Family Systems Theory: info on Murray Bowen (select 5) -
a pharmacist
a psychiatrist
Mental Research Institute
1940s Menninger Clinic
1950s NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health)
1959 Georgetown University
Family Systems Theory
Contextual Theory
Family Systems Theory: humans and human families are guided by the family's ❌ system.
Family Systems Theory: TOGETHERNESS LEDGERS REDACTION( TOGETHERNESS, LEDGERS, REDACTION ) vs. INDIVIDUALITY ALTRUITION( INDIVIDUALITY, ALTRUITION )
Family Systems Theory: Unresolved family issues are repeated.
Family Systems Theory: this is the concept of repeating unresolved issues from your family of origin with your own nuclear family.
Repetition
Cycling
Intergenerational Transmission
Family Systems Theory GOALS:
balance the ledger
decrease anxiety
increase differentiation
Family Systems Theory/Bowenian: TRIANGLES
smallest, most stable relationship
3 people
2 people
can be beneficial
can be used to divert attention from one person onto another
Family Systems/Bowenian: ___________ tension in triangles - the uncomfortable person seeks comfort/closeness with an outsider.
MILD
MODERATE
HIGH
Family Systems/Bowenian: ___________ tension in triangles - 1 side is in conflict; 2 sides in harmony.
Family Systems/Bowenian: ___________ tension in triangles - outside position is desirable; most uncomfortable insider gets the outsider to fight with the other insider.
Family Systems/Bowen: the less developed the self, the less influence others have.
Family Systems/Bowen: a person with a low developed sense of self tries to control others.
Family Systems/Bowen: Families Individuals( Families, Individuals ) determine how much the self gets to develop.
Family Systems/Bowen: poorly differentiated individuals...
need approval
are people pleasers
are dogmatic
pressure others to conform
have chronic anxiety
Family Systems/Bowen: highly differentiated individuals...
have a good balance of I and We
realistic dependence on others
separate emotion from rational thinking
can be selfless (by choice)
confident/supportive of others
Family Systems/Bowen: the Nuclear Family Emotional System has 5 relationship patterns.
Family Systems/Bowen: NFES pattern #1 - as tension increases, spouses externalize their anxiety onto the relationship (what's wrong with YOU!)
marital conflict
dysfunction in 1 spouse
impairment in 1 or more children
emotional distance
Family Systems/Bowen: NFES pattern #2 - pressure from 1 spouse, other yields but has high anxiety which leads to dysfunction ("I lost myself in the relationship)
impairment of 1 or more children
Family Systems/Bowen: NFES pattern #3 - with anxiety in the marriage, the focus shifts to a child (can be with a positive or negative view of the child). Child is reactive to parents' expectations, and can't differentiate. Internalizes family tension, acts out, is anxious.
dysfunction in one spouse
Family Systems/Bowen: NFES pattern #4 - (associated w/ other 3 patterns) more distance = less tension & anxiety, but the risk is isolation and depression
Family Systems/Bowen: FAMILY ❌ PROCESS - children (usually 1 child) inherit relational sensitivities that lead to ❌ functioning. [Treatment: 1) focus 2) interpret 3) treat]
Family Systems/Bowen: 3 STEPS OF FAMILY PROJECTION PROCESS 1) Parent ❌ on child (fear of something wrong) 2) Parent ❌ behaviors as confirming their fears 3) Parent ❌ child as if something is really wrong
Family Systems/Bowen: The process of an unresolved issue perpetuating through upcoming generations is called ____________________. (We choose mates w/ the same level of differentiation as us.)
Undifferentiation Process
Multigenerational Transmission Process
Self-Perpetuating Transmission Process
Family Systems/Bowen: Emotional Cutoff, the attempt to manage family issues by cutting the family off, can be accomplished by which of the following?
Family Meetings
Moving away physically
Avoiding deep conversations
Sweeping things under the rug/dormant problems
Family Systems/Bowen: Birth order/sibling position is an important element of this theory.
Family Systems/Bowen: Societal Emotional Process is when the culture is healthier than the typical family units.
Family Systems/Bowen: THERAPIST JOBS
Control the emotional tone of the session
Maintain a de-triangulated stance
Have the family take "I" positions to promote differentiation
Discourage digging up old issues
Teach how emotional systems operate; help to differentiate from family of origin
Family Systems/Bowen: When a family is emotionally "stuck" together, they are fused frozen flippant( fused, frozen, flippant ).
These two dudes were Bowen's students, who joined to form the Center for Family Learning.
Thomas Payne
Philip Guerin
Thomas Fogarty
Virginia Satir
Family Systems/Bowen: These women were responsible for the exposition of the FAMILY LIFE CYCLE and championed FEMINISM in family therapy.
Betty Carter
Emily Coinack
Monica McGoldrick
Joyce Encklestat
Family Systems/Bowen: Frank Sulloway wrote this book in 1996 on the importance of birth order.
Born to Rebel
Who Were You Born to Be?
Life Down the Middle
Top Down Birth Order
Family Systems/Bowen: the development of behavior disorders comes from being highly differentiated and not caring if other's feelings are hurt.
Family Systems/Bowen: GOALS of therapy
Change
Insight
taking responsibility for their own problems
Family Systems/Bowen: Patterns of emotional reactivity are called __________________.
Structure
Process
Differentiation Patterns
Family Systems/Bowen: Interlocking networks of triangles are called _________________ in this theory.
Form
Family Systems/Bowen: Bowen thought it was better to address individuals, and not the group as a whole.
Family Systems/Bowen: GENOGRAMS are an important technique in this theory.
Family Systems/Bowen: Getting someone to try something new within their family ("What would it look like if you...") is called
Open Door Possibilities
Structural Shifts
Relationship Experiment
Family Systems/Bowen: These are the 6 techniques of this theory -
"I" position
Enacting
Genograms
Process questions
Neutralizing triangles
Balancing ledgers
Examining hierarchies
Relationship experiments
Coaching
Family Systems/Bowen: He used displacement stories (like Samuel w/ the story of the rich man and the sheep).
Ivan Bozormenyi-Nagy
Geraldine Spark
Family Systems/Bowen: He founded EPPI to study schizophrenia. His theory was on INVISIBLE LOYALTY within the family.
Family Systems/Bowen: This psychologist/social worker with psycho-analytic background and experience in child guidance centers formed a theory on INVISIBLE LOYALTY within the family.
Family Systems/Bowen: The theory of ❌ within the family (formed by Spark and Bozormenyi-Nagy) defines these terms - 1) ❌ - an expectation from a previous generation 2) ❌ - allegiances in kids based on parental fairness 3) ❌ - who owes what, to whom
