concerte evaluation of progress
comparison w/ other theories
stress importance of past, thereby encouraging some families or family members to examine history and not deal w/ present circumstances
difficult to research
requires a high degree of investment in time and money
