The Center For Family Consultation

The Bowen theory proposes that the family relationship system, or the family emotional unit, plays a major role in the behavior of any family member. A number of factors influence those relationships, including cross-generational processes, interactional processes of the nuclear family, and the degree of tension present in the family unit at any given time. Based on the interplay among these factors, how individuals and family units respond to challenge and crisis can vary widely. Some families appear to weather the storm with important relationships reasonably intact and with a view toward the future. It is as if the experience of challenge leaves them stronger and more competent to move forward in the world. Other families fare less well, and challenge appears to cripple their competency into the future.

The Bowen theory provides a way of thinking about such variability and how it emerges when the family unit faces a significant challenge to adapt to changing conditions. During this conference Dr. Daniel Papero will review that way of thinking, its value in clinical practice, and its relative utility for people looking at themselves and their families as the unrelenting process of change and challenge affects their lives.