Family, the Brain, and Differentiation of Self

The concept of differentiation of self entails two primary aspects based on the observations of Dr. Bowen. The first is that individuals vary in the degree to which they differentiate or develop emotional autonomy in relation to the family in which they grew up. The second aspect is the degree to which an individual’s higher cortical systems, referred to by Bowen as the intellectual system, differentiate over the course of development. The differentiation of this function underlies an individual’s capacity to utilize the intellectual system in self-regulation and self-direction over their life course. This presentation will describe the above and place these processes in the context of the co-evolution of the family and the brain.

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The Evolving Relationship between Humans and the Earth

Authored by Stephanie Ferrera, M.S.W.

This blog post is based on Stephanie Ferrera’s presentation at the 32nd Midwest Symposium in May, 2017

Like all of the species on earth, humans depend on the bountiful resources of the planet for our very existence.  Ian Morris titled his book Foragers, Farmers, and Fossil Fuels to delineate the three main ways that humans, over millennia, have made a living, or, in Morris’ terms, the three modes of “energy capture.”

For 90% of homo sapiens’ time on earth, foraging, the hunting of …

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Back to the beginning of life on earth with Dr. Jan Sapp

Authored by Stephanie Ferrera

Dr. Jan Sapp, Professor of biology at York University in Toronto, was the guest scientist at the Center for Family Consultation’s 2015 Midwest Symposium. He kept the audience wide awake with his presentation, “Symbiotic Nature: The Ecology of Self.” Dr. Sapp is an authority on symbiosis as a force in evolution and also an authority on the history of symbiosis theory. Along with his presentation of the science of symbiosis, he told the fascinating story of the scientists who pioneered this work …

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