Some Appeals of Bowen Theory
by Larry Foster
1. A larger picture is presented:
Bowen Theory provides a way of thinking about life, about emotional process. Emotional process connects to the tides, moon, stars, seasons, etc. The focus is on process more than content or structure. As a lens, the theory moves beyond labels (diagnosis), includes more variables (“but not everything that shines”), and avoids reductionism. As an attempt toward a science of human behavior, Bowen's aim was to become more objective about the natural processes in our lives (families) which have always been there. Re-searching one's family includes the building of a mosaic of the family system while working on relationships (anxiety and self-differentiation).
2. It is universal in applying to all humans:
This perspective moves beyond culture, gender, race, and other conventional dichotomies. In working toward a science of human behavior Bowen conceived of a scale of differentiation which provides a way to describe variations among individuals and groups. Symptoms can best be viewed on a continuum making differences in symptoms more quantitative than qualitative. Bowen commented, “Schizophrenia is in all of us.” Dr. Michael Kerr writes about a “unidisease.” Rabbi Edwin Friedman states that self-differentiation is a broad spectrum antidote for the process that promotes all symptoms.
3. The theory has depth:
All living things are connected back to the beginning. The family emotional process is part of a multigenerational process rooted in evolution. Relationship patterns can be seen over several generations. Thinking goes beyond cause and effect, linear associations. One considers possibilities and strengths rather than deficits in understanding the factors that promote survival and better functioning.
4. The emphasis in applying the theory is on self-work:
Training programs in Bowen Theory stress three things: clinical work, an orientation or theory to work from, and the clinician's own work on family/self. Doing one's own work on an ongoing basis is necessary in working with or coaching others. The same principle applies to clergy, therapists, and parents as leaders in their systems. The assumption is: one can only lead, counsel, parent others to the extent one is working on one's own self. Life then becomes the ongoing laboratory where one can begin anywhere and take responsibility for self. In addition, this approach becomes a non-blaming effort toward one's own maturity based on theory rather than on learning techniques.
5. The process moves back and forth:
As one learns theory (it usually takes a while), and begins to apply the thinking to important relationships, one notices the process going back and forth over time. The aim of raising one's level of functional differentiation involves effort and time through coaching since one can easily become stuck in the process. This approach is an action/reflection process going beyond academic understanding (coursework, textbook) of theory. Knowing theory, according to Bowen, becomes the 'technique” opening up one's repertoire of responses in the laboratory of life and in one's functioning position.
6. The theory puts one back into one's family of origin:
“You can't go home again?” More likely one never left! The most formative and significant site of our learned functioning comes out of our primary family matrix. For the motivated person who works on differentiating a self in the family of origin, i.e., the emotional system, good things can happen which promote a “ripple” effect in all other relationships.
7. The coach replaces the expert (couch to coach):
If one is working on one's self in an emotional system over time the likelihood is that this person will rely less on expertise and knowledge of technique than on basic theoretical principles. The person who's been at it for a while, who's done the work (years), might then become a coach (there are variations in what coaching is). But the coach continues to learn alongside others since there is so much to learn in a lifetime.
8, It keeps one thinking: The Theory, while it can be overvalued, does offer a lens that encourages one to think more in a natural systems frame of reference. The encouragement is toward remaining more objective in intense situations while staying connected to the system. Being able to function in a less anxious emotional posture over time contributes to what can be called higher functioning in a group. In the process of thinking systems, a way of thinking becomes a way of being