Bowen Family Systems Therapy
Bowen Family Systems Therapy
An Intergenerational Approach to Family Therapy
Michelle Washburn-Busk, MS, LMFT
Individuality
Togetherness
Differentiated
Emotional Cut-off
Fusion
I suck at physics, but this makes sense to me.
BOTH are extremes, forms of reactivity
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Differentiation of Self
Emotional fusion grows out of an intstinctual need for others but is an unhealthy exaggeration of this need. Some people manifest fusion directly as an excessive need for togetherness; others mask it with a façade of independence. In either case, contagious anxiety drives automatic responses in close relationships and limits functioning.
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According to Bowen, human relationships are driven by two counterbalancing life forces: individuality and togetherness.
Journal #2: Which force do you feel like pulls you most? Are there situations where you’re pulled to one more than the other?
Define…
Can someone take a shot at defining “triangles” and ”triangulation?”
In-Class Journal #2
Think about the most troublesome relationships in your life. What triangles do you notice? Are there “third parties” (relatives, friends, memories) that exist in these difficult relationships?
Triangles
Involving a 3rd party decreases anxiety in the twosome by spreading it through three relationships
What do you think – Is a group of 3 in a relationship always a triangle? Why or why not?
In a healthy threesome, each pair can interact independently; each person has options for his/her behavior; and each can take a position without trying to change the other two.
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In class journal: What are some other examples of triangles you can think of off the top of your head?
Child
Parent
Parent
In-Class Journal #2
What are some benefits of triangulation?
What are some downsides of triangulation?
Some pros…
Triangulation reduces anxiety
Lets off steam
Can re-establish homeostasis
Can temporarily reduce conflict
Some cons…
Triangulation freezes conflict in place
Can undermine relationships
Can prevent real issues from being resolved
In-Class Journal #2
When do you think triangles might be necessary?
When do you think it’s the therapist’s role to help a family de-triangualate?
Content vs. Process
What looks like “intimacy” might be fusion
What looks like “differentiation” or “independence” might be emotional cut-off
Can someone define these in your own words?
In-Class Journal: How can you tell the difference?
Is it reactive or responsive? Values based or ego-driven?
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In-Class Journal #2
How do you think gender influences perceptions of differentiation in society?
Do you think differentiation looks different for males vs. females?
I need 2 volunteers
I A H
Family Dynamics
Bowen believed that young adults have to leave home in order to develop autonomy of self before forming a healthy union with another person
Through this lens, it’s believed that emotional attachment between intimate partners can begin to resemble the attachments we had in our families of origin.
In-Class Journal #2: What elements of your family of origin (FOO) relationships do you hope to resemble? What elements of attachment in your FOO do you hope to NOT resemble?
. People from undifferentiated families will continue to be undifferentiated when they form new families. Those who handled anxiety by withdrawal will tend to do the same in their future relationships.
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Careful to not pathologize…
“Symptoms result from stress that exceeds a person’s ability to manage it. The ability to handle stress is a function of differentiation: The more well-differentiated people are, the more resilient they will be and the more flexible and sustaining their relationships. In less well-differentiated people, it takes less stress to produce symptoms,” (Nichols & Davis, p. 74)
Pg. 74 also says “symptoms develop when the level of anxiety exceeds the system’s ability to handle it,”
Journal #2? Besides being “differentiated”, what ELSE reduces a person’s ability to manage stress?
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Which domain deals with differentiation?
Trauma, privilege, resources, status, histoyr
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Genograms
I need a volunteer!
Keep in mind
Differentiation is a process, not a destination.
Journal #2: Plan your sessions!
How would a Bowenian therapist see the origin of the problem?
Goals of a Bowenian therapist (hint – see Nichols & Davis p. 76)
Assessment (p. 77)
Interventions/therapeutic techniques (p. 80-81)
Change Mechanisms – Insight? Experiences? Behavioral? (see p. 70)
Role of the therapist (see p. 88)
Order of operations? (see p. 77)
Who will be in the room?
You may want a scribe
Pivotal concepts: anxiety is underlying explanation for why people are dependent or avoidant, why they become emotionally reactive
Differentiation/maturity
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