Family Therapy in Clinical Practice

by Murray Bowen

When Bowen was a student and practitioner of classical psychoanalysis at the Menninger Clinic, he became engrossed in understanding the process of schizophrenia and its relationship to mother-child symbiosis. Between the years 1950 and 1959, at Menninger and later at the National Institute of Mental Health (as first chief of family studies), he worked clinically with over 500 schizophrenic families. This extensive experience was a time of fruition for his thinking as he began to conceptualize human behavior as emerging from within the context of a family system. Later, at Georgetown University Medical School, Bowen worked to extend the application of his ideas to the neurotic family system. Initially he saw his work as an amplification and modification of Freudian theory, but later viewed it as an evolutionary step toward understanding human beings as functioning within their primary networkDtheir family. One of the most renowned theorist and therapist in the field of family work, this book encompasses the breadth and depth of Bowen's contributions. It presents the evolution of Bowen's Family Theory from his earliest essays on schizophrenic families and their treatment, through the development of his concepts of triangulation, intergenerational conflict and societal regression, and culminating in his brilliant exploration of the differentiation of one's self in one's family of origin.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Family, Counselling, School, Social Work, Research

588 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1978

About the author

Murray Bowen was an American psychiatrist and a professor in psychiatry at the Georgetown University.

Bowen was among the pioneers of family therapy and founders of systemic therapy. Beginning in the 1950s, he developed a systems theory of the family.

Reviews

[Marco · Rating 5 out of 5]

All hail to the almighty Dr. Bowen.

[Dorothy Nesbit · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm honestly not sure when I started reading this book. At 550 pages plus, it isn't a book I wanted to take on any journeys. It's also a book I have been reading in parallel with other books.

This is not a book for anyone who wants to begin their studies of Bowen Theory, who might benefit from a primer. It comprises a number of papers given over twenty years between 1957 and 1977. As such, it is highly repetitive, with points made in successive papers and modified in the light of experience or in an effort to convey complex concepts in ways the listener or reader can understand. It is this repetition that slowed my reading, as I took time to digest one paper before reading the next.

I might add, if only to get this point out of the way, that the standard of editing was not the highest, with typos throughout and even the occasional difference between a phrase used in a heading and the same phrase used in the paragraph that followed.

All this said, this book is a valuable read for the serious student of Bowen's work, beginning with his studies of families with a schizophrenic family member and continuing all the way through to his description of his attempts to apply his own theory in the context of his family of origin and his discovery of the benefits to his students of doing the same. It is worth saying that Michael Kerr, author of Bowen Theory's Secrets, recommends reading Bowen's paper on his attempts to apply his theory in the context of his own family.

The final paper in this book speaks of work that lies ahead and I am certainly eager to learn what further work Bowen did before he died. I am also learning to apply what I am learning in the context of my own family.

[Daveb · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to understand the evolution of Dr. Bowen's thinking and development of the theory, this is the book to read. It is collected papers of Dr. Bowen, not chapters of a book he wrote. He developed the theory when he was really going against the established grain of Freudian psychoanalysis. This is a dense book and Dr. Bowen used language in a very deliberate manner. However, it is NOT Bowen Theory 101 where all the terms are clearly defined. But a serious student of Family systems theory should really read this book several times.

[Nandini · Rating 5 out of 5]

A relic from the time schizophrenia was considered a mother's fault and a purely psychodynamic issue. Nevertheless it's still written and has many insights to offer on psychoanalysis and especially family systems. Bowen anticipates Minuchin and many other structural family therapists who would follow him a couple of decades later.

[Anna T · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is extremely repetitive and contains very little useful information. I finished Bowen/Kerr "Family Evaluation" before starting with this book and liked that one way more (although it was also not easy to work through).

[Halley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my third time reading this book and it gets better every time. What a great book to introduce systems and to really break down this thinking. I think about something new each time I read it. I can’t wait to see what the fourth time will bring.

[Dennis Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

People say that this is the Systems Theory classic, and, after reading it, through my eyes as a rabbi and social worker, I could see why. It is clear, well-organized, pointed, and engaging. A tremendous resource!

[Andy Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most coherent book describing family therapy.