The Systems Thinker - Center for Family Consultation's blog

About Our Blog

An online forum to further the discussion of research and applications of systems thinking that continue to emerge from the ongoing study and practice of Bowen theory by family therapists, clergy, business leaders, consultants, and scientists.

Fiction as a Regulator of the Mental Health Field: The Case of Sybill

Post Date September 3, 2014
Comments 0 Comments
Author
Category Bowen Family Systems Theory, Family Therapy, Margaret Otto

Authored by Margaret Otto

Murray Bowen, MD developed the concept of differentiation and societal emotional process. The basic idea is that emotional forces in families correlate to emotional forces in society. This process can be progressive or regressive with individuals and families at the lower level of differentiation being the most vulnerable to environmental influence.  As anxiety increases and individuality decreases, functioning lowers and symptom severity increases. Broader societal processes and the stressed emotional fields created can have a debilitating effect on individuals and the social functioning …

Read More »

“Toward a Systems Theory of Cancer”, Summary of a presentation by Michael E. Kerr, M.D.

Post Date May 31, 2014
Comments 0 Comments
Author
Category Bowen Family Systems Theory, Bowen Theory Research, Stephanie Ferrera, Systems Theory of Cancer

Authored by Stephanie Ferrera

At the Annual Midwest Symposium on Bowen Theory, May 2 -3, 2014, Dr. Kerr presented on his longstanding interest in the relationship between health, illness, and the family emotional system, and has done extensive research with cancer patients and their families.  In this presentation, he gave an overview of the systems thinking that researchers are bringing to the study of cancer, and showed how this fits with the systems thinking in Bowen theory.

Dr. Kerr began his presentation with the idea of an …

Read More »

Dr. Raison’s Invitation to Bowen Theory Researchers for Collaboration

Post Date May 13, 2014
Comments 3 Comments
Author
Category Bowen Family Systems Theory, Bowen Theory Research, Family Therapy, Sydney K. Reed

Authored by Sydney K. Reed, M.S.W.

In the previous blog post, Leslie Fox highlighted interesting points from Dr. Raison’s talk.    He warned us that he might be entertaining, an adaptation useful in a career of teaching undergraduates.  In deed, he had us laughing frequently.  It made me think about the notions of the origins of laughter.  Some think that laughter evolved as a signal mechanism to tell the group that they were out of danger and could relax and connect socially, thus building community.

Dr.. Raison’s talk …

Read More »

Connecting Inflammation, Depression and Compassion Meditation Training

Post Date May 8, 2014
Comments 6 Comments
Author
Category Bowen Family Systems Theory, Family Therapy, Leslie Ann Fox

Authored by Leslie Ann Fox

Did you know that only 10% of the cells in our bodies are mammalian—that 90% are bacteria? When someone can think in evolutionary ways all the way back to when all life on earth was bacteria, and see that we humans are still primarily bacteria, it really gets you thinking differently about your family history…but I will leave that for another day.

At the 31st Annual Midwest Symposium in Wilmette, IL on May 2nd and 3rd, 2014, Charles Raison, MD presented his …

Read More »
Newer Entries »