2020: Annual Symposium on Family Theory and Family Psychotherapy
The Annual Symposium on Family Theory and Family Psychotherapy is the most important meeting on Bowen theory and its applications. It brings together the liveliest minds in the Bowen network to present, question, and discuss their latest research and ideas. The Symposium also features a Distinguished Guest Lecturer from another scientific discipline whose research is relevant to Bowen theory.
The Symposium was held November 6-7, 2020, online via Zoom. Recordings are available for purchase.
Learn More
Recordings | Guest Lecturer | Schedule | CEU/CEs | Resources |
2020 Symposium attendees receive up to 50% off the full rate for video recordings. Look for the discount code in the Symposium brochure. Contact info@thebowencenter.org if you need help locating your discount code.
Visit our Symposium Recordings webpage to view conferences and recordings from previous years, beginning with 2013.
Purchase Symposium 2020 Recordings
Morning and Afternoon Sessions
Recordings from Previous Symposia
The 56th Annual Symposium on Family Theory and Family Psychotherapy with Distinguished Guest Lecturer Karl Pillemer was held on November 8-9, 2019. Recordings of the 56th Symposium and previous Annual Symposia are available to download or rent on Gumroad.
Distinguished Guest Lecturer
David Sloan Wilson, PhD
Dr. Wilson is SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University and president of the Evolution Institute. Dr. Wilson is an evolutionary biologist who is one of the leading thinkers and communicators in evolutionary theory. He oversees programs that apply the evolutionary sciences to real-world issues in fields as diverse as education, public policy, and the study of religion and spirituality. One of his recently published books is This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution.
Dr. Wilson spoke on the following topics at the Symposium:
Groups as Organisms: Implications for Therapy and Training
Bowen theory’s systemic orientation stands in contrast with Individualism as the dominant intellectual tradition of the last 70 years. Individualism is at last yielding to Multilevel Selection (MLS) theory, which shows that functional organization can evolve (or fail to evolve) at any level of a multi-tier hierarchy of social units, such as from genes to ecosystems in biological systems and from individuals to global governance in human systems. He will provide an overview of MLS theory and the need for therapy and training to take place at the level of functionally oriented groups in addition to the individual person.
Prosocial: A Practical Framework for Managing Cultural Evolution in Real-World Settings
When evolution is defined as any process that includes the three ingredients of variation, selection, and replication, then it exists in the form of personal and cultural evolution in addition to genetic evolution. In all cases, evolution frequently results in outcomes that create problems rather than solutions for normative goals such as personal fulfillment, group visions and missions, and long-term global sustainability. Work is required to manage evolutionary processes so that they become aligned with our normative goals at all scales. He will provide an overview of Prosocial.world (Prosocial for short), an ambitious practical framework for managing personal and cultural evolution, with collaborative potential in mind.
Schedule
Friday, november 6, 2020
Time |
Title |
Presenter(s) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:45 | Introduction and Welcome to the Symposium | Anne S. McKnight, EdD, LCSW and Carrie Collier, PhD, LPC, CRC | ||
| Moderator: Laura R. Brooks, LCSW-C | ||||
| 9:00 | Family Oneness and Its Variation While Bowen theory is not a theory about how the family evolved, but how it functions, evolutionary theory raises interesting questions about the family system. One of the questions raised is related to the observation that the functioning of the human family predictably results in a decrease of the adaptive capacity (differentiation of self) of one or more of offspring. And over multiple generations, families generate increasingly lower levels of adaptive capacity as well as stable or even higher levels. In this presentation, it will be suggested that selection, operating simultaneously at the levels of the individual and the family would account for the range of adaptiveness among individuals. |
Robert J. Noone, PhD | ||
| 9:30 | Prairie Dogs and a Systems Model for Family Assessment: Implications for Research and Clinical Practice When Bowen said that the “dance of life” among people is more similar than dissimilar to the dance of other species, he broadened the study of relationship processes to include cute, furry, and occasionally deadly rodents: prairie dogs. Prairie dogs – burrowing creatures living in territorial family groups – provide a test case for Papero’s (2018) systems model for family assessment. Applications for clinical practice will be discussed. |
Barbara Laymon, PhD, MPH | ||
| 9:50 | Discussion | |||
| 10:15 | Break | |||
| 10:45 | Groups as Organisms: Implications for Therapy and Training Bowen theory’s systemic orientation stands in contrast with Individualism as the dominant intellectual tradition of the last 70 years. Individualism is at last yielding to Multilevel Selection (MLS) theory, which shows that functional organization can evolve (or fail to evolve) at any level of a multi-tier hierarchy of social units, such as from genes to ecosystems in biological systems and from individuals to global governance in human systems. He will provide an overview of MLS theory and the need for therapy and training to take place at the level of functionally oriented groups in addition to the individual person. Discussion |
Distinguished Guest Lecturer: David Sloan Wilson, PhD | ||
| 12:00 | Lunch Break | |||
| Moderator: Carrie Collier, PhD, LPC, CRC | ||||
| 1:00 | Does Family Functioning Matter in the Age of Social Autism? |
Daniel V. Papero, PhD, LCSW-C | ||
| 1:30 | Dialogue | With Daniel Papero and David Wilson Dialogue Moderator: Carrie Collier, PhD, LPC, CRC |
||
| 1:55 | Discussion | |||
| 2:25 | Break | |||
| 2:40 | Meet Me at the Crossroads: Exploring the Intersections of Bowen Theory, Evolutionary Thinking, and Systems Level Change A case study will detail the efforts over three years to utilize theoretical concepts to animate systems level change in a multigenerational response to domestic violence. This presentation will explore the intersection of Bowen theory, evolutionary thinking and collective impact models in systems level change in social service delivery. |
Amie Post, MA, LCMFT | ||
| 3:00 | The Projection Process in Families and in Society The concepts of Bowen theory describe emotional process in relationship systems and can be applied to families, organizations, and societies. This presentation investigates how the projection process operates in a family in ways that all family members contributed to its impact. It also addresses the way individuals can cooperate societally with a projection process which allows some members to benefit without recognizing their part in the process. The reaction of an individual or group to the projection process can intensify the focus and heighten the polarization in the group. |
Anne S. McKnight, EdD, LCSW | ||
| 3:20 | Discussion | |||
| 3:50 | Adjournment |
saturday, november 7, 2020
Time |
Title |
Presenter(s) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Moderator: Anne S. McKnight, EdD, LCSW | |||
| 9:00 | Emotional Systems and Anxiety: Adaptation in Evolution and the Family Anxious reactions, evident in biology, behavior, and relationship patterns, stir adaptation to the natural environment and to relationships for all forms of life. This survey of emotional systems and reactions to climate changes will examine characteristics that are associated with species extinction as well as with successful adaptation in an effort to better understand adaptation to current environmental challenges. |
Victoria Harrison, MA, LMFT | |
| 9:30 | The Family as a Product of Evolution Murray Bowen discovered a hidden altruism that occurs outside of a family’s awareness. The family evolved to nudge some members toward ceding their individuality for the benefit of the group. In a reciprocal process, an individual being used by the group participates in the process as well. |
Laurie Lassiter | |
| 9:50 | Discussion | ||
| 10:15 | Break | ||
| 10:30 | Prosocial: A Practical Framework for Managing Cultural Evolution in Real-World Settings When evolution is defined as any process that includes the three ingredients of variation, selection, and replication, then it exists in the form of personal and cultural evolution in addition to genetic evolution. In all cases, evolution frequently results in outcomes that create problems rather than solutions for normative goals such as personal fulfillment, group visions and missions, and long-term global sustainability. Work is required to manage evolutionary processes so that they become aligned with our normative goals at all scales. He will provide an overview of Prosocial.world (Prosocial for short), an ambitious practical framework for managing personal and cultural evolution, with collaborative potential in mind. |
Distinguished Guest Lecturer: David Sloan Wilson, PhD | |
| 11:30 | Dialogue | With Robert Noone and David Wilson | |
| 11:50 | Discussion | ||
| 12:30 | Lunch Break | ||
| Moderator: Amie Post, MA, LCMFT | |||
| 1:30 | Family Survival: How to Create Emotional Family Pattern Interruptions “Who is the family and what is an emotional system?” “What is important in knowing the composition of the human family and the history of family interactions?” are examples of the questions addressed by this researcher in her 2019 parenting study. Possible parental moves to interrupt the transfer of anxiety in the nuclear family will be outlined and the importance of defining the family system and the mechanisms that keep the family alive will be explored. |
Carrie E. Collier, PhD, LPC, CRC | |
| 1:50 | Convergent Spouse Functioning and Nuclear Family Emotional Process One of the outcomes of the nuclear family emotional process in a longitudinal research sample was spouses functioning at a similar level or convergent spouse functioning. This presentation describes the researcher’s observations and the theoretical underpinnings. |
Phillip Klever, MSW | |
| 2:10 | Discussion | ||
| 2:30 | Break | ||
| 2:45 | Emotional Shockwave in the Family Unit This presentation provides evidence for family emotional shockwaves that resulted from the premature deaths of two grandfathers. Shockwaves in the family reveal the underlying interconnectedness of relationships that comprise an emotional unit. Examples of shifts in relationships in non-human emotional units anchor this presentation in a biological view of the human family. |
Laura R. Brooks, LCSW-C | |
| 3:05 | Is Bowen Theory a Natural Systems Theory of the Family and If So, What Difference Does It Make? Murray Bowen wrote that “he fashioned a natural systems theory designed to fit precisely with the principles of evolution and the human as an evolutionary being”. Did he succeed? This presentation will review evidence that supports the proposition that Bowen theory is a natural systems theory and suggest why that is important. |
Randall T. Frost, MDiv | |
| 3:25 | Discussion | ||
| 4:15 | Adjournment |
CEU/CEs
The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family/Georgetown Family Center is authorized by the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners and the District of Columbia Board of Social Work to provide continuing education credits. This program is a Category I offering.
The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family/Georgetown Family Center has been approved by NBCC an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6225. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family/Georgetown Family Center is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
The conference day provides a maximum of 10.5 hours of Category I continuing education credit for social workers and for counselors.
If you plan to participate in the CEU/CE process, it is necessary to:
Pay the CEU/CE fee of $30 prior to the start of the conference
Prepare to stay for the entire conference
Enable video so that you are visible throughout the entirety of the conference (except during designated breaks or lunch)
Submit a completed evaluation
If you have any questions, please email ceu@thebowencenter.org.
Learning Objectives:
Invite experienced Bowen thinkers from around the US and internationally to present their application of Bowen theory to clinical, research, and theory applications.
Invite a scientist to speak as a Distinguished Guest Lecturer to present latest research that has an interplay with Bowen theory.
Generate lively discussion on the presentations with the goal of provoking new learning and connections in the application of Bowen theory.
Georgetown Family Center, Inc.
57th Annual Symposium on Family Theory and Family Psychotherapy
ACEP No. 6225
Resources
Recommended Resources
This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution by David Sloan Wilson
National Book Festival 2019, where Dr. Wilson discussed This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution
Extending Darwin’s Revolution – David Sloan Wilson & Robert Sapolsky