Gladding Ch. 10 - Bowen Family Systems Theory

Question 1

Murray Bowen

Answer 1

○ 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.

Question 2

Murray Bowen, ctd

Answer 2

○ 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

Question 3

Other prominent thinkers

Answer 3

● Other contributors: Betty Carter, Philip Guerin, Thomas Fogarty, Michael Kerr, Monica McGoldrick, Edwin Friedman, and Daniel Papero

Question 4

Mother-Patient Symbiosis

Answer 4

the parent and child cannot differentiate from each other since they have such a strong connection.

Question 5

Guiding Principles

Answer 5

●	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

Question 6

Treatment techniques & interventions

Answer 6

●	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

Question 7

Role of the Therapist

Answer 7

● 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

Question 8

Course, Process, Outcomes

Answer 8

● 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.

Question 9

comparison with other approaches

Answer 9

● 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

Question 10

Multicultural Implications & Limitations

Answer 10

● 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

Question 11

Bowen’s theory is transgenerational

Answer 11

examines the interactions of families across generations as a way to understand current problems and predict future challenges

Question 12

heart of treatment

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Natural systems theory

Answer 13

another name for bowen family therapy. among the first, if not the first, systemically based approaches for working with families.

Question 14

American Family Therapy Academy

Answer 14

founded by Bowen in order to restore a serious research effort in family therapy

Question 15

how bowen understood the family

Answer 15

as a natural system which could only be fully understood in terms of the fluid but predictable processes between members

Question 16

fused

Answer 16

emotionally overinvolved

Question 17

bowen and patterns

Answer 17

unless individuals examine and rectify patterns passed down from previous generations, they are likely tto repeat these behaviors in their own families

Question 18

key element of Bowen family therapy

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

2 counterbalancing life fources

Answer 19

togetherness and individuality

Question 20

nuclear family emotional process

Answer 20

the emotional forces in families that operate over the years in recurrent patterns such as becoming disorganized or chaotic during a chrises.

Question 21

4 factors influence a person’s level of differentiation

Answer 21

1. emotional reactivity (feelings overwhelm thinking and drown individuation)
2. cutoff: members avoid each other physically or psychologically b/c of unresolved emotional attachment
3. fusion: merging of intellectual and emotional functions so that an individual does not have a clear sense of self and others.
4. “I” position: ability to make statements that express feelings and thoughts in personal and resonsible ways that econurage others to express opinions

Question 22

bowen transmission process

Answer 22

coping strategies and patterns of coping w/ stress tend to be passed on from generation to generation.

Question 23

pseudo individuation/pseudo self

Answer 23

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.”

Question 24

family projection

Answer 24

couples tend to produce offspring at the same level of differentiation as themselves

Question 25

triangle

Answer 25

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

Question 26

detriangulation

Answer 26

important in helping people separate feelings from intellect

Question 27

sibling position

Answer 27

people can develop fixed personality characteristics based on their functional birth order in the family

Question 28

societal regression

Answer 28

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

Question 29

off-schedule events

Answer 29

major life events such as marriage or death occuring at a time that is different than the norm

Question 30

detriangulation

Answer 30

the process of being in contact and emotionally separate

Question 31

person-to-person relationships

Answer 31

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

Question 32

differentiation of self

Answer 32

a health emotional detachment or the ability to maintain objectivity by separating affect from cognitions

Question 33

asking questions

Answer 33

“magic bullet” and main tool of bowen therapists.

Question 34

talking directly to the counselor

Answer 34

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

Question 35

chief focus and place where change is emphasized

Answer 35

the individual or couple. the whole family is usually not seen.

Question 36

premises

Answer 36

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

Question 37

treatment techniques

Answer 37

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

Question 38

role of therapist

Answer 38

therapist is a differentiated person who acts a sa coach and teacher and concentrates on boundary and differentiation issues

Question 39

process and outcome

Answer 39

help family members become more differentiated and fluid in interactions

assist family members in therapy to be more cognitive and understand intergenerational patterns

Question 40

unique aspects

Answer 40

emphasizes intergenerational relationships and patterns. in-depth theory of familly relationships. systemic and cognitive theory that provides a concerte evaluation of progress

Question 41

comparison w/ other theories

Answer 41

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