Family Violence: A Systems Perspective
Attendees of this conference will consider how Bowen theory invites a new way of thinking that can expand pathways to help and promote long term family safety, stability and function. This conference will explore how individuals across the system can make sense of big questions: "how can I respond to this complex problem in a responsible way?" and "what is the help that is helpful?". Bowen theory offers a distinct way to thoughtfully engage the complex challenges of family violence and deal with the reactions stirred.
Attendees of this conference will have a chance to consider questions like:
What does it take to see one’s family as part of the natural world?
How does violence in other species have to do with the human family?
How does the family connect to and derive from larger systems to resolve violence?
How can thinking differently about an intractable problem make a difference?
Who is responsible for change?
How does one think for oneself in an anxious family or group?
Guest Speaker
Dr. Bales started studying primates as an undergraduate at the University of New Orleans, finishing her honors project as an intern at the Audubon Zoo. Since then, she has worked with multiple primate species including common marmosets, golden lion tamarins, rhesus monkeys, and titi monkeys, finishing her Master’s at the University of Tennessee, her Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, and a post-doc at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She has spent the last 18 years at the University of California, Davis studying the neurobiology of social bonding in titi monkeys (a socially monogamous primate), prairie voles (a socially monogamous rodent), and now seahorses (a socially monogamous fish). In the course of this research, she has also investigated potential long-term effects of clinical applications of the hormone oxytocin, as well as long-term effects of other basic mammalian experiences like parenting. She is a past President of the American Society of Primatologists, a Kavli Fellow, recipient of the 2021 Exemplar Award from the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, and a UC-Davis ADVANCE Scholar. She also serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Primatology and is very proud that her laboratory won the 2019 UC-Davis Laboratory Safety Award.
Dr. Bales will be speaking on the following topics at the Spring Conference:
Developmental Influences on Pair Bond Formation From Titi Monkeys, Prairie Voles, and Seahorses
Pair Bonding Maintenance in Titi Monkeys: Separation Distress and Jealousy