The Effectiveness of the Self-differentiation Training Based on the Bowen Theory on Marital Satisfaction

Background: Marital satisfaction is a basis of other social organization health. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the self-differentiation training based on the Bowen Theory to increase marital satisfaction. Methods: The research method was semi-experimental and the pre-test-posttest design with the control group. In this intervention, the population of this study was selected by the convenience sampling method and 38 married women were randomly assigned to the experimental (n= 12) and control (n= 12) groups in Tehran in 2018. The Differentiation of Self Inventory (DSI) and Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI) were completed by married women. The control group received no training. The intervention included 10 sessions of self-differentiation training based on the Bowen theory. Twelve women participated in this semi-experimental project selected by convenience sampling as an experimental group and twelve women as a control group. The brief couple-based therapy was taught in 10 sessions based on techniques of Bowen therapy and four components of differentiation. The data were analyzed by SPSS v. 23 software. Results: There was a significant difference between the post-test scores of the experimental and control groups. In addition, training based on the DST approach could significantly increase marital satisfaction (t= 21.62, df= 22, P<0.001). Conclusion: The results indicated that there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the experimental group. Therefore, the training could significantly increase the self-differentiation of married women. These findings can be used to design interventional programs to improve conflict, adaptation, intimacy, and marital satisfaction of the couples.

Applying Bowen Theory to Psychiatric Assessment and Disposition in the ED

BACKGROUND: A number of variables have been shown to influence whether an individual who experiences an emergency psychiatric assessment is admitted to a psychiatric hospital. This study focused on the theoretical orientation of the assessing clinician as a possibly influential variable. The theoretical orientation being studied was Bowen family systems theory or Bowen theory (Bt). Overall the Bt perspective looks at the family as the primary crucible that generates symptoms but at the same time as the natural unit and the best built-in resource to deal with those symptoms. AIMS: This study examined whether the theoretical orientation of the nurse psychiatric assessor would affect her inpatient admission rate of patients seen for psychiatric evaluation in an emergency department (ED). METHOD: A clinician/researcher with extensive experience applying Bt in clinical practice worked in a Crisis Management Service providing psychiatric evaluation and disposition in a busy community hospital ED. Given Bt’s emphasis on the system rather than individual pathology, the clinician researcher hypothesized that her psychiatric hospitalization rate would be lower than the other clinical nurse specialists. A retrospective chart review analyzed 1 year of cases from all referrals that might have resulted in psychiatric hospitalizations ( n = 1,801). RESULTS: The clinician/researcher’s psychiatric hospitalization rate was significantly lower ( p = .004) than the other clinicians. CONCLUSION: An approach to psychiatric assessment in the ED applied a Bt perspective in a way that significantly reduced psychiatric hospitalizations.

The Significance of Family-of-Origin Dynamics for Adults’ Health and Psychological Wellbeing: The Perspective of Bowen Family System Theory

Bowen family system theory describes family interactional processes that are carried across the generations and determine an individual’s level of autonomy and emotional reactivity as well as the global functioning of the family. According to the theory, any personal, health-related, or relational issues can be explained as a result of diffused anxiety produced by destructive interactional patterns among family members. Although many studies are revealing the relationship between early family life experiences and functioning in adulthood, there is still a lack of studies exploring the complex mediational models based on Bowen theory that would reveal associations between different family-of-origin variables and adults’ health as well as psychological well-being. The chapter defines the main assumptions of Bowen theory as well as summarizes the main results of three studies demonstrating how family and personal factors defined by Bowen theory, such as family emotional system, triangulation, differentiation of self, relate to adults’ health and psychological well-being.

Bonhoeffer and Bowen Theory: A Theological Anthropology of the Collective-Person and its Implications for Spiritual Formation

Accounts of spiritual formation which depend overmuch on individualism are likely distorted by that individualism, and this article argues that an account of collective-personhood can provide a necessary corrective to this anthropological distortion. The article begins by diagnosing the problem of individualism in formation, utilizing Charles Taylor’s Sources of the Self, and critiquing several common practices of spiritual formation. Following this, we consider Bonhoeffer’s theological vision for the collective-person from his first book, Sanctorum Communio. Next, we examine Murray Bowen’s Family Systems Theory to help us envision, from a social scientific perspective, how such a collective-personhood might look. The article concludes with a provisional model for spiritual formation of collective-persons.