bowen and friedman - amazon s3and+friedman.pdf · bowen theory •bowen theory, based on the idea...

CourtesyofAnneS.McKnight,PhD,LCSW

BowenandFriedman:TwoSystemsThinkers

AnneS.McKnightDirector,

BowenCenterfortheStudyoftheFamily

InwhatwaydoesFriedmanreflectBowentheoryandinwhatwayarehisideashisown?

Howdowenotconflatethetwo?

Bowensoughttocreateascienceofhumanbehavior

groundedinthehumanfamily’splaceinthenaturalworld.

Intheeightconcepts,hesoughttodescribetheemotionalprocessinthehumanfamilybasedinevolutionaryhistoryandcommonto

allhumanfamilies.

NaturalSystemsTheory

• Thecapacityofthesystemtoadapt.• Differentiationisbasedonvariation.• Anxietyfuelsreactivityandinabilitytoselfregulate.

Thefamilysystemisanemotionalunit.Thefamilysystem“isconsideredtoincludethosefamilymembersmostinvolvedinthefamilyinterdependence”.

Bowen,FTiCP 113

Asymptominanindividualreflectsafamily’s(congregation’s)inabilitytoadapttothechallengesitfaces.

stressors familyanxiety

EdwinFriedman

• Abrilliantandcharismaticproponentofsystemstheory.• Heintroducedawholegenerationofclergyandthementalhealthprofessionalstosystemsideas.

Friedman

• wasengaging,funny,andentertaining.• madesystemideasaccessibletocongregationalleaders.• usedfablesandmetaphorstomakeideasofemotionalprocessunderstandable.

• wasabletocommunicatehowanxietyandreactivitygotinthewayofclearleadershipinacongregation.

Friedman:Fieldtheory

• “Afieldisanenvironmentofforcethat,uponachievinghomeostasis,functionstomaintainthatbalancethroughinneradjusting”.FoN,250

Friedman:Fieldtheory

• “Afieldisanenvironmentofforcethatuponachievinghomeostasisfunctionstomaintainthatbalancethroughinneradjusting”.FoN,250

• Webster:fieldtheoryisanytheoryinphysicsconsistingofadetailedmathematicaldescriptionoftheassumedphysicalpropertiesofaregionundersomeinfluence(asgravitation).

VonBertalanffy:GeneralSystemsTheory

• “Thereexistmodels,principles,andlawsthatapplytogeneralizedsystemsortheirsubclasses,irrespectiveoftheirparticularkind,thenatureoftheircomponentelements,andtherelationor'forces'betweenthem.Itseemslegitimatetoaskforatheory,notofsystemsofamoreorlessspecialkind,butofuniversalprinciplesapplyingtosystemsingeneral.”(1968)

Thevirusasametaphor

• Thevirusisacellthatdoesnotreproduceandisnotself-sufficient.

• Itdependsonthehostcelltosurvivebuttakesover.• Somepeoplebehavelikevirusesorpathogens,sothetaskoftheleaderistobetterregulateherreactivitywhenfacedwithheightenedanxietyduetoirresponsiblebehavior.

• Whentheleadercanworkonmanagingreactivityandstayconnectedtotherelationshipsystem,hecanwardofftheinvasionofvirustypebehavior.

Evilintheworld

• FriedmancitesexamplesinWWll suchasChamberlain,whofailedtostanduptotheevilofHitler.

• ThecancerousattackonJewsandotherswasanexampleofnotwardingofftheevil.

• Whenbadbehavior(thevirus)isnotchallengedincongregations,thecongregationbecomesunhealthy.

• GeneralSystemsTheory(FieldTheory)andBowentheoryasanaturalsystemstheoryhavetwodifferentfoundationsandleadtotwodifferentoutcomesinapproachingemotionalprocessinarelationshipsystem.

Bowen:Twovariables:differentiationofselfandlevelofanxiety

• “Onabroadlevel,therearetwomajorvariablesinthetheory.Onehastodowiththelevelofintegrationofselfinaperson.Thishastodowiththedifferentiationofselfconcept.Theothervariableisthelevelofanxiety.Apoorlydifferentiatedpersoncanappear“normal”inananxiety-freefield,butheisthefirsttodevelophisusualsymptomswhentheanxietyincreases.Thosewiththebestlevelsofdifferentiationareamongtheleastreactivetoanxietyandtheleastlikelytodevelopsymptomsinananxietyfield.”

Bowen,p.407

Abasichumanemotionisanxiety.

Anxietyisapatternedresponsivenessatemotional,physiological,andbehaviorallevelsovertimeandacrossgenerations.

Whatisdifferentiationofself?

• Thecapacitytoseethesystemandone’spartinit.• Emotionalflexibilityandobjectivityabouttherelationshipsystem.

• Separationofemotionalandintellectualsystems.• Clearsetofprinciplesbywhichtolive.• Capacitytodefineselfinfaceofsocialdisapproval.

Variationinthelevelofdifferentiation

• Isanaturalprocessbasedonthecapacityofthehumanfamilytoadapttostressorsintheenvironment.

• Overgenerationsfamiliesvaryinthecapacitytoadaptandthevariationispassedoninfamiliesandtoindividualsinsucceedinggenerations.

Anxietyandtheprojectionprocess

• InBowentheory,asymptom(family,congregation,society)isaresultofthelevelofanxietyandthewaythatanxietyishandledinthesystem.

• Projectiononavulnerablepartofthesystemisanoutcomeofwayemotionishandledinthewhole.

Friedman:Self-differentiation

• Definingaselfinrelationtotheproblematicpersoninthesystem.

• Withtheanalogyofthevirus,itistoovercomeandexpeltheinfectionwhileremainingnon-anxious.

Sabotage

• Thoseinthesystemwhoareupagainstonewhoisdifferentiatingwillattemptto“sabotage”thoseefforts.

• Thisconnotesthatanindividualistheproblem,ratherthanasymptominananxioussysteminwhichthe“leader”alsoplaysarole.

Howdothesetwoconceptualframeworksleadtodifferentwaysofapproachingafamilyor

congregation?

TheSmithfamily

42 3838

• Thefamilyhasfunctionedovergenerationsfairlywelluntiltheircapacitytomanagestressorswasexceeded.

• Thehusbandisnotthepathogen,butapartofananxiousinteractionalsysteminwhichheisabsorbingtheanxiety.

• Thewife’sreactionstohissobrietyreflectedthelevelofdifferentiationandshiftinganxietythatwasapredictablepartofthefamilychanging.

• Ifthehusbandcanstayoncourseandnotreact,thefamilywillsettledownatabetterfunctionallevel.

Friedman

• Thefatherwasoriginallythepathogen.• Thehomeostasisofthefamilywasdisturbedbythefather’ssobriety.

• Thefamilysoughttosabotagehisefforts.• Thefatherneedstotakeonandconfrontthesabotage.

Bowen:Theroleofthecoach

• Manageselfthoughtfullyasaresourcetoanindividual,family,orsystem.

• Stayoutoftheemotionalfieldofthesystem.• Beawareofthetriangles.• Bearesourcetoresponsiblefunctioningformotivatedindividuals.

Friedman:ParadoxesandReversals

• Friedmantookamoredirectiveapproach,givingassignmentsthatwoulddisturbthehomeostasisofthefamily(congregation).

• Coachpeopleinselfdifferentiationtotakeonthepathogeninacongregationwithanon-anxiouspresenceandwiththegoalofstayingconnected.

Friedman

• Friedman’ssystemideasarebasedonfieldtheorywhichisanaspectofGeneralSystemstheory.It’soriginsareinphysics.

• Selfdifferentiationwasbasedonstandinguptotheproblemsinacongregation(inanon-anxiousanddefinedway).

• Inthemetaphorofthevirus,thevirusinvadesthehostandcanoverwhelmit(theproblematiconescantakeoverthecongregation)andtheleaderneedstohavethenervetotakeiton.

Bowentheory• Bowentheory,basedontheideathatthehumanispartofevolutionaryhistory,isadescriptivetheoryoftheemotionalreciprocityinarelationshipsystem.

• Theoretically,symptomsorproblemsflowfromalackofdifferentiationofselfandthelevelofanxietyinthesystemwhichisprojectedonorabsorbedbyavulnerablemember.

• Aproblemindicatestheinabilityofthesystemtoadapt,notaninvasionofapathogen.

• Differentiationisaboutbecomingaresponsiblememberofasystembyunderstandingone’s partintheprocessandtakingactiononone’sownemotionalfunctioning.

Takeaway

• Friedmanbroughtmanypeopletosystem’sideas.• Hewasbrilliant,engaging,awonderfulwriterandpresenter.• HetookaspectsofBowentheoryandintegratedthemwithhisownideas.

• Thesewereusefultomanyclergy.• Itisnotusefultoconflatethetwotheorists,buttoallowthemeachtheirownideas.

bowen and friedman - amazon s3and+friedman.pdf · bowen theory •bowen theory, based on the idea...

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