Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy最新文献

A common thread woven throughout the diverse papers in this special ANZJFT issue on Bowen family systems theory, or Bowen theory, is the recognition that focusing solely on symptoms obscures the intricate emotional processes within families that underlie symptom development. At its core, Bowen theory is distinguished from other psychological frameworks in its embodiment of the natural and evolutionary sciences. Bowen theory posits that the family functions as the unit of treatment. Triangles – the three-person configurations managing anxiety, conflict and connection – serve as the smallest unit of treatment, interconnected within the broader family system.

Bowen theory's emphasis on growing emotional maturity amidst challenging relational dynamics in one's own family underscores its transformative potential in guiding individuals through adversity and addressing distressing symptoms within familial contexts. The articles in this special issue highlight this, speaking authoritatively to the endurance and relevance of Bowen family systems theory, forged through the pioneering work of psychiatrist, scientist and visionary Dr Murray Bowen.

Now, 25 years after its seminal articulation in 1999, Jenny Brown and Lauren Errington's article, ‘Bowen family systems theory: Illustration and critique revisited’, emerges as a pivotal update. This second edition not only provides a comprehensive overview of Bowen theory's conceptual framework but also explores its innovative developments, including the role of differentiation in therapeutic practice and introduces many clinicians to how coaching with an individual constitutes family therapy with one person. Moreover, it addresses misconceptions surrounding Bowen theory and offers clarity on its nuanced approach to balancing emotion and intellect within the family system.

Dan Papero's acute understanding of the mechanisms that underly the family emotional system is highlighted in his article, ‘The family emotional system’. Papero discusses the togetherness–individuality equilibrium, that delicate balance that exists between what it takes to belong and care for other members of the group, which may mean suspending or sacrificing one's individual goals or wishes in order to maintain belonging and how this is counter-weighted with the move for more autonomous and self-directed functioning. A more equal ratio between these forces equates with greater differentiation of self - autonomy in connection. When this ratio leans too much towards togetherness, this more often contributes to symptom development in one or more family members – regression more than progression, despite the apparent harmony that pervades the system. The paper stresses how understanding these processes can inform clinical practice and how work on differentiation of self can foster family resilience.

Anne McKnight's ‘Two perspectives on family rifts: The concepts of estrangement and cutoff’ provides a much-needed d

In clinical work with families in which a young person is at real and significant risk of self-harm or even death by suicide, predictable emotional triangles both within the family and within the treating system intensify. As understandable fear and worry in parents and clinicians rises in response to potential risk, these emotionally driven relational processes become even more rigid. This typically results in a reduction in cognitive and behavioural flexibility, which can potentially and unwittingly increase the risk of self-harm by suicide. This article outlines some basic principles pertaining to the notion of emotional triangles, a central concept in Bowen family systems theory; its relevance for clinicians working with suicidal youth and their families; and its application to the context of a community child and youth mental health service. Practical application of theory to clinical work is demonstrated through clinical vignettes that describe the work of two clinicians and their clinical supervisor. The authors reflect on their understanding of the development of emotional triangles in the vignettes presented alongside their efforts to navigate these triangles through the regulation of their own anxiety and more objective thinking.

Family violence is becoming increasingly visible in Australia, with many state and federal governments taking on more responsibility to address family violence and its impacts on those affected. Current efforts are focused on practice frameworks, identifying and responding to risk factors, and social justice frameworks including legislating against family violence in a range of jurisdictions and addressing more broadly the structural and cultural forces that perpetuate violence and further oppress those victimised. Family violence is not unique to Australia, with prevalence rates internationally suggesting family violence occurs irrespective of country, race, age, culture, effectiveness of social policies or socioeconomic status. This paper explores relevant foundational concepts of Bowen family systems theory (BFST) as it relates to family violence and explores opportunities to evolve practice in this area. BFST offers a unique contribution towards addressing family violence, particularly in relation to the public health challenge of addressing family polyvictimisation. The paper also explores how BFST conceptualises family violence and the role of the professional in working with the family as a single emotional unit. The unique focus of BFST on observing and defining self within the emotional family unit through observation of the underlying multigenerational emotional patterns of functioning provides unique opportunities to evolve and develop both the capacity of clinicians and responses to families who are navigating the serious and challenging impacts of family violence.

The family emotional system (FES) regulates the functioning of the human family. As described by Bowen, the FES contains several components. Two forces, the togetherness and individuality forces, function in proportional opposition to one another. Anxiety, the emotional response of the organism to real or imagined threat, provides the motivational energy that powers the system. Two equilibria lie at the centre of the family emotional system, emotional equilibrium and functional equilibrium. When the two are in balance, a condition Bowen called emotional harmony prevails. A third equilibrium, the togetherness–individuality equilibrium, regulates the lability of emotional harmony. Disturbances of emotional harmony result in the activation of automatic mechanisms and processes that support the restoration of emotional harmony. Like the mechanisms that support homeostasis in the living organism, they work optimally when rapidly engaged and quickly disengaged when balance is restored. Prolonged disturbance of emotional harmony results in a resetting of the togetherness–individuality equilibrium in favour of increased togetherness, establishing a new, more sensitive set point around which the FES now stabilises. To maintain the new more labile condition, one or more of the mechanisms becomes chronically engaged, indicating an emotional adaptation of the system and a potential for the development of a symptom as a consequence of the adaptation. Finally, the work on differentiation of self (One of eight concepts that comprise the formal Bowen theory, the scale of differentiation of self places human functioning on a single continuum based upon ‘… the degree to which people are able to distinguish between the feeling process and the intellectual process (Bowen, 1978, p. 355)’. The degree of differentiation, according to Bowen, affects how people manage themselves in personal relationships and in their efforts to adapt to the challenges of life (Bowen, 1978). The work on differentiation, an aspect of family psychotherapy, describes the effort people make to become better observers of themselves in relationships and in the processes of problem-solving related to challenge. It involves the effort the person makes to manage emotional reactiveness, an instinctive, reflexive response to stimuli encountered, to guide behavior thoughtfully, and to enhance emotional autonomy within the network or system of family relationships.) can lead to a progressive reset of the balance from less to more stable, representing an enhancement of adaptive competency.

This paper overviews Bowen family systems theory and its approach to family therapy. It aims to introduce this influential approach and a sample of developments in theory and practice since Bowen's first publications of his research and theory. This paper is the second edition of a 1999 article with the same title (Brown, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 20, 94 and 1999) and, 25 years later, offers new insights from the original author's ongoing research into the theory. This new edition is in collaboration with a second author and Bowen theory scholar, bringing fresh perspectives on the theory's applicability to family therapy practice. The core concepts are presented briefly, and a case example with a parent and symptomatic adolescent demonstrates how theory informs the role of the therapist and the therapeutic work. Examples of criticisms of Bowen theory are also discussed, including the misinterpretation around the idea of emotion in Bowen theory that is communicated in Gottman's training. Differentiation of self is clarified as the integration of emotion and intellect rather than privileging one over another, which affords the opportunity for individuals to avoid being governed by the invisible strings of sensitivities in relationships and instead be themselves in good emotional contact with the other person.

This interview with Dr Michael Kerr highlights his ongoing interest in science, biology and neuroscience. Guided by Bowen family systems theory, Dr Kerr's observations examine how research is showing links between physical health, the immune response and psychological motivation and wellbeing. Wellbeing is compromised in less adaptive families, which succumb more easily to any anxiety generated outside the family, as well as the chronic anxiety generated within the family. Amid times of societal regression, the capacity to adapt in a way that promotes survival and wellbeing depends on the level of differentiation of self. Differentiation of self is the sum of the capacity to maintain emotional objectivity, emotional neutrality and to take action. Psychiatrist, Dr Michael (Mike) Kerr, who more recently published Bowen Theory's Secrets: Revealing the hidden lives of families (2019), co-authored the seminal work on Bowen family systems theory, Family Evaluation, in 1988 with Dr Murray Bowen. From 1990 to 2011, after Dr Bowen's death, Mike was the Director of the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family in Washington, DC. He is passionate about the relationship between differentiation of self, illness and the family emotional process and how this relates to the biological and evolutionary processes that operate in non-human species. Mike developed the unidisease concept and is well known for his work interviewing Dr Murray Bowen on Bowen family systems theory between 1979 and 1986 for the Bowen-Kerr Interview Series. A special issue on Bowen theory would not be complete without a commentary from Mike. So, in this interview with Bowen family systems therapist, Dr Linda MacKay, Mike discusses his life effort to research and apply Bowen theory.

Dr Murray Bowen, developer of Bowen family systems theory (BFST), had this to say to clients about working in family systems: if you get bogged down in one area, move into another (Bowen & Kerr, 1985). This statement, along with the knowledge of BFST, offered an inspiration for thinking about a method of therapy. This article highlights a method of working with an individual through a systemic lens. Two ideas are integral to this focus. One is that a client can move more easily into observing self within the system when they are not just observing self in one context or relationship but rather looking at how they function in different contexts or relationships. And second, by moving into different contexts of the system, the therapist is better able to manage the tendency towards symptom focus and stay centred on the work of differentiation. A therapist can truly have a stadium view of the system when speaking with the client about how they function in different areas of life. This method defined happens in three phases: in phase 1, the client observes themselves in their system in different contexts and looks for patterns in their functioning; in phase 2, the client takes this new self-recognition and experiments with different ways of being in one context; and in phase 3, the insights gained from experiments in one context are applied in other contexts. Both client and clinician will benefit from less symptom focus and increased ability to observe patterns in relationships, both of which are core tenets of the work of differentiation in BFST.

This article presents a survey of literature written on the concepts of estrangement and cut-off, comparing the similarities of the two concepts and distinguishing significant differences in the scope and theoretical underpinnings of the ideas. Lucy Blake's review of the research studies on estrangement available in 2017 found no common agreement on the concept of estrangement. Quantitative research focused on the amount of contact and qualitative research on the quality of the contact. Susan Forward's approach to rifts between adult children and their parents, which is reflected in the work of the Standalone organisation in Britain, is that parents who are critical or non-affirming of their adult child are toxic. These traits are thought to create difficulties in the life of the adult child, who is advised to sever contact as a step towards self-actualisation. On the other hand, Joshua Coleman and Karl Pillemer focus on estrangement as the outcome of the tension between the parent and child, both of whom play a part in the rift, advocating that each side moderate their reactivity, blame and expectations. Kylie Agllias's research utilises concepts from family systems theory, recommending the effort to self-regulate and to understand one's contribution to the reactivity as integral to reconciliation. Murray Bowen conceptualised the family as a multigenerational family system with varying mechanisms, including cut-off, to handle tension as the family unit adapts to stressors over time. Cut-off is an outcome of the family's level of anxiety and the capacity of the family for differentiation, their thoughtful collaboration with one another to address the challenges they face. The effort to bridge cut-off is one aspect of an individual's effort to be a more thoughtful, connected presence in the family system as work on differentiation of self.

The concept of differentiation of self and its relationship to the natural capacity of humans and other social animals to adapt underpins clinician and researcher Victoria Harrison's long-term investigation of the biology of reactivity in relationships. Victoria's early research related to infertility and reproduction demonstrated how reactivity in at least three prior generations can contribute to chronic conditions, such as endometriosis, that are less amenable to intervention. Her most recent project, the ‘Observations of Change in Physiology and Family’ research, highlights how work on differentiation of self improves functional outcomes in physical and mental health for the family. While an individual may not experience the ‘calm mind’ that is often the goal of conventional therapeutic intervention, a significant reduction in symptoms and an improvement in overall functioning and relatedness are outcomes. This occurred when participants focused on increasing person-to-person contact with extended family members, reducing their emotional reactivity to significant others in the important triangles of their life and family and maintaining intellectual activity, often described as curiosity, even while reacting.

The human is a product of nature, and the same emotional process at work in families is at work in the relationship of the human to nature. Current global concerns and environmental changes highlight the need for humans to revisit their relationships with the natural world. The purpose of this study was to survey Murray Bowen's professional letters to reify the constructs of Bowen theory. Qualitative methodology with a narrative research design was employed. A sample (N = 250) of Dr Bowen's professional letters from the archives dating from 1965 to 1990 was analysed. Results from this analysis reveal that Bowen's writings are grounded in the language of nature and that Bowen's thinking about the human species and the family offers ways in which to see the family and humans as part of a larger system. Relating more maturely to the natural world is essential for human survival.