Integration of Research in Practice: Reflections on the CFC Fall Conference

Post Date October 7, 2023
Comments 0 Comments
Author
Category Annual Conferences, Annual Fall Conference, Events, Family Sysytems Theory Research, Stephanie Ferrera

What does the word “research” bring to mind for you?  Images of scientists in lab coats, doing things with test tubes? Creating experiments with control groups? Data mapped on charts and graphs? That dreaded required course in college?  A formidable enterprise to be sure.

For those who attended the CFC Fall Conference, “Integration of Research in Practice,” the word, “research” took on a larger meaning.  Four Bowen theory researchers presented their studies, each illustrating a different and creative approach.

Read More »

Reactivity Paused: Took a Breath and a Stand

Post Date October 10, 2022
Comments 0 Comments
Author
Category Bowen Family Systems Theory, Post Graduate Training, Scott Hoecker

My understanding of differentiation of self after listening to Murray Bowen and reading the materials is that each person emerges from the multi-generational family organism with a certain amount of undifferentiation (or fusion) that needs to be handled using various mechanisms such as distance, conflict, over/under-functioning, and/or projection to the next generation. The more self that one has, the less intense these mechanisms will appear given a certain level of anxiety. With that same level of anxiety, a person with less self than the previous person, the mechanisms will be more intense.

Read More »

Why Make the Study of Bowen Theory a Life-long Learning Project?

Post Date August 20, 2019
Comments 1 Comment
Author
Category Bowen Family Systems Theory, Family of Origin, Leslie Ann Fox

Bowen theory is different from traditional theories of human behavior, and the practice that emerges from understanding and using the concepts in your personal and professional life are sometimes counter-intuitive. Michael Kerr, MD makes the important point in his most recent book, Bowen Theory’s Secrets, Revealing the Hidden Life of Families, that Bowen theory is descriptive, not prescriptive. The theory describes what people actually do, not what they should do. According to Kerr, “The theory is an attempt to move toward a science of human behavior, a theory based on verifiable functional facts about human behavior that can make predictions” (Page 166).

Read More »

Do We Ever Resolve “Unresolved Emotional Attachment”?

Post Date March 14, 2019
Comments 2 Comments
Author
Category Differentiation of Self, Family Emotional Process, Jennifer Howe, Unresolved Emotional Attachment

Bowen Family Systems Theory often seems counter-intuitive, making it sometimes difficult to grasp, and rarely self-evident. Comprehending an emotional systems perspective of families as a way of understanding engagement between people has little to do with stated intentions, and thus provides a constant challenge. I am always so impressed by certain individuals for whom the theory’s concepts immediately make sense, and who are then able to “see” relatively clearly in their lives many of the patterns Bowen described. While the concepts are theoretically clear to me, recognizing the emotional process in my own life remains frustratingly elusive.

Read More »

Thinking Systems After A Mass Shooting

Post Date March 2, 2019
Comments 0 Comments
Author
Category Differentiation of Self, Emotional Triangles, John Bell, Societal Emotional Process

I live and work six blocks from the Henry Pratt Company in Aurora, IL. On February 15th, Gary Martin killed five people and wounded five police officers after being fired from Henry Pratt. At this time, not much is known about Mr. Martin. I’ve written before about violence in society. What I do know is that there is a connection between chronic anxiety in the family, one’s level of stress and violent behavior. All of us tend to move towards others to take control or to distance when anxiety goes up. In cases where there is violence, people move aggressively towards others when there is high levels of family intensity, significant cutoff among family members and a trigger of intense stress.

Read More »

# Church Too

Post Date September 6, 2018
Comments 0 Comments
Author
Category Bowen Family Systems Theory, Differentiation of Self, John Bell

Earlier this year, Bill Hybels, the founding pastor of the megachurch Willow Creek in South Barrington, IL, resigned ahead of his planned retirement. The early departure was in response to allegations of sexual misconduct. Earlier this month, it was reported that Willow Creek Church settled a separate case of sexual abuse for $3.2 million after a volunteer sexually assaulted two disabled children. And then last week, a grand jury released its findings that over 1000 children were sexually abused by over 300 priests in six Roman Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania.

Read More »

A Few Simple Ideas About Communication

Post Date April 22, 2018
Comments 0 Comments
Author
Category Bowen Family Systems Theory, Stephanie Ferrera

Authored by Stephanie Ferrera, M.S.W.

An open relationship was defined by Murray Bowen as one in which the partners could communicate a high percentage of their personal thoughts and feelings to one another.  Under certain conditions, this is the most natural thing in the world.  Think of a couple in love talking, smiling, laughing, hours on end.  Or a parent enjoying the charm and spontaneity of a young child.  The emotional rewards from such easy, warm connection are golden.  The uplift we get from a really …

Read More »