History
This Psychiatrist is considered the primary founder of Family Systems Theory and developed the theory.
Who is Murray Bowen
This visual tool maps family relationships, patterns, significant events, and other information across multiple generations.
What is a genogram
A mother and daughter repeatedly argue. The daughter becomes upset, and the father steps in to calm them down. The counselor identifies the three-person relationship maintaining the tension.
What is emotional triangle
Bowen believed that a person's ability to balance emotionality with intellectual reasoning is central to healthy functioning.
What is differentiation of self
Family Systems Therapy encourages counselors to consider this when understanding how a family defines relationships, roles, communication, and healthy functioning.
What is culture
In what setting were the families being studied when Bowen first started his research?
What is psychiatric research setting
A counselor asks, "When mom gets angry, what does dad usually do, and how does that affect you?" What family technique is being used?
What is circular questioning?
A teenager is labeled “the problem child” because of frequent behavioral problems. The counselor discovers that the teenager's behavior increases when conflict between the parents escalates.
What is the family projection process
This Bowen concept describes a three-person relationship that develops when anxiety increases within a two-person relationship.
What is emotional triangle
Holistic, Intergenerational, researched across different cultures and socioeconomic members, family-focused, and can be, which is not a strength of family systems theory.
What is researched across different cultures and socioeconomic members
Family Systems Therapy shifted the focus from viewing the individual as the problem to examining this larger unit.
What is the family system
During a family session, a mother and teenager are arguing about the teenager's curfew. Instead of asking them to simply describe their arguments, the therapist asks them to have the conversation with each other in the same way they normally would at home. The therapist observes their communication and interaction.
What is enactment
A client stops communicating with their parents after years of family conflict. They believe completely cutting off contact will eliminate their emotional distress.
What is emotional cutoff
This concept describes how anxiety within a family can become focused on one child.
What is the family projection process?
Limited observed support; unable to apply across ages; historically developed with white middle-class families, which is not a limitation.
What is the ability to apply across ages?
Instead of asking "What is wrong with a person?" what does Bowen's approach encourage us to ask?
A parent describes their teenager as “disrespectful and difficult.” The therapist responds, “It sounds like your teenager may be trying very strongly to express their need for independence, even though the way they communicate that need is creating conflict.”
What is reframing
A family has experienced the same pattern of anxiety, conflict, and emotional reactivity across several generations. The counselor explores how these patterns have been passed down through the family.
What is multigenerational transmission?
Bowen's theory suggests that patterns of emotional functioning can be transmitted from parents to children and continue across generations.
What is multigenerational transmission
A counselor is working with a multigenerational family whose communication style and roles are influenced by their cultural traditions. Instead of labeling these patterns as dysfunctional, the counselor first explores what they mean to the family. This demonstrates this important counseling principle.
What is cultural acceptance and avoiding value imposition
In what year did Murray Bowen research Family systems theory?
1940-1950's
At the beginning of family therapy, the therapist spends time building trust with each family member, adapting to the family's communication style, validating each person's perspective, and working to become accepted as part of the therapeutic process before addressing deeper family conflicts.
What is joining
A college student becomes extremely anxious whenever their parents argue. Instead of immediately trying to fix the parents' conflict, the counselor helps the student identify their own emotional reactions and develop a more thoughtful response.
What is differentiation of self?
This Bowen concept focuses on how a person's position among their siblings may influence personality characteristics and family relationships.
What is sibling position
Counselors should avoid what when working with members.
What is not a mistake is cultural interconnectedness for unhealthy enmeshment.