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BowenandFriedman:TwoSystemsThinkers
AnneS.McKnightDirector,
BowenCenterfortheStudyoftheFamily
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InwhatwaydoesFriedmanreflectBowentheoryandinwhatwayarehisideashisown?
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InwhatwaydoesFriedmanreflectBowentheoryandinwhatwayarehisideashisown?
Howdowenotconflatethetwo?
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Bowensoughttocreateascienceofhumanbehavior
groundedinthehumanfamily’splaceinthenaturalworld.
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Intheeightconcepts,hesoughttodescribetheemotionalprocessinthehumanfamilybasedinevolutionaryhistoryandcommonto
allhumanfamilies.
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NaturalSystemsTheory
• Thecapacityofthesystemtoadapt.• Differentiationisbasedonvariation.• Anxietyfuelsreactivityandinabilitytoselfregulate.
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Thefamilysystemisanemotionalunit.Thefamilysystem“isconsideredtoincludethosefamilymembersmostinvolvedinthefamilyinterdependence”.
Bowen,FTiCP 113
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Asymptominanindividualreflectsafamily’s(congregation’s)inabilitytoadapttothechallengesitfaces.
stressors familyanxiety
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EdwinFriedman
• Abrilliantandcharismaticproponentofsystemstheory.• Heintroducedawholegenerationofclergyandthementalhealthprofessionalstosystemsideas.
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Friedman
• wasengaging,funny,andentertaining.• madesystemideasaccessibletocongregationalleaders.• usedfablesandmetaphorstomakeideasofemotionalprocessunderstandable.
• wasabletocommunicatehowanxietyandreactivitygotinthewayofclearleadershipinacongregation.
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Friedman:Fieldtheory
• “Afieldisanenvironmentofforcethat,uponachievinghomeostasis,functionstomaintainthatbalancethroughinneradjusting”.FoN,250
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Friedman:Fieldtheory
• “Afieldisanenvironmentofforcethatuponachievinghomeostasisfunctionstomaintainthatbalancethroughinneradjusting”.FoN,250
• Webster:fieldtheoryisanytheoryinphysicsconsistingofadetailedmathematicaldescriptionoftheassumedphysicalpropertiesofaregionundersomeinfluence(asgravitation).
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VonBertalanffy:GeneralSystemsTheory
• “Thereexistmodels,principles,andlawsthatapplytogeneralizedsystemsortheirsubclasses,irrespectiveoftheirparticularkind,thenatureoftheircomponentelements,andtherelationor'forces'betweenthem.Itseemslegitimatetoaskforatheory,notofsystemsofamoreorlessspecialkind,butofuniversalprinciplesapplyingtosystemsingeneral.”(1968)
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Thevirusasametaphor
• Thevirusisacellthatdoesnotreproduceandisnotself-sufficient.
• Itdependsonthehostcelltosurvivebuttakesover.• Somepeoplebehavelikevirusesorpathogens,sothetaskoftheleaderistobetterregulateherreactivitywhenfacedwithheightenedanxietyduetoirresponsiblebehavior.
• Whentheleadercanworkonmanagingreactivityandstayconnectedtotherelationshipsystem,hecanwardofftheinvasionofvirustypebehavior.
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Evilintheworld
• FriedmancitesexamplesinWWll suchasChamberlain,whofailedtostanduptotheevilofHitler.
• ThecancerousattackonJewsandotherswasanexampleofnotwardingofftheevil.
• Whenbadbehavior(thevirus)isnotchallengedincongregations,thecongregationbecomesunhealthy.
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• GeneralSystemsTheory(FieldTheory)andBowentheoryasanaturalsystemstheoryhavetwodifferentfoundationsandleadtotwodifferentoutcomesinapproachingemotionalprocessinarelationshipsystem.
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Bowen:Twovariables:differentiationofselfandlevelofanxiety
• “Onabroadlevel,therearetwomajorvariablesinthetheory.Onehastodowiththelevelofintegrationofselfinaperson.Thishastodowiththedifferentiationofselfconcept.Theothervariableisthelevelofanxiety.Apoorlydifferentiatedpersoncanappear“normal”inananxiety-freefield,butheisthefirsttodevelophisusualsymptomswhentheanxietyincreases.Thosewiththebestlevelsofdifferentiationareamongtheleastreactivetoanxietyandtheleastlikelytodevelopsymptomsinananxietyfield.”
Bowen,p.407
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Abasichumanemotionisanxiety.
Anxietyisapatternedresponsivenessatemotional,physiological,andbehaviorallevelsovertimeandacrossgenerations.
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Whatisdifferentiationofself?
• Thecapacitytoseethesystemandone’spartinit.• Emotionalflexibilityandobjectivityabouttherelationshipsystem.
• Separationofemotionalandintellectualsystems.• Clearsetofprinciplesbywhichtolive.• Capacitytodefineselfinfaceofsocialdisapproval.
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Variationinthelevelofdifferentiation
• Isanaturalprocessbasedonthecapacityofthehumanfamilytoadapttostressorsintheenvironment.
• Overgenerationsfamiliesvaryinthecapacitytoadaptandthevariationispassedoninfamiliesandtoindividualsinsucceedinggenerations.
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Anxietyandtheprojectionprocess
• InBowentheory,asymptom(family,congregation,society)isaresultofthelevelofanxietyandthewaythatanxietyishandledinthesystem.
• Projectiononavulnerablepartofthesystemisanoutcomeofwayemotionishandledinthewhole.
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Friedman:Self-differentiation
• Definingaselfinrelationtotheproblematicpersoninthesystem.
• Withtheanalogyofthevirus,itistoovercomeandexpeltheinfectionwhileremainingnon-anxious.
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Sabotage
• Thoseinthesystemwhoareupagainstonewhoisdifferentiatingwillattemptto“sabotage”thoseefforts.
• Thisconnotesthatanindividualistheproblem,ratherthanasymptominananxioussysteminwhichthe“leader”alsoplaysarole.
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Howdothesetwoconceptualframeworksleadtodifferentwaysofapproachingafamilyor
congregation?
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TheSmithfamily
8
42 3838
18 15
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Bowen
• Thefamilyhasfunctionedovergenerationsfairlywelluntiltheircapacitytomanagestressorswasexceeded.
• Thehusbandisnotthepathogen,butapartofananxiousinteractionalsysteminwhichheisabsorbingtheanxiety.
• Thewife’sreactionstohissobrietyreflectedthelevelofdifferentiationandshiftinganxietythatwasapredictablepartofthefamilychanging.
• Ifthehusbandcanstayoncourseandnotreact,thefamilywillsettledownatabetterfunctionallevel.
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Friedman
• Thefatherwasoriginallythepathogen.• Thehomeostasisofthefamilywasdisturbedbythefather’ssobriety.
• Thefamilysoughttosabotagehisefforts.• Thefatherneedstotakeonandconfrontthesabotage.
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Bowen:Theroleofthecoach
• Manageselfthoughtfullyasaresourcetoanindividual,family,orsystem.
• Stayoutoftheemotionalfieldofthesystem.• Beawareofthetriangles.• Bearesourcetoresponsiblefunctioningformotivatedindividuals.
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Friedman:ParadoxesandReversals
• Friedmantookamoredirectiveapproach,givingassignmentsthatwoulddisturbthehomeostasisofthefamily(congregation).
• Coachpeopleinselfdifferentiationtotakeonthepathogeninacongregationwithanon-anxiouspresenceandwiththegoalofstayingconnected.
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Friedman
• Friedman’ssystemideasarebasedonfieldtheorywhichisanaspectofGeneralSystemstheory.It’soriginsareinphysics.
• Selfdifferentiationwasbasedonstandinguptotheproblemsinacongregation(inanon-anxiousanddefinedway).
• Inthemetaphorofthevirus,thevirusinvadesthehostandcanoverwhelmit(theproblematiconescantakeoverthecongregation)andtheleaderneedstohavethenervetotakeiton.
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Bowentheory• Bowentheory,basedontheideathatthehumanispartofevolutionaryhistory,isadescriptivetheoryoftheemotionalreciprocityinarelationshipsystem.
• Theoretically,symptomsorproblemsflowfromalackofdifferentiationofselfandthelevelofanxietyinthesystemwhichisprojectedonorabsorbedbyavulnerablemember.
• Aproblemindicatestheinabilityofthesystemtoadapt,notaninvasionofapathogen.
• Differentiationisaboutbecomingaresponsiblememberofasystembyunderstandingone’s partintheprocessandtakingactiononone’sownemotionalfunctioning.
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Takeaway
• Friedmanbroughtmanypeopletosystem’sideas.• Hewasbrilliant,engaging,awonderfulwriterandpresenter.• HetookaspectsofBowentheoryandintegratedthemwithhisownideas.
• Thesewereusefultomanyclergy.• Itisnotusefultoconflatethetwotheorists,buttoallowthemeachtheirownideas.