Bowen Couple Therapy is more about the nature of being human than about couples or couple therapy. Murray Bowen conceptualized the couple and the family as an emotional unit and the family members were part of that unit and not just autonomous psychological individuals. Furthermore, there is the assumption that each family member is a product of evolution and that their behavior is regulated by the same processes that regulate behavior in all living systems. He based his theory on observable facts rather than on subjective experiences and feelings.
Bowen proposed that any change in the emotional functioning of each family member affects everyone in the system. The emotional functioning of every person impacts the occurrence of health problems or psychological issues in every other member. Feelings move from individual to individual by means of predictable and patterned emotional reactions such as distance, conflict, over functioning, underfunctioning, or triangling.
Bowen did not limit...
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Recommended Reading
Brown, J. (2012). Growing yourself up: How to bring your best to all of life’s relationships. Wollombi: Exisle Publishing Pty Ltd.
Gilbert, R. M. (1992). Extraordinary relationships: A new way of thinking about human interactions. New York: Wiley.
Kerr, M. E., & Bowen, M. (1988). Family evaluation: An approach based on Bowen theory. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
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Regas, S., Doonan, R. (2019). Bowen Family Systems Therapy with Couples. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_360
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